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Place dossier plate
SheetAL-POWELL-AL · Powell, AL 911 pop · income 40th 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 Powell
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Powell on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Hayneville · lowest
30,714
Hayneville · lowest
30,714 median HH income
32.1% of the leader · rank #1
Powell · this city
62,868
Powell · this city
62,868 median HH income
65.7% of the leader · rank #2
Butler · near
62,869
Butler · near
62,869 median HH income
65.7% of the leader · rank #3
Trafford · near
62,874
Trafford · near
62,874 median HH income
65.7% of the leader · rank #4
Park City · near
62,875
Park City · near
62,875 median HH income
65.7% of the leader · rank #5
Ryland Heights · near
62,875
Ryland Heights · near
62,875 median HH income
65.7% of the leader · rank #6
Chokoloskee · highest
95,712
Chokoloskee · highest
95,712 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Powell on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 911.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Powell - the verdict
Powell ranks in the 40th percentile for household income and the 25th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
40th
percentile, household income
18th
percentile, home value
1st
percentile, median rent
25th
percentile, safety
📝 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: Powell, AL
Powell is a small town in Alabama, home to 911 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Powell report a median income of $62,868 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 6.3%. Typical homes in Powell are valued around $120,800, and the median resident age is 35.7 years. Educational attainment runs 13.9% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 49.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 2370.7 incidents per 100,000 residents, near the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Alabama run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Alabama at 88.8 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $936 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $245 across Alabama, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Natural-hazard exposure scores 61.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Powell'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 population change to housing and income to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Powell, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Powell growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +36 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +4.0% 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 upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
How far does income reach against housing in Powell?
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 1.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 6.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Powell?
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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Alabama, the closest population matches are Minor (911 residents, $32,065 income); Brantley (915 residents, $35,500 income); Oak Grove (905 residents, $59,191 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Chokoloskee, FL (911 residents); Nauvoo, IL (911 residents); Paw Paw, IL (911 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 Powell?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.4%. 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.
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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Powell?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2370.7 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 4% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
2370.7
Violent rate
107.8
Property rate
2262.9
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Below median income · poverty 6.3% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.8 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Alabama average
C
City profile score · Powell, AL
56/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
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.
Cost of living A+
88.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime B-
108 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate C
6.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$62,868
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
13.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Powell profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 90/100 (A+) · 88.8 index
Violent crime: 69/100 (B-) · 108 /100k
Poverty rate: 57/100 (C) · 6.3%
Household income: 39/100 (F) · $62,868
Bachelor's+ share: 17/100 (F) · 13.9%
Where Powell sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Powell's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Powell highlighted among 24 peers.Read the chart values
Powell, AL (this city): home $120,800, crime 2,371/100k
Nauvoo, IL : home $118,000, crime 654/100k
Wedowee, AL : home $189,300, crime 4,927/100k
Hayneville, AL : home $85,500, crime 395/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Powell compare to other US cities?
Powell measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income40% higher than other cities
Home value18% pricier than other cities
Median rent1% pricier than other cities
Safety25% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Alabama, Powell ranks #139 of 222 Alabama cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Powell against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Alabama only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Alabama-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Powell near the bottom of Alabama's cities
Among the 556 Alabama cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Powell ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Powell only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#179 of 530
66th percentile in Alabama
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 556
0th percentile in Alabama
Median Home Value
#312 of 517
39th percentile in Alabama
Poverty Rate
#405 of 556
27th percentile in Alabama
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#319 of 556
42nd percentile in Alabama
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 Alabama only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
40th percentile nationally for median household income · 25th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Powell's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Powell's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Powell's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$120,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 82% 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
Powell's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,373 of 15,516
More affordable than 91% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,322 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.9×, Powell sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,373 of 15,516 and #1,322 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
$62,868Powell, AL median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Powell, AL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Powell, AL.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)13.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)6.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)49.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
911
Median Income
$62,868
Median Home Value
$120,800
Median Age
35.7
Poverty Rate
6.3%
Labor force participation
49.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
13.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2370.7
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
107.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2262.9
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Powell's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
910 residents
2021
916 residents
2022
918 residents
2023
927 residents
2024
940 residents
2025
946 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
79.4%
Carpool
15.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
0.8%
Other
4.5%
Based on 354 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Alabama statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $245
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Alabama at $245 (electricity about $138 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Alabama statewide averages, not a meter reading for Powell. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Alabama's BEA cost-of-living index is 88.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Powell is $936/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Alabama statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 61.5 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Alabama statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Powell sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Powell compares to similar-size Alabama 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, FBI UCR, 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.