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Place dossier plate
SheetAL-WHATLEY-AL · Whatley, AL 285 pop · income 51st 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 Whatley
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Whatley on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Castleberry · lowest
21,111
Castleberry · lowest
21,111 median HH income
29.6% of the leader · rank #1
Whatley · this city
71,250
Whatley · this city
71,250 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #2
Kings · highest
71,250
Kings · highest
71,250 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #3
Gay · near
71,250
Gay · near
71,250 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #4
Pine Lake · near
71,250
Pine Lake · near
71,250 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #5
Deary · near
71,250
Deary · near
71,250 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
Newdale · near
71,250
Newdale · near
71,250 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 Whatley 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: 285.
Nationally, Whatley sits in the 51st percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
51st
percentile, household income
1st
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: Whatley, AL
Whatley is a small town in Alabama, home to 285 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $71,250 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 0.0%. The median resident age is 22.6 years. 0.0% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 50.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 64.5°F with 61.4 inches of precipitation per year and 0.4 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Alabama run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Alabama scores 88.8 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $936 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Alabama's average monthly utility costs around $245 (state average). Commute times here average 45.8 minutes, with 100.0% driving alone and 0.0% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 61.5 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Whatley'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 climate and hazard context to comparison shortlist to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Whatley, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What physical conditions frame life in Whatley?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 64.5°F, with 61.4 inches of precipitation and 0.4 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Alabama is 61.5 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.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Whatley?
Within Alabama, the closest population matches are Sipsey (283 residents, $25,179 income); Castleberry (288 residents, $21,111 income); Waldo (282 residents, $33,125 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Clipper Mills, CA (285 residents); Coffee Creek, CA (285 residents); Rhodes, IA (285 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.
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.
What does the journey to work look like in Whatley?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 100.0%. The reported mean trip to work is 45.8 minutes.
Above median income · poverty 0.0% (Very low poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.8 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Alabama average
C+
City profile score · Whatley, AL
63/100
4 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.
Poverty rate A+
0.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
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.
Household income C-
$71,250
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
0.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Whatley profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 100/100 (A+) · 0.0%
Cost of living: 90/100 (A+) · 88.8 index
Household income: 51/100 (C-) · $71,250
Bachelor's+ share: 0/100 (F) · 0.0%
How does Whatley compare to other US cities?
Where Whatley sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income51% higher than other cities
Median rent1% 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 Whatley 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 Whatley near the bottom of Alabama's cities
Among the 556 Alabama cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Whatley ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Whatley only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#117 of 530
78th percentile in Alabama
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 556
0th percentile in Alabama
Poverty Rate
#511 of 556
0th percentile in Alabama
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#541 of 556
0th 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
51st percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Income distribution context
$71,250Whatley, AL median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Whatley, 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 Whatley, AL.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)0.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)0.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)50.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
285
Median Income
$71,250
Median Home Value
N/A
Median Age
22.6
Poverty Rate
0.0%
Labor force participation
50.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
0.0%
Climate
Avg Temperature
64.5°F
Annual Precipitation
61.4"
Annual Snowfall
0.4"
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
45.8 minutes
Drive Alone
100.0%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
0.0%
Based on 113 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 Whatley. 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 Whatley 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 Whatley sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Whatley 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, NOAA Climate Normals, 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.