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.
Place dossier plate
SheetIL-BUNCOMBE-IL · Buncombe, IL 341 pop · income 39th 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 Buncombe
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Buncombe on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Hornbrook · lowest
33,750
Hornbrook · lowest
33,750 median HH income
20.4% of the leader · rank #1
Buncombe · this city
62,500
Buncombe · this city
62,500 median HH income
37.7% of the leader · rank #2
Industry · near
62,500
Industry · near
62,500 median HH income
37.7% of the leader · rank #3
Billtown · near
62,500
Billtown · near
62,500 median HH income
37.7% of the leader · rank #4
Boonville · near
62,500
Boonville · near
62,500 median HH income
37.7% of the leader · rank #5
Chrisney · near
62,500
Chrisney · near
62,500 median HH income
37.7% of the leader · rank #6
Walcott · highest
165,828
Walcott · highest
165,828 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 Buncombe 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: 341.
Nationally, Buncombe sits in the 39th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
39th
percentile, household income
18th
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: Buncombe, IL
Illinois's Buncombe is a small town, with 341 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Buncombe households earn a median of $62,500 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 11.6%. The median resident age is 26.2 years. Educational attainment runs 11.7% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 52.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 2 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
Illinois tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: the state registers 100.0 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Near Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,063 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Illinois run around $240, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 54.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Buncombe'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 work and mobility to comparison shortlist to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Buncombe, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Buncombe growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +2 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.0% 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.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
What does the journey to work look like in Buncombe?
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Buncombe?
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 Illinois, the closest population matches are Sadorus (342 residents, $97,560 income); Xenia (340 residents, $44,107 income); Carman (343 residents, $153,419 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Walcott, AR (341 residents); Hornbrook, CA (341 residents); Winchester, KS (341 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 matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 11.7% 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.
Below median income · poverty 11.6% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
100.0 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Illinois average
F
City profile score · Buncombe, IL
32/100
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 D
100.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income F
$62,500
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
11.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
11.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Buncombe profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 40/100 (D) · 100.0 index
Household income: 38/100 (F) · $62,500
Poverty rate: 33/100 (F) · 11.6%
Bachelor's+ share: 11/100 (F) · 11.7%
How does Buncombe compare to other US cities?
Here's how Buncombe stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income39% higher than other cities
Median rent18% 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 Buncombe against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Illinois only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Illinois-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Buncombe near the bottom of Illinois's cities
Among the 1,336 Illinois cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Buncombe ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Buncombe only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#773 of 1,311
41st percentile in Illinois
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,336
0th percentile in Illinois
Poverty Rate
#380 of 1,335
71st percentile in Illinois
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#1,007 of 1,336
24th percentile in Illinois
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 Illinois only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
39th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Income distribution context
$62,500Buncombe, IL median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Buncombe, IL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Buncombe, IL.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)11.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)11.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)52.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
341
Median Income
$62,500
Median Home Value
N/A
Median Age
26.2
Poverty Rate
11.6%
Labor force participation
52.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
11.7%
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Buncombe's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
205 residents
2021
208 residents
2022
208 residents
2023
207 residents
2024
205 residents
2025
207 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
94.4%
Carpool
2.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.8%
Work from Home
0.0%
Other
2.4%
Based on 124 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Illinois statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $240
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Illinois at $240 (electricity about $100 , water and sewer about $50 ).
These are Illinois statewide averages, not a meter reading for Buncombe. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Illinois's BEA cost-of-living index is 100.0 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Buncombe is $1,063/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Illinois statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 54.5 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Illinois statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Buncombe sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Buncombe compares to similar-size Illinois 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, NCES CCD, 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.