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Place dossier plate
SheetID-BUHL-ID · Buhl, ID 4,624 pop · income 14th pct · 17 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 Buhl
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Buhl on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Eastport · lowest
46,205
Eastport · lowest
46,205 median HH income
31.1% of the leader · rank #1
Eastman · near
46,214
Eastman · near
46,214 median HH income
31.1% of the leader · rank #2
Buhl · this city
46,217
Buhl · this city
46,217 median HH income
31.1% of the leader · rank #3
Duncan · near
46,219
Duncan · near
46,219 median HH income
31.1% of the leader · rank #4
Rio Communiti… · near
46,223
Rio Communiti… · near
46,223 median HH income
31.1% of the leader · rank #5
Palestine · near
46,228
Palestine · near
46,228 median HH income
31.1% of the leader · rank #6
Blue Point · highest
148,684
Blue Point · highest
148,684 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 Buhl 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: 4,624.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Buhl - the verdict
Nationally, Buhl sits in the 14th percentile for household income and the 89th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
14th
percentile, household income
41st
percentile, home value
51st
percentile, median rent
89th
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: Buhl, ID
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 4,624 residents in Buhl, a small town within Idaho. Median household income here is $46,217 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 5.0%. Typical homes in Buhl are valued around $192,600, and the median resident age is 35.5 years. 14.1% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 58.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 30 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 76% from five years earlier. Buhl reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 419.7 incidents per 100,000 residents, below the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Buhl's yearly average temperature at 50.2°F with 10.2 inches of precipitation per year.
Living costs in Idaho run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Idaho scores 95.5 (Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,173 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $170 across Idaho, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Natural-hazard exposure scores 38.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Buhl'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 work and mobility to within-city variation to climate and hazard context to comparison shortlist to population change to reported crime to schools and households to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Buhl, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Buhl?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 78.9%. 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.
PlainCities matches 17 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.
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 50.2°F, with 10.2 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Idaho is 38.5 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Buhl?
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 Idaho, the closest population matches are American Falls (4,636 residents, $58,376 income); Kimberly (4,883 residents, $76,587 income); Shelley (4,987 residents, $63,864 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Colchester, CT (4,624 residents); Michigan Center, MI (4,623 residents); Boiling Springs, NC (4,625 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.
Population change
Is Buhl growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +235 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 30 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
4,566
2025 estimate
4,801
Period change
+5.1%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 419.7 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 82% 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
419.7
Violent rate
83.9
Property rate
335.8
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
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 4 public schools within the city match. 14.1% 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.
Poverty estimate
5.0%
Bachelor's degree+
14.1%
Matched public schools
4
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Buhl?
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 4.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
4.2×
Home value
$192,600
Household income
$46,217
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
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.
Violent crime B+
84 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate B-
5.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living C+
95.5 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
14.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$46,217
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Buhl profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 75/100 (B+) · 84 /100k
Poverty rate: 65/100 (B-) · 5.0%
Cost of living: 61/100 (C+) · 95.5 index
Bachelor's+ share: 18/100 (F) · 14.1%
Household income: 15/100 (F) · $46,217
Where Buhl sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Buhl'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 - Buhl highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Buhl, ID (this city): home $192,600, crime 420/100k
Oconto, WI : home $133,900, crime 584/100k
American Falls, ID : home $172,800, crime 556/100k
Kimberly, ID : home $289,500, crime 409/100k
Shelley, ID : home $267,200, crime 1,093/100k
Rigby, ID : home $267,200, crime 1,355/100k
McCall, ID : home $564,500, crime 1,552/100k
St. Anthony, ID : home $199,600, crime 629/100k
How does Buhl compare to other US cities?
Buhl measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income14% higher than other cities
Home value41% pricier than other cities
Median rent51% pricier than other cities
Safety89% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Idaho alone, Buhl ranks #7 of 53 Idaho cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Buhl against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Idaho only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Idaho-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Buhl near the bottom of Idaho's cities
Among the 215 Idaho cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Buhl ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Buhl only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#178 of 206
14th percentile in Idaho
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 215
0th percentile in Idaho
Median Home Value
#152 of 204
25th percentile in Idaho
Poverty Rate
#143 of 215
33rd percentile in Idaho
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#150 of 215
30th percentile in Idaho
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 Idaho only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
14th percentile nationally for median household income · 89th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Buhl's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Buhl'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 Buhl's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$192,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 59% 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
Buhl's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#11,159 of 15,516
More affordable than 28% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#8,663 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.2×, Buhl sits in the moderate band:
national rank #11,159 of 15,516 and #8,663 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
$46,217Buhl, ID median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Buhl, ID median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Buhl, ID.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)14.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
4,624
Median Income
$46,217
Median Home Value
$192,600
Median Age
35.5
Poverty Rate
5.0%
Labor force participation
58.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
419.7
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
83.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
335.8
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
50.2°F
Annual Precipitation
10.2"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
4
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Buhl's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
4,566 residents
2021
4,656 residents
2022
4,674 residents
2023
4,725 residents
2024
4,759 residents
2025
4,801 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
30
housing units authorized
Single-Family
22
detached homes
Multifamily
8
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
6.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
17
17
0
$2.2M
2020
46
46
0
$5.9M
2021
25
25
0
$4.9M
2022
18
16
2
$3.1M
2023
13
11
2
$4.0M
2024
30
22
8
$8.1M
Permit volume increased 76% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
78.9%
Carpool
12.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.0%
Work from Home
6.2%
Other
1.9%
Based on 2,065 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Idaho statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $170
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Idaho at $170 (electricity about $80 , water and sewer about $40 ).
These are Idaho statewide averages, not a meter reading for Buhl. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Idaho's BEA cost-of-living index is 95.5 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Buhl is $1,173/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Idaho statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 38.5 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Idaho statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Buhl sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Buhl compares to similar-size Idaho 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 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.