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Place dossier plate
SheetKY-FULTON-KY · Fulton, KY 2,345 pop · income 5th pct · 1 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 Fulton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Fulton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Harlan · lowest
30,365
Harlan · lowest
30,365 median HH income
14.1% of the leader · rank #1
Fulton · this city
36,037
Fulton · this city
36,037 median HH income
16.7% of the leader · rank #2
East Bakersfi… · near
36,039
East Bakersfi… · near
36,039 median HH income
16.8% of the leader · rank #3
Mattawamkeag · near
36,042
Mattawamkeag · near
36,042 median HH income
16.8% of the leader · rank #4
Watha · near
36,042
Watha · near
36,042 median HH income
16.8% of the leader · rank #5
Welch · near
36,042
Welch · near
36,042 median HH income
16.8% of the leader · rank #6
Anchorage · highest
215,156
Anchorage · highest
215,156 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 Fulton 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: 2,345.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Fulton - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Fulton lands in the 5th percentile for household income and the 16th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
5th
percentile, household income
1st
percentile, home value
10th
percentile, median rent
16th
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: Fulton, KY
Fulton is a small town in Kentucky, home to 2,345 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Fulton households earn a median of $36,037 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 32.6%. Typical homes in Fulton are valued around $61,200, and the median resident age is 36.9 years. About 18.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 51.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 7 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Low Activity). Fulton's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 3000.9 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, above the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $984 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Kentucky's average monthly utility costs around $225 (state average). 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 Fulton'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 comparison shortlist to population change to schools and households to within-city variation to work and mobility to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Fulton, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Fulton?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 32.6%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Fulton?
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 Kentucky, the closest population matches are Elk Creek (2,344 residents, $127,487 income); Horse Cave (2,348 residents, $51,927 income); Carlisle (2,356 residents, $46,292 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Granby, MO (2,345 residents); West Hill, OH (2,345 residents); East Oakdale, CA (2,346 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.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -106 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -4.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 7 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 downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
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.
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 Fulton?
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 1 public school within the city match. 18.5% 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
32.6%
Bachelor's degree+
18.5%
Matched public schools
1
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in Fulton?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 73.6%. 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.
Drive alone
73.6%
Work from home
5.1%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 845 workers age 16+.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Fulton?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3000.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 32% higher 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
3000.9
Violent rate
132.4
Property rate
2868.5
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 32.6% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.2 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Kentucky average
F
City profile score · Fulton, KY
34/100
5 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 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.
Violent crime C+
132 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
18.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$36,037
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
32.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Fulton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.2 index
Violent crime: 63/100 (C+) · 132 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 30/100 (F) · 18.5%
Household income: 1/100 (F) · $36,037
Poverty rate: 0/100 (F) · 32.6%
Where Fulton sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Fulton'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 - Fulton highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Fulton, KY (this city): home $61,200, crime 3,001/100k
Horse Cave, KY : home $93,600, crime 176/100k
Carlisle, KY : home $103,300, crime 236/100k
Harlan, KY : home $112,500, crime 937/100k
Hardinsburg, KY : home $128,400, crime 648/100k
Anchorage, KY : home $827,000, crime 649/100k
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 Fulton compare to other US cities?
Where Fulton sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income5% higher than other cities
Home value1% pricier than other cities
Median rent10% pricier than other cities
Safety16% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Kentucky and the picture shifts: Fulton ranks #171 of 181 Kentucky cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Fulton 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 Fulton near the bottom of Kentucky's cities
Among the 520 Kentucky cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Fulton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Fulton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#409 of 485
16th percentile in Kentucky
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 520
0th percentile in Kentucky
Median Home Value
#470 of 484
3rd percentile in Kentucky
Poverty Rate
#49 of 519
90th percentile in Kentucky
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#252 of 520
51st 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.
Gauge source note
5th percentile nationally for median household income · 16th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Fulton's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Fulton'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 Fulton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$61,200Among the most affordablemore affordable than 99% 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
Fulton's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#741 of 15,516
More affordable than 95% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#723 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.7×, Fulton sits in the affordable band:
national rank #741 of 15,516 and #723 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
$36,037Fulton, KY median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Fulton, KY median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Fulton, KY.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)18.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)32.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)51.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,345
Median Income
$36,037
Median Home Value
$61,200
Median Age
36.9
Poverty Rate
32.6%
Labor force participation
51.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
18.5%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3000.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
132.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2868.5
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.
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Fulton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,358 residents
2021
2,346 residents
2022
2,310 residents
2023
2,298 residents
2024
2,259 residents
2025
2,252 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
7
housing units authorized
Single-Family
4
detached homes
Multifamily
3
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
1
1
0
$0.1M
2024
7
4
3
$1.2M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
73.6%
Carpool
17.2%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.4%
Work from Home
5.1%
Other
1.7%
Based on 845 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 Fulton. 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 Fulton 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 Fulton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Fulton 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, FBI UCR, 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.