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Place dossier plate
SheetGA-DALTON-GA · Dalton, GA 34,402 pop · income 37th pct · 22 tracts
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 Dalton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Dalton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Meridian · lowest
34,657
Meridian · lowest
34,657 median HH income
24.0% of the leader · rank #1
Inverness Hig… · near
61,224
Inverness Hig… · near
61,224 median HH income
42.4% of the leader · rank #2
High Point · near
61,228
High Point · near
61,228 median HH income
42.4% of the leader · rank #3
Dalton · this city
61,236
Dalton · this city
61,236 median HH income
42.4% of the leader · rank #4
Graysville · near
61,250
Graysville · near
61,250 median HH income
42.4% of the leader · rank #5
Copper Center · near
61,250
Copper Center · near
61,250 median HH income
42.4% of the leader · rank #6
Pleasant Hill · highest
144,513
Pleasant Hill · highest
144,513 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 Dalton 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: 34,402.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Dalton - the verdict
Nationally, Dalton sits in the 37th percentile for household income and the 29th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
37th
percentile, household income
44th
percentile, home value
51st
percentile, median rent
29th
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: Dalton, GA
34,402 people live in Dalton, Georgia - a small city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $61,236 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 13.7%. Home values in Dalton run a median of $203,100, and the median resident age is 33.6 years. 23.9% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 60.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 2145.5 crimes per 100,000 residents, near the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Dalton's yearly average temperature at 60.9°F.
Living costs in Georgia run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Georgia at 96.3 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,203 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Georgia run around $225, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 39.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Dalton'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 schools and households to population change to within-city variation to reported crime to housing and income to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to climate and hazard context; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Dalton, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Dalton?
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.
The NCES join finds 28 public schools within the city match. 23.9% 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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +880 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.6% 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.
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.
PlainCities matches 22 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
Which cities make useful reference points for Dalton?
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.
Within Georgia, the closest population matches are Canton (34,587 residents, $81,642 income); Statesboro (33,705 residents, $42,884 income); Kennesaw (33,627 residents, $79,759 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are College Park, MD (34,397 residents); Valparaiso, IN (34,377 residents); Goshen, IN (34,374 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.
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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Dalton?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2145.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 6% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
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.
Total reported rate
2145.5
Violent rate
243.2
Property rate
1902.3
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
How far does income reach against housing in Dalton?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 13.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
3.3×
Home value
$203,100
Household income
$61,236
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the journey to work look like in Dalton?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 78.3%. 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
78.3%
Work from home
3.9%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 15,897 workers age 16+.
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 60.9°F. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Georgia is 39.5 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.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
39.5
Mean temperature
60.9°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Below median income · poverty 13.7% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
96.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Georgia average
D
City profile score · Dalton, GA
41/100
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.
Cost of living C
96.3 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 D
23.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime D
243 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income F
$61,236
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
13.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Dalton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 57/100 (C) · 96.3 index
Bachelor's+ share: 46/100 (D) · 23.9%
Violent crime: 41/100 (D) · 243 /100k
Household income: 36/100 (F) · $61,236
Poverty rate: 25/100 (F) · 13.7%
Where Dalton sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Dalton'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 - Dalton highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Dalton, GA (this city): home $203,100, crime 2,146/100k
Valparaiso, IN : home $250,500, crime 874/100k
Goshen, IN : home $175,200, crime 2,696/100k
Pleasant Hill, CA : home $1,040,600, crime 4,261/100k
Lewiston, ID : home $290,900, crime 1,504/100k
Canton, GA : home $369,700, crime 930/100k
Statesboro, GA : home $158,600, crime 2,610/100k
Kennesaw, GA : home $291,300, crime 1,099/100k
Hinesville, GA : home $174,300, crime 3,118/100k
Stockbridge, GA : home $248,000, crime 2,580/100k
How does Dalton compare to other US cities?
Dalton measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income37% higher than other cities
Home value44% pricier than other cities
Median rent51% pricier than other cities
Safety29% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Georgia and the picture shifts: Dalton ranks #93 of 166 Georgia cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Dalton against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Georgia only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Georgia-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Dalton near the bottom of Georgia's cities
Among the 638 Georgia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Dalton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Dalton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#250 of 610
59th percentile in Georgia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 638
0th percentile in Georgia
Median Home Value
#218 of 577
62nd percentile in Georgia
Poverty Rate
#279 of 637
56th percentile in Georgia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#214 of 638
66th percentile in Georgia
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 Georgia only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
37th percentile nationally for median household income · 29th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Dalton's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Dalton'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 Dalton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$203,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 56% 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
Dalton's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,203 of 15,516
More affordable than 47% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,306 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.3×, Dalton sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,203 of 15,516 and #1,306 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
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
$61,236Dalton, GA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Dalton, GA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Dalton, GA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)23.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)13.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
34,402
Median Income
$61,236
Median Home Value
$203,100
Median Age
33.6
Poverty Rate
13.7%
Labor force participation
60.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
23.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2145.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
243.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1902.3
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
60.9°F
Annual Precipitation
N/A
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
28
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Dalton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
34,442 residents
2021
34,251 residents
2022
34,448 residents
2023
34,739 residents
2024
35,167 residents
2025
35,322 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
78.3%
Carpool
15.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.0%
Work from Home
3.9%
Other
1.8%
Based on 15,897 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Georgia statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Georgia at $225 (electricity about $125 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Georgia statewide averages, not a meter reading for Dalton. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Georgia's BEA cost-of-living index is 96.3 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Dalton is $1,203/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Georgia statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 39.5 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Georgia statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Dalton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Dalton compares to similar-size Georgia 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.