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.
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.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Big Clifty 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: 302.
Big Clifty has 302 residents in Kentucky. Source: Census ACS.
11th
percentile, home value
10th
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: Big Clifty, KY
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 302 residents in Big Clifty, a small town within Kentucky. Typical homes in Big Clifty are valued around $103,600, and the median resident age is 27.0 years. About 3.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 50.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Living costs in Kentucky run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Kentucky at 90.2 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $984 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Kentucky's average monthly utility costs around $225 (state average). Commute times here average 35.5 minutes, with 100.0% driving alone and 0.0% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 44.2 out of 100 (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Big Clifty'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 comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Big Clifty, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Big Clifty?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 100.0%. The reported mean trip to work is 35.5 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. 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 Big Clifty?
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 Kentucky, the closest population matches are Ages (302 residents, $45,333 income); McRoberts (303 residents); Moseleyville (303 residents). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are County Line, AL (302 residents); Crystal Springs, AR (302 residents); Hickory Ridge, AR (302 residents). These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
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 A
90.2 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 F
21.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
3.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income N/A
N/A
No ACS median household income on file for this place.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Big Clifty profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.2 index
Poverty rate: 10/100 (F) · 21.9%
Bachelor's+ share: 0/100 (F) · 3.1%
How does Big Clifty compare to other US cities?
Where Big Clifty sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Home value11% pricier than other cities
Median rent10% 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 Big Clifty against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Kentucky only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Kentucky-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Big Clifty near the bottom of Kentucky's cities
Among the 520 Kentucky cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Big Clifty ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Big Clifty only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 520
0th percentile in Kentucky
Median Home Value
#369 of 484
24th percentile in Kentucky
Poverty Rate
#126 of 519
76th percentile in Kentucky
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#489 of 520
6th percentile in Kentucky
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 Kentucky only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
How Big Clifty's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$103,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 89% 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
Income distribution context
Median household income is not available for Big Clifty in the current Census ACS release (common for very small places).
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)3.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)21.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)50.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
302
Median Income
N/A
Median Home Value
$103,600
Median Age
27.0
Poverty Rate
21.9%
Labor force participation
50.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
3.1%
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
35.5 minutes
Drive Alone
100.0%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
0.0%
Based on 109 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Kentucky statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Kentucky at $225 (electricity about $115 , water and sewer about $40 ).
These are Kentucky statewide averages, not a meter reading for Big Clifty. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Kentucky's BEA cost-of-living index is 90.2 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Big Clifty is $984/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Kentucky statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 44.2 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Kentucky statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Big Clifty sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Big Clifty compares to similar-size Kentucky 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, 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.