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Place dossier plate
SheetAR-LACEY-AR · Lacey, AR 684 pop · income 36th 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 Lacey
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Lacey on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Parkin · lowest
25,588
Parkin · lowest
25,588 median HH income
16.8% of the leader · rank #1
Shelby · near
60,333
Shelby · near
60,333 median HH income
39.7% of the leader · rank #2
Fincastle · near
60,337
Fincastle · near
60,337 median HH income
39.7% of the leader · rank #3
Lacey · this city
60,339
Lacey · this city
60,339 median HH income
39.7% of the leader · rank #4
Nanticoke · near
60,340
Nanticoke · near
60,340 median HH income
39.7% of the leader · rank #5
Calcutta · near
60,341
Calcutta · near
60,341 median HH income
39.7% of the leader · rank #6
Natural Steps · highest
151,944
Natural Steps · highest
151,944 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 Lacey 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: 684.
Lacey ranks in the 36th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
36th
percentile, household income
47th
percentile, home value
3rd
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: Lacey, AR
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 684 residents in Lacey, a small town within Arkansas. Households in Lacey report a median income of $60,339 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 32.9%. Lacey's housing stock carries a median value of $215,100, and the median resident age is 11.9 years. 0.0% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 49.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Living costs in Arkansas run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Arkansas scores 86.9 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $944 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $210 across Arkansas, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 55.5 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Lacey'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 housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Lacey, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, annual population history; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Lacey?
Within Arkansas, the closest population matches are Fouke (685 residents, $38,594 income); Natural Steps (686 residents, $151,944 income); Caddo Valley (690 residents, $56,000 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Greensboro, FL (684 residents); Smiths Grove, KY (684 residents); Melville, LA (684 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.
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 92.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Lacey?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 32.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
Below median income · poverty 32.9% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
86.9 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Arkansas average
F
City profile score · Lacey, AR
35/100
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.
Cost of living A+
86.9 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
$60,339
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
32.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
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).
Lacey profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 97/100 (A+) · 86.9 index
Household income: 35/100 (F) · $60,339
Poverty rate: 0/100 (F) · 32.9%
Bachelor's+ share: 0/100 (F) · 0.0%
How does Lacey compare to other US cities?
Where Lacey sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income36% higher than other cities
Home value47% pricier than other cities
Median rent3% 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 Lacey against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Arkansas only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Arkansas-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Lacey near the bottom of Arkansas's cities
Among the 524 Arkansas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Lacey ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Lacey only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#139 of 495
72nd percentile in Arkansas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 524
0th percentile in Arkansas
Median Home Value
#38 of 482
92nd percentile in Arkansas
Poverty Rate
#30 of 524
94th percentile in Arkansas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#502 of 524
0th percentile in Arkansas
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 Arkansas only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
36th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Lacey's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$215,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 53% 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
Lacey's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#9,235 of 15,516
More affordable than 40% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#7,421 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.6×, Lacey sits in the moderate band:
national rank #9,235 of 15,516 and #7,421 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
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
$60,339Lacey, AR median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Lacey, AR median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Lacey, AR.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)0.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)32.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)49.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
684
Median Income
$60,339
Median Home Value
$215,100
Median Age
11.9
Poverty Rate
32.9%
Labor force participation
49.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
0.0%
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
92.9%
Carpool
7.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
0.0%
Based on 156 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Arkansas statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $210
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Arkansas at $210 (electricity about $110 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Arkansas statewide averages, not a meter reading for Lacey. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Arkansas's BEA cost-of-living index is 86.9 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Lacey is $944/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Arkansas statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 55.5 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Arkansas statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Lacey sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Lacey compares to similar-size Arkansas 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, 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.