City profile · California · Census ACS 2023

Lake Wildwood, CA

Lake Wildwood's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

4,967
Residents
$87,552
Median income
$495,100
Median home
$2,053
Median rent (state)
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Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.

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Starting with Lake Wildwood, CA - add up to three more cities on the compare page.

See how it ranks

State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Lake Wildwood.

Place dossier plate

Sheet CA-LAKE-WILDWOOD-CA · Lake Wildwood, CA 4,967 pop · income 69th pct

POP-VILLAGE · INC-HIGH · COL-ABOVE · SAFE-UNK · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-HIGH · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-VILLAGE 4,967
  • INC-HIGH $87,552
  • COL-ABOVE 110.7
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-UPPER 69th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Carteret
  • HOME-HIGH $495,100
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: Carteret, NJ (+ $1 income $)

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 Lake Wildwood

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Lake Wildwood on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

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.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Lake Wildwood 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: 4,967.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $87,552. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Lake Wildwood - the verdict

Nationally, Lake Wildwood sits in the 69th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.

69th
percentile, household income
85th
percentile, home value
88th
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: Lake Wildwood, CA

Lake Wildwood is a small town in California, home to 4,967 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Lake Wildwood report a median income of $87,552 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 6.3%. Home values in Lake Wildwood run a median of $495,100, and the median resident age is 54.2 years. About 39.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 38.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

California carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts California at 110.7 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Above Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $2,053 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts California's average monthly utility costs around $275 (state average). Natural-hazard exposure scores 88.7 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very High).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Lake Wildwood'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 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 Lake Wildwood, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares. No matched row is reported here for annual population history, local building permits, 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.

Question 1

How far does income reach against housing in Lake Wildwood?

The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 6.3%, 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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Question 2

Which cities make useful reference points for Lake Wildwood?

Within California, the closest population matches are Sonora (4,965 residents, $62,621 income); Oakhurst (4,956 residents, $76,606 income); Willits (4,945 residents, $55,971 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Long View, NC (4,967 residents); Ampere North, NJ (4,968 residents); Northwest Harbor, NY (4,966 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.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

3. Work and mobility

What does the journey to work look like in Lake Wildwood?

Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 75.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.

Compare commute patterns →

Population

4,967 residents

Micro place (under 10k)

Median Household Income

$87,552 /yr

Above median income · poverty 6.3% (Below-median poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

110.7 (US=100)

Highest-decile cost · BEA RPP 2024, California average

City profile score · Lake Wildwood, CA

51/100

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.

Bachelor's+ share B+
39.8%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Household income B-
$87,552

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Poverty rate C
6.3%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Cost of living F
110.7 index

BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

Lake Wildwood profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Bachelor's+ share, Household income, Poverty rate, Cost of living. Bachelor's+ shareHousehold incomePoverty rateCost of living 51 C-
Lake Wildwood profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Bachelor's+ share: 75/100 (B+) · 39.8%
  • Household income: 67/100 (B-) · $87,552
  • Poverty rate: 57/100 (C) · 6.3%
  • Cost of living: 6/100 (F) · 110.7 index

How does Lake Wildwood compare to other US cities?

Lake Wildwood measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.

Household income 69% higher than other cities
Home value 85% pricier than other cities
Median rent 88% 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 Lake Wildwood against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to California only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.

California-relative analysis

Median Gross Rent places Lake Wildwood near the bottom of California's cities

Among the 1,458 California cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Lake Wildwood ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Lake Wildwood only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#663 of 1,338
50th percentile in California
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,458
0th percentile in California
Median Home Value
#702 of 1,343
48th percentile in California
Poverty Rate
#740 of 1,450
49th percentile in California
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#429 of 1,458
70th percentile in California
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 California only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.

69thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

69th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Lake Wildwood's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$495,100 15th percentile more affordable than 15% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). This entry sits in this band. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. Lake Wildwood $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

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

Lake Wildwood's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.7×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,769 of 15,516
More affordable than 11% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,269 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)

At 5.7×, Lake Wildwood sits in the pressured band: national rank #13,769 of 15,516 and #10,269 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000). Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.

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

$87,552 Lake Wildwood, CA median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Lake Wildwood, CA Lake Wildwood, CA's median household income ($87,552) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Lake Wildwood, CA-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Lake Wildwood, CA median $87,552/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Lake Wildwood, CA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Lake Wildwood, CA.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 39.8%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 6.3%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 38.3%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
4,967
Median Income
$87,552
Median Home Value
$495,100
Median Age
54.2
Poverty Rate
6.3%
Labor force participation
38.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
39.8%

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
75.7%
Carpool
5.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.1%
Work from Home
18.4%

Based on 1,612 workers 16 and over.

Monthly Utility Costs

California statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $275

EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across California at $275 (electricity about $150 , water and sewer about $70 ).

These are California statewide averages, not a meter reading for Lake Wildwood. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.

Living Costs & Risk

California's BEA cost-of-living index is 110.7 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Lake Wildwood is $2,053/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to California statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 / 100 (Very High).

Cost/risk geography note

Cost of living is a California statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Lake Wildwood sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Lake Wildwood compares to similar-size California 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.

City Population Median Household Income
Lake Wildwood (this city) 4,967 $87,552
Sonora 4,965 $62,621
Oakhurst 4,956 $76,606
Willits 4,945 $55,971
Primary sources on this page

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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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