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Place dossier plate
SheetGA-HELEN-GA · Helen, GA 470 pop · income 65th 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 Helen
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Helen on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
New England · lowest
27,473
New England · lowest
27,473 median HH income
32.8% of the leader · rank #1
Helen · this city
83,654
Helen · this city
83,654 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #2
South Amherst · near
83,654
South Amherst · near
83,654 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #3
Germantown · near
83,661
Germantown · near
83,661 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #4
Walesboro · near
83,663
Walesboro · near
83,663 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #5
Kendall · highest
83,664
Kendall · highest
83,664 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
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 Helen 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: 470.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Helen lands in the 65th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
65th
percentile, household income
71st
percentile, home value
51st
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: Helen, GA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 470 residents in Helen, a small town within Georgia. Households in Helen report a median income of $83,654 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 6.1%. Typical homes in Helen are valued around $344,000, and the median resident age is 63.2 years. About 44.0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 47.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 8 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 300% from five years earlier. The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 57.4°F with 72.7 inches of precipitation per year and 1.5 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Georgia run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Georgia scores 96.3 (Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,203 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $225 across Georgia, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. 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 Helen'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 to climate and hazard context to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Helen, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Helen?
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 Georgia, the closest population matches are Arnoldsville (470 residents, $46,964 income); Fargo (470 residents, $71,105 income); Lexington (470 residents, $80,000 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Rancho Mesa Verde, AZ (470 residents); Red Mesa, AZ (470 residents); Michigantown, IN (470 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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 83.0%. 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Helen?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 6.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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 57.4°F, with 72.7 inches of precipitation and 1.5 inches of annual snowfall. 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.
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 Helen growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +98 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +18.4% 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 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.
2020 estimate
533
2025 estimate
631
Period change
+18.4%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Above median income · poverty 6.1% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
96.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Georgia average
C+
City profile score · Helen, GA
63/100
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+
44.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income C+
$83,654
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate C
6.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
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.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Helen profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 79/100 (B+) · 44.0%
Household income: 63/100 (C+) · $83,654
Poverty rate: 58/100 (C) · 6.1%
Cost of living: 57/100 (C) · 96.3 index
How does Helen compare to other US cities?
Where Helen sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income65% higher than other cities
Home value71% pricier than other cities
Median rent51% 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 Helen 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 Helen near the bottom of Georgia's cities
Among the 638 Georgia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Helen ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Helen only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#95 of 610
84th percentile in Georgia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 638
0th percentile in Georgia
Median Home Value
#65 of 577
89th percentile in Georgia
Poverty Rate
#461 of 637
27th percentile in Georgia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#65 of 638
90th 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
65th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Helen's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$344,00029th percentilemore affordable than 29% 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
Helen's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#11,016 of 15,516
More affordable than 29% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#8,565 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.1×, Helen sits in the moderate band:
national rank #11,016 of 15,516 and #8,565 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
$83,654Helen, GA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Helen, 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 Helen, GA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)44.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)6.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)47.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
470
Median Income
$83,654
Median Home Value
$344,000
Median Age
63.2
Poverty Rate
6.1%
Labor force participation
47.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
44.0%
Climate
Avg Temperature
57.4°F
Annual Precipitation
72.7"
Annual Snowfall
1.5"
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Helen's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
533 residents
2021
544 residents
2022
577 residents
2023
598 residents
2024
628 residents
2025
631 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
8
housing units authorized
Single-Family
8
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
17
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
2
2
0
$0.9M
2020
12
6
6
$2.9M
2021
43
13
30
$6.8M
2022
29
9
20
$6.8M
2023
32
9
23
$6.6M
2024
8
8
0
$2.5M
Permit volume increased 300% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
83.0%
Carpool
5.2%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
4.7%
Work from Home
7.1%
Based on 212 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 Helen. 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 Helen 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 Helen sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Helen 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, 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.