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Place dossier plate
SheetAZ-CLIFTON-AZ · Clifton, AZ 3,845 pop · income 66th 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 Clifton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Clifton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Rocky Ford · lowest
35,658
Rocky Ford · lowest
35,658 median HH income
25.2% of the leader · rank #1
Metamora · near
84,453
Metamora · near
84,453 median HH income
59.8% of the leader · rank #2
Clifton · this city
84,457
Clifton · this city
84,457 median HH income
59.8% of the leader · rank #3
Marshall · near
84,462
Marshall · near
84,462 median HH income
59.8% of the leader · rank #4
Freeburg · near
84,464
Freeburg · near
84,464 median HH income
59.8% of the leader · rank #5
River Ridge · near
84,464
River Ridge · near
84,464 median HH income
59.8% of the leader · rank #6
Carefree · highest
141,331
Carefree · highest
141,331 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 Clifton 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: 3,845.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Clifton places in the 66th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
66th
percentile, household income
2nd
percentile, home value
64th
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: Clifton, AZ
3,845 people live in Clifton, Arizona - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $84,457 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.8%. Clifton's housing stock carries a median value of $66,000, and the median resident age is 24.9 years. 19.6% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 67.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 8 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Low Activity). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 67.3°F with 17.0 inches of precipitation per year.
Arizona tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Arizona at 100.7 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,419 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $215 across Arizona, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 84.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Clifton'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 housing and income to population change to comparison shortlist to climate and hazard context to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Clifton, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Clifton?
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 0.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -165 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -4.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 8 housing units authorized in 2024. 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Clifton?
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 Arizona, the closest population matches are Avenue B and C (3,831 residents, $40,554 income); Ajo (3,783 residents, $56,364 income); Carefree (3,672 residents, $141,331 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are St. James, FL (3,846 residents); Ravenswood, WV (3,846 residents); Bella Vista, CA (3,843 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.
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 67.3°F, with 17.0 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Arizona is 84.5 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.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Clifton?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.4%. 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.
Drive alone
77.4%
Work from home
0.0%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 1,661 workers age 16+.
Above median income · poverty 5.8% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
100.7 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Arizona average
C-
City profile score · Clifton, AZ
50/100
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.
Household income C+
$84,457
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate C+
5.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living F
100.7 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share F
19.6%
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).
Clifton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 64/100 (C+) · $84,457
Poverty rate: 60/100 (C+) · 5.8%
Cost of living: 37/100 (F) · 100.7 index
Bachelor's+ share: 33/100 (F) · 19.6%
How does Clifton compare to other US cities?
Where Clifton sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income66% higher than other cities
Home value2% pricier than other cities
Median rent64% 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 Clifton against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Arizona only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Arizona-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Clifton near the bottom of Arizona's cities
Among the 394 Arizona cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Clifton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Clifton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#57 of 333
83rd percentile in Arizona
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 394
0th percentile in Arizona
Median Home Value
#283 of 327
13th percentile in Arizona
Poverty Rate
#241 of 393
38th percentile in Arizona
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#151 of 394
61st percentile in Arizona
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 Arizona only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
66th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Clifton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$66,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 98% 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
Clifton's home-value-to-income ratio: 0.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#13 of 15,516
More affordable than 100% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#13 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 0.8×, Clifton sits in the affordable band:
national rank #13 of 15,516 and #13 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
$84,457Clifton, AZ median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Clifton, AZ median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Clifton, AZ.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)19.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)67.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
3,845
Median Income
$84,457
Median Home Value
$66,000
Median Age
24.9
Poverty Rate
5.8%
Labor force participation
67.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
19.6%
Climate
Avg Temperature
67.3°F
Annual Precipitation
17.0"
Annual Snowfall
0.0"
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Clifton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
3,917 residents
2021
3,833 residents
2022
3,775 residents
2023
3,785 residents
2024
3,789 residents
2025
3,752 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
8
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
detached homes
Multifamily
7
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
2.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
1
1
0
$0.1M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
8
0
8
$1.1M
2024
8
1
7
$0.8M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
77.4%
Carpool
18.2%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
4.3%
Work from Home
0.0%
Based on 1,661 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Arizona statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $215
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Arizona at $215 (electricity about $131 , water and sewer about $50 ).
These are Arizona statewide averages, not a meter reading for Clifton. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Arizona's BEA cost-of-living index is 100.7 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Clifton is $1,419/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Arizona statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 84.5 / 100 (High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Arizona statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Clifton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Clifton compares to similar-size Arizona 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 BPS 2024, 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.