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Place dossier plate
SheetMD-MANCHESTER-MD · Manchester, MD 5,446 pop · income 84th 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 Manchester
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Manchester on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Chestertown · lowest
47,047
Chestertown · lowest
47,047 median HH income
19.3% of the leader · rank #1
Pflugerville · near
112,656
Pflugerville · near
112,656 median HH income
46.2% of the leader · rank #2
Urbana · near
112,672
Urbana · near
112,672 median HH income
46.2% of the leader · rank #3
Lake Fenton · near
112,676
Lake Fenton · near
112,676 median HH income
46.2% of the leader · rank #4
Manchester · this city
112,679
Manchester · this city
112,679 median HH income
46.2% of the leader · rank #5
Rochester · near
112,689
Rochester · near
112,689 median HH income
46.2% of the leader · rank #6
Lyons · highest
243,958
Lyons · highest
243,958 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 Manchester 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: 5,446.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Manchester - the verdict
Manchester ranks in the 84th percentile for household income and the 93rd percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
84th
percentile, household income
72nd
percentile, home value
84th
percentile, median rent
93rd
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: Manchester, MD
Manchester is a small town in Maryland, home to 5,446 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Manchester brings in $112,679 a year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 4.4%. Home values in Manchester run a median of $351,500, and the median resident age is 40.9 years. 33.4% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 65.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Manchester reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 287.4 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Maryland carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Maryland at 105.0 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Above Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,657 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Maryland run around $255, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 60.2 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Manchester'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 comparison shortlist to housing and income to reported crime to work and mobility to population change to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Manchester, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Manchester?
Within Maryland, the closest population matches are Ashton-Sandy Spring (5,418 residents, $178,214 income); Layhill (5,392 residents, $119,453 income); Chestertown (5,548 residents, $47,047 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Willow Park, TX (5,447 residents); Lyons, NJ (5,444 residents); Hampton Manor, NY (5,448 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Manchester?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.4%, 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. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Manchester?
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 287.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 87% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
What does the journey to work look like in Manchester?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 72.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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.
Population change
Is Manchester growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +22 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.4% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+0.4%
2025 estimate
5,426
2020 estimate
5,404
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the education layer cover for Manchester?
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 33.4% 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.
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
3
Bachelor's degree+
33.4%
Poverty estimate
4.4%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
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.
Household income A-
$112,679
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate B-
4.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C+
33.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime C-
180 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living F
105.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Manchester profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 83/100 (A-) · $112,679
Poverty rate: 69/100 (B-) · 4.4%
Bachelor's+ share: 64/100 (C+) · 33.4%
Violent crime: 51/100 (C-) · 180 /100k
Cost of living: 21/100 (F) · 105.0 index
Where Manchester sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Manchester'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 - Manchester highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Manchester, MD (this city): home $351,500, crime 287/100k
Willow Park, TX : home $339,100, crime 1,328/100k
Sayre, PA : home $166,000, crime 590/100k
Cicero, IN : home $251,000, crime 296/100k
Chestertown, MD : home $333,900, crime 2,083/100k
Fruitland, MD : home $211,200, crime 2,389/100k
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 Manchester compare to other US cities?
Manchester measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income84% higher than other cities
Home value72% pricier than other cities
Median rent84% pricier than other cities
Safety93% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Maryland and the picture shifts: Manchester ranks #5 of 70 Maryland cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Manchester against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Maryland only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Maryland-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Manchester near the bottom of Maryland's cities
Among the 479 Maryland cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Manchester ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Manchester only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#176 of 445
60th percentile in Maryland
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 479
0th percentile in Maryland
Median Home Value
#235 of 450
48th percentile in Maryland
Poverty Rate
#213 of 479
55th percentile in Maryland
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#252 of 479
47th percentile in Maryland
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 Maryland only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
84th percentile nationally for median household income · 93rd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Manchester's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Manchester'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 Manchester's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$351,50028th percentilemore affordable than 28% 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
Manchester's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,284 of 15,516
More affordable than 53% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#6,063 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.1×, Manchester sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,284 of 15,516 and #6,063 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
$112,679Manchester, MD median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Manchester, MD median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Manchester, MD.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)33.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)65.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,446
Median Income
$112,679
Median Home Value
$351,500
Median Age
40.9
Poverty Rate
4.4%
Labor force participation
65.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
33.4%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
287.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
179.6
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
107.8
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
3
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Manchester's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
5,404 residents
2021
5,405 residents
2022
5,425 residents
2023
5,433 residents
2024
5,431 residents
2025
5,426 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
72.4%
Carpool
11.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
15.2%
Other
0.7%
Based on 2,782 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Maryland statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $255
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Maryland at $255 (electricity about $120 , water and sewer about $55 ).
These are Maryland statewide averages, not a meter reading for Manchester. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Maryland's BEA cost-of-living index is 105.0 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Manchester is $1,657/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Maryland statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 60.2 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Maryland statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Manchester sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Manchester compares to similar-size Maryland 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.