City profile · Georgia · Census ACS 2023

Molena, GA

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

658
Residents
$44,531
Median income
$142,900
Median home
$1,203
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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See how it ranks

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

Place dossier plate

Sheet GA-MOLENA-GA · Molena, GA 658 pop · income 12th pct

POP-VILLAGE · INC-LOW · COL-PAR · SAFE-UNK · RANK-BOTTOM · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-LOW · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-VILLAGE 658
  • INC-LOW $44,531
  • COL-PAR 96.3
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-BOTTOM 12th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Dobson
  • HOME-LOW $142,900
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: Dobson, NC (+ $0 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 Molena

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Molena 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 Molena 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: 658.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $44,531. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Molena - the verdict

Molena ranks in the 12th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.

12th
percentile, household income
25th
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: Molena, GA

Molena is a small town in Georgia, home to 658 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Molena households earn a median of $44,531 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 4.0%. Home values in Molena run a median of $142,900, and the median resident age is 41.1 years. About 14.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 40.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

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). 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. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 39.5 out of 100 (Very Low).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Molena'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 population change to housing and income to work and mobility to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Molena, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares. No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

Question 1

Is Molena growing, shrinking, or holding steady?

Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +40 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +10.2% 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.

See the national growth ranking →

2. Housing and income

How far does income reach against housing in Molena?

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 3.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Question 3

What does the journey to work look like in Molena?

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 94.4%. 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. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.

Compare commute patterns →

4. Comparison shortlist

Which cities make useful reference points for Molena?

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 Bethlehem (660 residents, $70,000 income); Moreland (660 residents, $92,375 income); Warwick (660 residents, $37,500 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Walden, CO (658 residents); Lake of the Woods, IN (658 residents); Washburn, IA (658 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.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Population

658 residents

Micro place (under 10k)

Median Household Income

$44,531 /yr

Low income · poverty 4.0% (Below-median poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

96.3 (US=100)

Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Georgia average

City profile score · Molena, GA

40/100

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.

Poverty rate B
4.0%

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.

Bachelor's+ share F
14.5%

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

Household income F
$44,531

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

Violent crime N/A
N/A

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

Molena profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Poverty rate, Cost of living, Bachelor's+ share, Household income. Poverty rateCost of livingBachelor's+ shareHousehold income 40 D
Molena profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Poverty rate: 72/100 (B) · 4.0%
  • Cost of living: 57/100 (C) · 96.3 index
  • Bachelor's+ share: 19/100 (F) · 14.5%
  • Household income: 13/100 (F) · $44,531

How does Molena compare to other US cities?

Here's how Molena stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 12% higher than other cities
Home value 25% pricier than other cities
Median rent 51% 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 Molena 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 Molena near the bottom of Georgia's cities

Among the 638 Georgia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Molena ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Molena only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#418 of 610
31st percentile in Georgia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 638
0th percentile in Georgia
Median Home Value
#346 of 577
40th percentile in Georgia
Poverty Rate
#527 of 637
17th percentile in Georgia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#385 of 638
39th 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.

12thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

12th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Molena's home value compares nationally

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

$142,900 Among the most affordable more affordable than 75% 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%). This entry sits in this band. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Above this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Above this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Above this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Above this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Above this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Above this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $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. Molena $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

Molena's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.2×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,739 of 15,516
More affordable than 50% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#6,387 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)

At 3.2×, Molena sits in the moderate band: national rank #7,739 of 15,516 and #6,387 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

$44,531 Molena, GA median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Molena, GA Molena, GA's median household income ($44,531) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Molena, GA-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Molena, GA median $44,531/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%
Molena, 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 Molena, GA.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 14.5%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 4.0%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 40.5%

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

Population
658
Median Income
$44,531
Median Home Value
$142,900
Median Age
41.1
Poverty Rate
4.0%
Labor force participation
40.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.5%

Population Change

PEP vintage

Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025

See the fastest-growing cities →
380 residents400 residents420 residents440 residents 202020212022202320242025 392 residents 432 residents ▲ +10.2%
Molena's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.
Read the chart as text
Period Population
2020 392 residents
2021 404 residents
2022 413 residents
2023 423 residents
2024 428 residents
2025 432 residents

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
94.4%
Carpool
2.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.0%
Work from Home
1.5%

Based on 198 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 Molena. 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 Molena 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 Molena sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Molena 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.

City Population Median Household Income
Molena (this city) 658 $44,531
Bethlehem 660 $70,000
Moreland 660 $92,375
Warwick 660 $37,500
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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