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Place dossier plate
SheetID-PONDERAY-ID · Ponderay, ID 1,456 pop · income 20th 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 Ponderay
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Ponderay on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Hartford · lowest
39,364
Hartford · lowest
39,364 median HH income
44.0% of the leader · rank #1
Booneville · near
50,112
Booneville · near
50,112 median HH income
56.0% of the leader · rank #2
Bean Station · near
50,114
Bean Station · near
50,114 median HH income
56.0% of the leader · rank #3
Ponderay · this city
50,119
Ponderay · this city
50,119 median HH income
56.0% of the leader · rank #4
North La Junta · near
50,125
North La Junta · near
50,125 median HH income
56.0% of the leader · rank #5
Cedar Rapids · near
50,125
Cedar Rapids · near
50,125 median HH income
56.0% of the leader · rank #6
Tyhee · highest
89,500
Tyhee · highest
89,500 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 Ponderay 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: 1,456.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Ponderay - the verdict
Nationally, Ponderay sits in the 20th percentile for household income and the 86th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
20th
percentile, household income
77th
percentile, home value
51st
percentile, median rent
86th
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: Ponderay, ID
1,456 people live in Ponderay, Idaho - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $50,119 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 9.8%. Ponderay's housing stock carries a median value of $391,700, and the median resident age is 39.9 years. About 9.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 58.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 6 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 500% from five years earlier. Ponderay reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 490.6 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Idaho run below the national norm: the state registers 95.5 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,173 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $170 across Idaho, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 38.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Ponderay'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 housing and income to reported crime to comparison shortlist to population change to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Ponderay, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
How far does income reach against housing in Ponderay?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 7.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Ponderay?
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.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 490.6 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 78% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Which cities make useful reference points for Ponderay?
Within Idaho, the closest population matches are Glenns Ferry (1,443 residents, $51,625 income); Tyhee (1,475 residents, $89,500 income); Moyie Springs (1,420 residents, $61,783 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Redfield, AR (1,456 residents); Pierson, FL (1,456 residents); Hartford, IL (1,456 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.
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.
Is Ponderay growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +721 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +55.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 6 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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 Ponderay?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 65.0%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
6.2%
Work from home
4.5%
Drive alone
65.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 709 workers age 16+.
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 A
45 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger 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.
Poverty rate D
9.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$50,119
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
9.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Ponderay profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 85/100 (A) · 45 /100k
Cost of living: 61/100 (C+) · 95.5 index
Poverty rate: 40/100 (D) · 9.8%
Household income: 20/100 (F) · $50,119
Bachelor's+ share: 5/100 (F) · 9.4%
Where Ponderay sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Ponderay'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 - Ponderay highlighted among 24 peers.Read the chart values
Ponderay, ID (this city): home $391,700, crime 491/100k
Redfield, AR : home $145,500, crime 1,614/100k
Hartford, IL : home $65,800, crime 1,657/100k
Sun Valley, ID : home $845,600, crime 510/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Ponderay compare to other US cities?
Where Ponderay sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income20% higher than other cities
Home value77% pricier than other cities
Median rent51% pricier than other cities
Safety86% 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, Ponderay ranks #10 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 Ponderay 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 Ponderay near the bottom of Idaho's cities
Among the 215 Idaho cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Ponderay ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Ponderay only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#163 of 206
21st percentile in Idaho
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 215
0th percentile in Idaho
Median Home Value
#30 of 204
85th percentile in Idaho
Poverty Rate
#87 of 215
59th percentile in Idaho
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#184 of 215
14th 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
20th percentile nationally for median household income · 86th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Ponderay's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Ponderay'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 Ponderay's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$391,70023rd percentilemore affordable than 23% 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
Ponderay's home-value-to-income ratio: 7.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,961 of 15,516
More affordable than 4% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,977 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 7.8×, Ponderay sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,961 of 15,516 and #10,977 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
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
$50,119Ponderay, ID median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Ponderay, 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 Ponderay, ID.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)9.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.8%
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
1,456
Median Income
$50,119
Median Home Value
$391,700
Median Age
39.9
Poverty Rate
9.8%
Labor force participation
58.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
9.4%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
490.6
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
44.6
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
446.0
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.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Ponderay's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,303 residents
2021
1,467 residents
2022
1,598 residents
2023
1,950 residents
2024
1,994 residents
2025
2,024 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
6
housing units authorized
Single-Family
6
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
4.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.3M
2020
57
25
32
$11.9M
2021
47
47
0
$14.5M
2022
164
8
156
$16.5M
2023
6
6
0
$1.1M
2024
6
6
0
$1.9M
Permit volume increased 500% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
65.0%
Carpool
11.8%
Public Transit
6.2%
Walk
11.8%
Work from Home
4.5%
Other
0.7%
Based on 709 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 Ponderay. 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 Ponderay 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 Ponderay sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Ponderay 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, 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.