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Place dossier plate
SheetMA-CHATHAM-MA · Chatham, MA 1,614 pop · income 64th 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 Chatham
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Chatham on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Van Buren · lowest
35,200
Van Buren · lowest
35,200 median HH income
27.8% of the leader · rank #1
Inwood · near
82,267
Inwood · near
82,267 median HH income
64.9% of the leader · rank #2
Chatham · this city
82,269
Chatham · this city
82,269 median HH income
64.9% of the leader · rank #3
Tubac · near
82,273
Tubac · near
82,273 median HH income
64.9% of the leader · rank #4
Luling · near
82,273
Luling · near
82,273 median HH income
64.9% of the leader · rank #5
Arcadia · near
82,273
Arcadia · near
82,273 median HH income
64.9% of the leader · rank #6
Duxbury · highest
126,750
Duxbury · highest
126,750 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 Chatham 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: 1,614.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Chatham - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Chatham places in the 64th percentile for household income and the 77th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
64th
percentile, household income
99th
percentile, home value
98th
percentile, median rent
77th
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: Chatham, MA
Chatham is a small town in Massachusetts, home to 1,614 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Chatham brings in $82,269 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 8.7%. Typical homes in Chatham are valued around $1,550,000, and the median resident age is 67.4 years. About 60.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 28.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Chatham reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 686.8 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Chatham's yearly average temperature at 50.3°F with 45.9 inches of precipitation per year and 24.5 inches of snowfall.
Massachusetts carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Massachusetts at 105.8 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Above Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $2,261 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Massachusetts run around $330, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 78.8 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Chatham'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 reported crime to schools and households to work and mobility to climate and hazard context; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Chatham, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Chatham?
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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 18.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Chatham?
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 Massachusetts, the closest population matches are Orleans (1,618 residents, $76,768 income); Duxbury (1,620 residents, $126,750 income); Harwich Center (1,620 residents, $76,944 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Crainville, IL (1,614 residents); Van Buren, ME (1,614 residents); Wilson-Conococheague, MD (1,614 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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Chatham?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 686.8 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 70% lower 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.
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. 60.4% 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.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Chatham?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 74.2%. 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. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Drive alone
74.2%
Work from home
16.3%
Public transit
2.8%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 466 workers age 16+.
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.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 50.3°F, with 45.9 inches of precipitation and 24.5 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Massachusetts is 78.8 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.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
78.8
Annual precipitation
45.9 in
Mean temperature
50.3°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Above median income · poverty 8.7% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
105.8 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Massachusetts average
C-
City profile score · Chatham, MA
52/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share A+
60.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income C+
$82,269
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime C-
175 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate D
8.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living F
105.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Chatham profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 92/100 (A+) · 60.4%
Household income: 62/100 (C+) · $82,269
Violent crime: 52/100 (C-) · 175 /100k
Poverty rate: 45/100 (D) · 8.7%
Cost of living: 18/100 (F) · 105.8 index
Where Chatham sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Chatham'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 - Chatham highlighted among 25 peers.Read the chart values
Chatham, MA (this city): home $1,550,000, crime 687/100k
Rural Retreat, VA : home $167,900, crime 328/100k
Orleans, MA : home $542,500, crime 995/100k
Duxbury, MA : home $1,386,200, crime 345/100k
Groton, MA : home $736,800, crime 235/100k
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 Chatham compare to other US cities?
Here's how Chatham stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income64% higher than other cities
Home value99% pricier than other cities
Median rent98% pricier than other cities
Safety77% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Massachusetts and the picture shifts: Chatham ranks #52 of 149 Massachusetts cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Chatham against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Massachusetts only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Massachusetts-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Chatham near the bottom of Massachusetts's cities
Among the 247 Massachusetts cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Chatham ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Chatham only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#158 of 233
32nd percentile in Massachusetts
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 247
0th percentile in Massachusetts
Median Home Value
#1 of 240
100th percentile in Massachusetts
Poverty Rate
#58 of 247
77th percentile in Massachusetts
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#57 of 247
77th percentile in Massachusetts
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 Massachusetts only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
64th percentile nationally for median household income · 77th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Chatham's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Chatham'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 Chatham's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$1,550,0001st percentilemore affordable than 1% 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
Chatham's home-value-to-income ratio: 18.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,506 of 15,516
More affordable than 0% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#11,315 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 18.8×, Chatham sits in the pressured band:
national rank #15,506 of 15,516 and #11,315 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
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
$82,269Chatham, MA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Chatham, MA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Chatham, MA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)60.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)28.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,614
Median Income
$82,269
Median Home Value
$1,550,000
Median Age
67.4
Poverty Rate
8.7%
Labor force participation
28.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
60.4%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
686.8
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
175.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
511.5
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.
Climate
Avg Temperature
50.3°F
Annual Precipitation
45.9"
Annual Snowfall
24.5"
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
74.2%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
2.8%
Walk
3.9%
Work from Home
16.3%
Other
2.8%
Based on 466 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Massachusetts statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $330
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Massachusetts at $330 (electricity about $160 , water and sewer about $60 ).
These are Massachusetts statewide averages, not a meter reading for Chatham. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Massachusetts's BEA cost-of-living index is 105.8 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Chatham is $2,261/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Massachusetts statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 78.8 / 100 (High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Massachusetts statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Chatham sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Chatham compares to similar-size Massachusetts 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 ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.