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.
Place dossier plate
SheetCO-BUENA-VISTA-CO · Buena Vista, CO 2,966 pop · income 33rd 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 Buena Vista
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Buena Vista on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Flemingsburg · lowest
32,500
Flemingsburg · lowest
32,500 median HH income
14.8% of the leader · rank #1
Fort Campbell… · near
58,403
Fort Campbell… · near
58,403 median HH income
26.5% of the leader · rank #2
Tulsa · near
58,407
Tulsa · near
58,407 median HH income
26.5% of the leader · rank #3
Buena Vista · this city
58,409
Buena Vista · this city
58,409 median HH income
26.5% of the leader · rank #4
Clinton · near
58,417
Clinton · near
58,417 median HH income
26.5% of the leader · rank #5
Mountain Lake… · near
58,418
Mountain Lake… · near
58,418 median HH income
26.5% of the leader · rank #6
Stepping Stone · highest
220,039
Stepping Stone · highest
220,039 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 Buena Vista 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: 2,966.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Buena Vista - the verdict
Buena Vista ranks in the 33rd percentile for household income and the 87th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
33rd
percentile, household income
85th
percentile, home value
68th
percentile, median rent
87th
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: Buena Vista, CO
Buena Vista is a small town in Colorado, home to 2,966 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Buena Vista households earn a median of $58,409 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 0.0%. Home values in Buena Vista run a median of $495,800, and the median resident age is 33.1 years. 41.6% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 61.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Buena Vista reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 443.7 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Buena Vista's yearly average temperature at 44.7°F with 9.9 inches of precipitation per year and 49.3 inches of snowfall.
Colorado carries a cost-of-living premium: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Colorado scores 103.1 (Above Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,429 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Colorado's average monthly utility costs around $202 (state average). Natural-hazard exposure scores 40.7 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Buena Vista'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 reported crime to climate and hazard context to population change to schools and households to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Buena Vista, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
How far does income reach against housing in Buena Vista?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 8.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 0.0%, 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Buena Vista?
Within Colorado, the closest population matches are Platteville (2,924 residents, $87,642 income); Snowmass (3,048 residents, $107,559 income); Frisco (2,865 residents, $113,406 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Green Island, NY (2,966 residents); Chattahoochee, FL (2,965 residents); Flemingsburg, KY (2,967 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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Buena Vista?
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.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 443.7 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 81% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
What physical conditions frame life in Buena Vista?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 44.7°F, with 9.9 inches of precipitation and 49.3 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Colorado is 40.7 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.
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.
Population change
Is Buena Vista growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +383 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +13.4% 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.
Period change
+13.4%
2025 estimate
3,248
2020 estimate
2,865
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the education layer cover for Buena Vista?
The NCES join finds 5 public schools within the city match. 41.6% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
5
Bachelor's degree+
41.6%
Poverty estimate
0.0%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in Buena Vista?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 72.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
12.8%
Drive alone
72.6%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 1,456 workers age 16+.
Below median income · poverty 0.0% (Very low poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
103.1 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Colorado average
C
City profile score · Buena Vista, CO
59/100
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.
Poverty rate A+
0.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share B+
41.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime B
95 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income F
$58,409
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living F
103.1 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Buena Vista profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 100/100 (A+) · 0.0%
Bachelor's+ share: 76/100 (B+) · 41.6%
Violent crime: 72/100 (B) · 95 /100k
Household income: 32/100 (F) · $58,409
Cost of living: 26/100 (F) · 103.1 index
Where Buena Vista sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Buena Vista'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 - Buena Vista highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Buena Vista, CO (this city): home $495,800, crime 444/100k
Flemingsburg, KY : home $123,200, crime 1,000/100k
Genoa City, WI : home $230,900, crime 170/100k
Platteville, CO : home $376,600, crime 1,079/100k
Frisco, CO : home $839,500, crime 2,619/100k
Bayfield, CO : home $418,400, crime 312/100k
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 Buena Vista compare to other US cities?
Where Buena Vista sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income33% higher than other cities
Home value85% pricier than other cities
Median rent68% pricier than other cities
Safety87% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Colorado and the picture shifts: Buena Vista ranks #11 of 116 Colorado cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Buena Vista against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Colorado only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Colorado-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Buena Vista near the bottom of Colorado's cities
Among the 408 Colorado cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Buena Vista ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Buena Vista only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#275 of 379
27th percentile in Colorado
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 408
0th percentile in Colorado
Median Home Value
#140 of 388
64th percentile in Colorado
Poverty Rate
#302 of 408
0th percentile in Colorado
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#168 of 408
59th percentile in Colorado
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 Colorado only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
33rd percentile nationally for median household income · 87th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Buena Vista's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Buena Vista'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 Buena Vista's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$495,80015th percentilemore affordable than 15% 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
Buena Vista's home-value-to-income ratio: 8.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,156 of 15,516
More affordable than 2% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#11,109 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 8.5×, Buena Vista sits in the pressured band:
national rank #15,156 of 15,516 and #11,109 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
$58,409Buena Vista, CO median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Buena Vista, CO median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Buena Vista, CO.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)41.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)0.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)61.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,966
Median Income
$58,409
Median Home Value
$495,800
Median Age
33.1
Poverty Rate
0.0%
Labor force participation
61.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
41.6%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
443.7
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
95.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
348.7
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.
Climate
Avg Temperature
44.7°F
Annual Precipitation
9.9"
Annual Snowfall
49.3"
Schools
Total Schools
5
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Buena Vista's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,865 residents
2021
2,998 residents
2022
3,045 residents
2023
3,076 residents
2024
3,130 residents
2025
3,248 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
72.6%
Carpool
11.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.4%
Work from Home
12.8%
Other
2.1%
Based on 1,456 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Colorado statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $202
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Colorado at $202 (electricity about $90 , water and sewer about $50 ).
These are Colorado statewide averages, not a meter reading for Buena Vista. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Colorado's BEA cost-of-living index is 103.1 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Buena Vista is $1,429/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Colorado statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 40.7 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Colorado statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Buena Vista sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Buena Vista compares to similar-size Colorado 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, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, 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.