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Place dossier plate
SheetMA-SALISBURY-MA · Salisbury, MA 5,735 pop · income 73rd 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 Salisbury
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Salisbury on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Adams · lowest
48,750
Adams · lowest
48,750 median HH income
38.6% of the leader · rank #1
Spring Valley… · near
93,040
Spring Valley… · near
93,040 median HH income
73.6% of the leader · rank #2
Amherst · near
93,043
Amherst · near
93,043 median HH income
73.6% of the leader · rank #3
Salisbury · this city
93,052
Salisbury · this city
93,052 median HH income
73.6% of the leader · rank #4
Mount Kisco · near
93,057
Mount Kisco · near
93,057 median HH income
73.6% of the leader · rank #5
Brandon · near
93,073
Brandon · near
93,073 median HH income
73.6% of the leader · rank #6
Scituate · highest
126,379
Scituate · highest
126,379 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 Salisbury 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: 5,735.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Salisbury - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Salisbury lands in the 73rd percentile for household income and the 75th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
73rd
percentile, household income
81st
percentile, home value
98th
percentile, median rent
75th
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: Salisbury, MA
Massachusetts's Salisbury is a small town, with 5,735 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in Salisbury report a median income of $93,052 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 2.9%. Home values in Salisbury run a median of $441,500, and the median resident age is 48.6 years. 52.1% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 63.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Salisbury reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 740.9 incidents per 100,000 residents, below the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $2,261 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Massachusetts's average monthly utility costs around $330 (state average). Natural-hazard exposure scores 78.8 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Salisbury'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 schools and households to reported crime to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Salisbury, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
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 Salisbury?
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 4.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Salisbury?
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 Ware (5,723 residents, $52,039 income); East Harwich (5,670 residents, $108,157 income); Bliss Corner (5,666 residents, $73,919 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Bright, IN (5,735 residents); Central City, KY (5,736 residents); Webster, NY (5,734 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 does the education layer cover for Salisbury?
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. 52.1% 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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Salisbury?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 740.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 68% 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.
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 Salisbury?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 75.1%. 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
75.1%
Work from home
17.4%
Public transit
0.8%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 3,255 workers age 16+.
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
52.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate B+
2.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income B
$93,052
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime C-
180 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger 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.
Salisbury profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 86/100 (A) · 52.1%
Poverty rate: 79/100 (B+) · 2.9%
Household income: 72/100 (B) · $93,052
Violent crime: 51/100 (C-) · 180 /100k
Cost of living: 18/100 (F) · 105.8 index
Where Salisbury sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Salisbury'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 - Salisbury highlighted among 27 peers.Read the chart values
Salisbury, MA (this city): home $441,500, crime 741/100k
Central City, KY : home $140,700, crime 1,068/100k
Tontitown, AR : home $394,200, crime 655/100k
Newmarket, NH : home $364,800, crime 432/100k
Ware, MA : home $229,700, crime 1,052/100k
Scituate, MA : home $699,200, crime 157/100k
Adams, MA : home $189,100, crime 1,510/100k
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 Salisbury compare to other US cities?
Salisbury measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income73% higher than other cities
Home value81% pricier than other cities
Median rent98% pricier than other cities
Safety75% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Massachusetts alone, Salisbury ranks #59 of 149 Massachusetts cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Salisbury 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 Salisbury near the bottom of Massachusetts's cities
Among the 247 Massachusetts cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Salisbury ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Salisbury only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#132 of 233
43rd percentile in Massachusetts
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 247
0th percentile in Massachusetts
Median Home Value
#147 of 240
39th percentile in Massachusetts
Poverty Rate
#152 of 247
38th percentile in Massachusetts
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#89 of 247
64th 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
73rd percentile nationally for median household income · 75th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Salisbury's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Salisbury'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 Salisbury's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$441,50019th percentilemore affordable than 19% 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
Salisbury's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,456 of 15,516
More affordable than 20% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,483 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.7×, Salisbury sits in the moderate band:
national rank #12,456 of 15,516 and #9,483 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
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
$93,052Salisbury, MA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Salisbury, 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 Salisbury, MA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)52.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)2.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)63.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,735
Median Income
$93,052
Median Home Value
$441,500
Median Age
48.6
Poverty Rate
2.9%
Labor force participation
63.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
52.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
740.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
179.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
561.0
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
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
75.1%
Carpool
5.9%
Public Transit
0.8%
Walk
0.2%
Work from Home
17.4%
Other
0.6%
Based on 3,255 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 Salisbury. 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 Salisbury 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 Salisbury sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Salisbury 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, 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.