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Place dossier plate
SheetKS-RILEY-KS · Riley, KS 826 pop · income 60th 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 Riley
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Riley on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Clyde · lowest
51,000
Clyde · lowest
51,000 median HH income
40.8% of the leader · rank #1
Riley · this city
78,125
Riley · this city
78,125 median HH income
62.5% of the leader · rank #2
King Cove · near
78,125
King Cove · near
78,125 median HH income
62.5% of the leader · rank #3
Picacho · near
78,125
Picacho · near
78,125 median HH income
62.5% of the leader · rank #4
Cherry Valley · near
78,125
Cherry Valley · near
78,125 median HH income
62.5% of the leader · rank #5
Genesee · near
78,125
Genesee · near
78,125 median HH income
62.5% of the leader · rank #6
Allenspark · highest
125,048
Allenspark · highest
125,048 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 Riley 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: 826.
Nationally, Riley sits in the 60th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
60th
percentile, household income
32nd
percentile, home value
6th
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: Riley, KS
Kansas's Riley is a small town, with 826 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. The typical household in Riley brings in $78,125 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 1.7%. Riley's housing stock carries a median value of $164,000, and the median resident age is 36.9 years. About 31.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 76.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 3 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Low Activity).
Living costs in Kansas run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Kansas scores 90.1 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $947 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Kansas run around $217, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 29.9 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Riley'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 population change to comparison shortlist to housing and income to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Riley, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Riley?
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 72.3%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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 +15 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 3 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Riley?
Within Kansas, the closest population matches are Wilson (824 residents, $58,214 income); Clyde (823 residents, $51,000 income); Enterprise (831 residents, $61,029 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Manila, CA (826 residents); Allenspark, CO (826 residents); Hedrick, IA (826 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Riley?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 1.7%, 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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Riley?
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 31.9% 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.
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.
Matched public schools
2
Bachelor's degree+
31.9%
Poverty estimate
1.7%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
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 A
1.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living A
90.1 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 C+
31.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income C
$78,125
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).
Riley profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 88/100 (A) · 1.7%
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.1 index
Bachelor's+ share: 61/100 (C+) · 31.9%
Household income: 58/100 (C) · $78,125
How does Riley compare to other US cities?
Riley measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income60% higher than other cities
Home value32% pricier than other cities
Median rent6% 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 Riley against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Kansas only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Kansas-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Riley near the bottom of Kansas's cities
Among the 552 Kansas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Riley ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Riley only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#90 of 527
83rd percentile in Kansas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 552
0th percentile in Kansas
Median Home Value
#96 of 527
82nd percentile in Kansas
Poverty Rate
#461 of 552
16th percentile in Kansas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#94 of 552
83rd percentile in Kansas
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 Kansas only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
60th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Riley's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$164,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 68% 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
Riley's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,003 of 15,516
More affordable than 87% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,898 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.1×, Riley sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,003 of 15,516 and #1,898 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$78,125Riley, KS median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Riley, KS median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Riley, KS.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)31.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)1.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)76.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
826
Median Income
$78,125
Median Home Value
$164,000
Median Age
36.9
Poverty Rate
1.7%
Labor force participation
76.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
31.9%
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
Riley's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
941 residents
2021
941 residents
2022
931 residents
2023
933 residents
2024
944 residents
2025
956 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
3
housing units authorized
Single-Family
3
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
2
2
0
$0.2M
2021
2
2
0
$0.3M
2022
2
2
0
$0.4M
2023
5
5
0
$1.2M
2024
3
3
0
$0.5M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
72.3%
Carpool
15.8%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.6%
Work from Home
8.4%
Other
0.9%
Based on 455 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Kansas statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $217
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Kansas at $217 (electricity about $110 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Kansas statewide averages, not a meter reading for Riley. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Kansas's BEA cost-of-living index is 90.1 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Riley is $947/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Kansas statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 29.9 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Kansas statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Riley sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Riley compares to similar-size Kansas 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 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.