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Place dossier plate
SheetKY-JACKSON-KY · Jackson, KY 2,128 pop · income 4th pct · 7 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 Jackson
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Jackson on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Chipley · lowest
34,311
Chipley · lowest
34,311 median HH income
19.1% of the leader · rank #1
Jackson · this city
34,317
Jackson · this city
34,317 median HH income
19.1% of the leader · rank #2
Browning · near
34,318
Browning · near
34,318 median HH income
19.1% of the leader · rank #3
Skidway Lake · near
34,320
Skidway Lake · near
34,320 median HH income
19.1% of the leader · rank #4
Ford Heights · near
34,323
Ford Heights · near
34,323 median HH income
19.1% of the leader · rank #5
Sullivan's Is… · highest
179,614
Sullivan's Is… · highest
179,614 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
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 Jackson 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: 2,128.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Jackson - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Jackson places in the 4th percentile for household income and the 74th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
4th
percentile, household income
3rd
percentile, home value
10th
percentile, median rent
74th
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: Jackson, KY
2,128 people live in Jackson, Kentucky - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Jackson report a median income of $34,317 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 16.5%. Jackson's housing stock carries a median value of $75,900, and the median resident age is 44.8 years. 19.0% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 43.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 4 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 300% from five years earlier. Jackson reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 764.5 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). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 57.2°F with 51.9 inches of precipitation per year and 23.4 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Kentucky run below the national norm: the state registers 90.2 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $984 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Kentucky run around $225, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 44.2 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Jackson'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 climate and hazard context to work and mobility to reported crime to housing and income to population change to comparison shortlist to within-city variation to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Jackson, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What physical conditions frame life in Jackson?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 57.2°F, with 51.9 inches of precipitation and 23.4 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Kentucky is 44.2 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
What does the journey to work look like in Jackson?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 87.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Which cities make useful reference points for Jackson?
Within Kentucky, the closest population matches are Elkton (2,158 residents, $45,417 income); North Corbin (2,092 residents, $48,382 income); Edmonton (2,168 residents, $48,583 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Odem, TX (2,128 residents); Columbus Junction, IA (2,129 residents); Bressler, PA (2,129 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.
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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Jackson?
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 764.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 66% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
716.7
Violent rate
47.8
Total reported rate
764.5
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
How far does income reach against housing in Jackson?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 16.5%, 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.
Household income
$34,317
Home value
$75,900
Value / income
2.2×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -183 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -8.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 4 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
-8.2%
2025 estimate
2,054
2020 estimate
2,237
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
The NCES join finds 5 public schools within the city match. 19.0% 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 city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
5
Bachelor's degree+
19.0%
Poverty estimate
16.5%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 16.5% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.2 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Kentucky average
D
City profile score · Jackson, KY
42/100
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 A-
48 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
19.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
16.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$34,317
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Jackson profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 85/100 (A) · 90.2 index
Violent crime: 84/100 (A-) · 48 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 31/100 (F) · 19.0%
Poverty rate: 20/100 (F) · 16.5%
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $34,317
Where Jackson sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Jackson'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 - Jackson highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Jackson, KY (this city): home $75,900, crime 765/100k
Sullivan's Island, SC : home $2,000,000+, crime 1,140/100k
Elkton, KY : home $111,300, crime 874/100k
Edmonton, KY : home $96,200, crime 583/100k
Raceland, KY : home $117,800, crime 393/100k
Sebree, KY : home $99,500, crime 132/100k
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 Jackson compare to other US cities?
Jackson measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income4% higher than other cities
Home value3% pricier than other cities
Median rent10% pricier than other cities
Safety74% 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: Jackson ranks #87 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 Jackson 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 Jackson near the bottom of Kentucky's cities
Among the 520 Kentucky cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Jackson ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Jackson only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#421 of 485
13th percentile in Kentucky
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 520
0th percentile in Kentucky
Median Home Value
#440 of 484
9th percentile in Kentucky
Poverty Rate
#186 of 519
64th percentile in Kentucky
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#242 of 520
53rd 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
4th percentile nationally for median household income · 74th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Jackson's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Jackson'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 Jackson's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$75,900Among the most affordablemore affordable than 97% 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
Jackson's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,516 of 15,516
More affordable than 84% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,355 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.2×, Jackson sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,516 of 15,516 and #2,355 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
$34,317Jackson, KY median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Jackson, 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 Jackson, KY.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)19.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)16.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)43.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,128
Median Income
$34,317
Median Home Value
$75,900
Median Age
44.8
Poverty Rate
16.5%
Labor force participation
43.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
19.0%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
764.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
47.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
716.7
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.
Climate
Avg Temperature
57.2°F
Annual Precipitation
51.9"
Annual Snowfall
23.4"
Schools
Total Schools
5
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Jackson's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,237 residents
2021
2,204 residents
2022
2,145 residents
2023
2,104 residents
2024
2,082 residents
2025
2,054 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
4
housing units authorized
Single-Family
4
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.2M
2020
1
1
0
$0.2M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
1
1
0
$0.2M
2023
1
1
0
$0.3M
2024
4
4
0
$0.6M
Permit volume increased 300% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
87.1%
Carpool
7.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
5.7%
Work from Home
0.0%
Based on 796 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 Jackson. 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 Jackson 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 Jackson sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Jackson 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, NOAA Climate Normals, 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.