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Place dossier plate
SheetGA-TIFTON-GA · Tifton, GA 17,140 pop · income 12th pct · 12 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 Tifton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Tifton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Laurel · lowest
37,781
Laurel · lowest
37,781 median HH income
29.3% of the leader · rank #1
Louisville · near
44,318
Louisville · near
44,318 median HH income
34.3% of the leader · rank #2
Anderson · near
44,321
Anderson · near
44,321 median HH income
34.3% of the leader · rank #3
Tifton · this city
44,324
Tifton · this city
44,324 median HH income
34.3% of the leader · rank #4
Binghamton · near
44,331
Binghamton · near
44,331 median HH income
34.3% of the leader · rank #5
Lauderdale La… · near
44,333
Lauderdale La… · near
44,333 median HH income
34.3% of the leader · rank #6
Hampton Bays · highest
129,080
Hampton Bays · highest
129,080 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Tifton 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: 17,140.
Nationally, Tifton sits in the 12th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
12th
percentile, household income
31st
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: Tifton, GA
17,140 people live in Tifton, Georgia - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Tifton households earn a median of $44,324 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 19.5%. Tifton's housing stock carries a median value of $161,700, and the median resident age is 33.3 years. Educational attainment runs 21.5% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 52.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 92 residential building permits were authorized in Tifton (Construction Slowdown), down 38% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 64.9°F with 48.2 inches of precipitation per year.
Living costs in Georgia run below the national norm: the state registers 96.3 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,203 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Georgia's average monthly utility costs around $225 (state average). Commute times here average 19.9 minutes, with 77.2% driving alone and 6.2% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 39.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Tifton'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 schools and households to housing and income to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to population change to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Tifton, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for 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 Tifton?
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 Milledgeville (16,873 residents, $39,669 income); Richmond Hill (17,408 residents, $89,910 income); Powder Springs (17,414 residents, $96,961 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Hampton Bays, NY (17,138 residents); Avenel, NJ (17,143 residents); Laurel, MS (17,129 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.
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 10 public schools within the city match. 21.5% 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Tifton?
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 3.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 19.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
PlainCities matches 12 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.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Tifton?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.2%. The reported mean trip to work is 19.9 minutes.
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
77.2%
Work from home
6.2%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 6,943 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 64.9°F, with 48.2 inches of precipitation. 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
Annual precipitation
48.2 in
Mean temperature
64.9°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +516 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +3.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 92 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
17,079
2025 estimate
17,595
Period change
+3.0%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Georgia average
F
City profile score · Tifton, GA
29/100
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.
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
21.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
19.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$44,324
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).
Tifton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 57/100 (C) · 96.3 index
Bachelor's+ share: 39/100 (F) · 21.5%
Poverty rate: 14/100 (F) · 19.5%
Household income: 13/100 (F) · $44,324
How does Tifton compare to other US cities?
Where Tifton sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income12% higher than other cities
Home value31% 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 Tifton 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 Tifton near the bottom of Georgia's cities
Among the 638 Georgia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Tifton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Tifton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#422 of 610
31st percentile in Georgia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 638
0th percentile in Georgia
Median Home Value
#304 of 577
47th percentile in Georgia
Poverty Rate
#187 of 637
70th percentile in Georgia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#239 of 638
62nd 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
12th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Tifton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$161,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 69% 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
Tifton's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#9,539 of 15,516
More affordable than 39% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,636 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.6×, Tifton sits in the moderate band:
national rank #9,539 of 15,516 and #1,636 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
$44,324Tifton, GA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Tifton, 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 Tifton, GA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)21.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)19.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)52.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
17,140
Median Income
$44,324
Median Home Value
$161,700
Median Age
33.3
Poverty Rate
19.5%
Labor force participation
52.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
21.5%
Climate
Avg Temperature
64.9°F
Annual Precipitation
48.2"
Annual Snowfall
0.0"
Schools
Total Schools
10
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Tifton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
17,079 residents
2021
16,987 residents
2022
17,223 residents
2023
17,426 residents
2024
17,525 residents
2025
17,595 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
92
housing units authorized
Single-Family
32
detached homes
Multifamily
60
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
5.4
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
149
37
112
$12.5M
2020
85
29
56
$8.5M
2021
105
35
70
$10.5M
2022
118
35
83
$11.6M
2023
102
33
69
$10.1M
2024
92
32
60
$9.2M
Permit volume decreased 38% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
19.9 minutes
Drive Alone
77.2%
Carpool
12.8%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.8%
Work from Home
6.2%
Other
2.0%
Based on 6,943 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 Tifton. 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 Tifton 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 Tifton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Tifton 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, NCES CCD, 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.