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Place dossier plate
SheetMN-PLAINVIEW-MN · Plainview, MN 3,501 pop · income 49th 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 Plainview
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Plainview on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Marianna · lowest
20,507
Marianna · lowest
20,507 median HH income
13.9% of the leader · rank #1
Dyer · near
69,792
Dyer · near
69,792 median HH income
47.2% of the leader · rank #2
Biddeford · near
69,794
Biddeford · near
69,794 median HH income
47.2% of the leader · rank #3
Wake · near
69,796
Wake · near
69,796 median HH income
47.2% of the leader · rank #4
Plainview · this city
69,800
Plainview · this city
69,800 median HH income
47.2% of the leader · rank #5
Colonial Park · near
69,804
Colonial Park · near
69,804 median HH income
47.2% of the leader · rank #6
Hanover · highest
147,944
Hanover · highest
147,944 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 Plainview 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: 3,501.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Plainview - the verdict
Plainview ranks in the 49th percentile for household income and the 95th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
49th
percentile, household income
51st
percentile, home value
36th
percentile, median rent
95th
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: Plainview, MN
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 3,501 residents in Plainview, a small town within Minnesota. Median household income here is $69,800 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 14.1%. Home values in Plainview run a median of $230,600, and the median resident age is 35.0 years. About 26.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 64.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 2 residential building permits were authorized in Plainview (Construction Slowdown), down 50% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Plainview reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 225.9 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).
Minnesota tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Minnesota scores 98.6 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,125 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $225 across Minnesota, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 42.4 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Plainview'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 schools and households to work and mobility to population change to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Plainview, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, annual population history, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Plainview?
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 Minnesota, the closest population matches are Hanover (3,495 residents, $147,944 income); Eveleth (3,470 residents, $47,721 income); Benson (3,449 residents, $51,124 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are West Point, GA (3,501 residents); Marianna, AR (3,502 residents); Flat Rock, NC (3,502 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Plainview?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 14.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the education layer cover for Plainview?
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. 26.8% 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 does the journey to work look like in Plainview?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 78.5%. 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.
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 Plainview growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -1 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 2 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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.
2020 estimate
3,483
2025 estimate
3,482
Period change
-0.0%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Plainview?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 225.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 90% 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.
Total reported rate
225.9
Violent rate
56.5
Property rate
169.4
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Below median income · poverty 14.1% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
98.6 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Minnesota average
C-
City profile score · Plainview, MN
50/100
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.
Violent crime A-
57 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C-
26.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income D
$69,800
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living D
98.6 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate F
14.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Plainview profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 82/100 (A-) · 57 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 52/100 (C-) · 26.8%
Household income: 49/100 (D) · $69,800
Cost of living: 46/100 (D) · 98.6 index
Poverty rate: 24/100 (F) · 14.1%
Where Plainview sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Plainview'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 - Plainview highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Plainview, MN (this city): home $230,600, crime 226/100k
Marianna, AR : home $73,800, crime 4,533/100k
Eveleth, MN : home $91,800, crime 2,517/100k
Benson, MN : home $146,100, crime 263/100k
Sleepy Eye, MN : home $138,500, crime 658/100k
Perham, MN : home $186,000, crime 377/100k
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 Plainview compare to other US cities?
Where Plainview sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income49% higher than other cities
Home value51% pricier than other cities
Median rent36% pricier than other cities
Safety95% 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 Minnesota alone, Plainview ranks #31 of 229 Minnesota 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 Plainview against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Minnesota only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Minnesota-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Plainview near the bottom of Minnesota's cities
Among the 785 Minnesota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Plainview ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Plainview only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#360 of 775
54th percentile in Minnesota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 785
0th percentile in Minnesota
Median Home Value
#254 of 774
67th percentile in Minnesota
Poverty Rate
#98 of 785
88th percentile in Minnesota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#252 of 784
67th percentile in Minnesota
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 Minnesota only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
49th percentile nationally for median household income · 95th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Plainview's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Plainview'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 Plainview's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$230,60049th percentilemore affordable than 49% 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
Plainview's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,142 of 15,516
More affordable than 48% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#6,666 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.3×, Plainview sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,142 of 15,516 and #6,666 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
$69,800Plainview, MN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Plainview, MN median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Plainview, MN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)26.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)14.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)64.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
3,501
Median Income
$69,800
Median Home Value
$230,600
Median Age
35.0
Poverty Rate
14.1%
Labor force participation
64.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
26.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
225.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
56.5
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
169.4
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
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Plainview's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
3,483 residents
2021
3,495 residents
2022
3,517 residents
2023
3,521 residents
2024
3,500 residents
2025
3,482 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
2
housing units authorized
Single-Family
2
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
4
4
0
$0.7M
2020
8
8
0
$1.8M
2021
8
8
0
$1.3M
2022
10
10
0
$1.9M
2023
5
5
0
$0.9M
2024
2
2
0
$0.9M
Permit volume decreased 50% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
78.5%
Carpool
5.6%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
10.2%
Work from Home
4.7%
Other
1.0%
Based on 1,562 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Minnesota statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Minnesota at $225 (electricity about $95 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Minnesota statewide averages, not a meter reading for Plainview. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Minnesota's BEA cost-of-living index is 98.6 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Plainview is $1,125/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Minnesota statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 42.4 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Minnesota statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Plainview sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Plainview compares to similar-size Minnesota 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.