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Place dossier plate
SheetAK-MCGRATH-AK · McGrath, AK 195 pop · income 21st pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around McGrath
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest McGrath on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Ambler · lowest
41,563
Ambler · lowest
41,563 median HH income
44.0% of the leader · rank #1
McGrath · this city
51,250
McGrath · this city
51,250 median HH income
54.2% of the leader · rank #2
Carolina · near
51,250
Carolina · near
51,250 median HH income
54.2% of the leader · rank #3
Toxey · near
51,250
Toxey · near
51,250 median HH income
54.2% of the leader · rank #4
Concord · near
51,250
Concord · near
51,250 median HH income
54.2% of the leader · rank #5
Highland · near
51,250
Highland · near
51,250 median HH income
54.2% of the leader · rank #6
Penfield · highest
94,531
Penfield · highest
94,531 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for McGrath on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 195.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, McGrath places in the 21st percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
21st
percentile, household income
10th
percentile, home value
70th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: McGrath, AK
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 195 residents in McGrath, a small town within Alaska. McGrath households earn a median of $51,250 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 3.1%. McGrath's housing stock carries a median value of $102,200, and the median resident age is 53.3 years. About 18.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 56.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 28.9°F with 18.1 inches of precipitation per year and 86.5 inches of snowfall.
Alaska tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Alaska scores 102.4 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,467 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Alaska run around $271, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 35.2 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of McGrath's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to work and mobility to schools and households to population change to housing and income to climate and hazard context; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For McGrath, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for McGrath?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within Alaska, the closest population matches are Gakona (200 residents, $90,313 income); Minto (190 residents, $62,917 income); Ambler (201 residents, $41,563 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Homewood Canyon, CA (195 residents); Penfield, IL (195 residents); Serena, IL (195 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
What does the journey to work look like in McGrath?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 27.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 18.1% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -18 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -6.1% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in McGrath?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 3.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
2.0×
Home value
$102,200
Household income
$51,250
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 28.9°F, with 18.1 inches of precipitation and 86.5 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Alaska is 35.2 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
35.2
Annual precipitation
18.1 in
Mean temperature
28.9°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate B+
3.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
18.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living F
102.4 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income F
$51,250
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
McGrath profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 78/100 (B+) · 3.1%
Bachelor's+ share: 29/100 (F) · 18.1%
Cost of living: 29/100 (F) · 102.4 index
Household income: 22/100 (F) · $51,250
How does McGrath compare to other US cities?
McGrath measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income21% higher than other cities
Home value10% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares McGrath against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Alaska only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Alaska-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places McGrath near the bottom of Alaska's cities
Among the 228 Alaska cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, McGrath ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares McGrath only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#160 of 215
25th percentile in Alaska
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 228
0th percentile in Alaska
Median Home Value
#155 of 200
23rd percentile in Alaska
Poverty Rate
#177 of 225
21st percentile in Alaska
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#106 of 228
54th percentile in Alaska
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Alaska only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
21st percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How McGrath's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$102,200Among the most affordablemore affordable than 90% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
McGrath's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,609 of 15,516
More affordable than 90% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,542 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.0×, McGrath sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,609 of 15,516 and #1,542 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$51,250McGrath, AK median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context McGrath, AK median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for McGrath, AK.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)18.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)3.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)56.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
195
Median Income
$51,250
Median Home Value
$102,200
Median Age
53.3
Poverty Rate
3.1%
Labor force participation
56.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
18.1%
Climate
Avg Temperature
28.9°F
Annual Precipitation
18.1"
Annual Snowfall
86.5"
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
McGrath's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
296 residents
2021
294 residents
2022
288 residents
2023
284 residents
2024
282 residents
2025
278 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
27.7%
Carpool
25.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
20.2%
Work from Home
2.1%
Other
24.5%
Based on 94 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Alaska statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $271
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Alaska at $271 (electricity about $131 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Alaska statewide averages, not a meter reading for McGrath. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Alaska's BEA cost-of-living index is 102.4 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around McGrath is $1,467/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Alaska statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 35.2 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Alaska statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county McGrath sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How McGrath compares to similar-size Alaska cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.