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Place dossier plate
SheetMO-BRANSON-WEST-MO · Branson West, MO 453 pop · income 7th 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 Branson West
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Branson West on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Eminence · lowest
30,000
Eminence · lowest
30,000 median HH income
13.5% of the leader · rank #1
Branson West · this city
38,750
Branson West · this city
38,750 median HH income
17.4% of the leader · rank #2
Madrid · near
38,750
Madrid · near
38,750 median HH income
17.4% of the leader · rank #3
Scammon Bay · near
38,750
Scammon Bay · near
38,750 median HH income
17.4% of the leader · rank #4
Duncan · near
38,750
Duncan · near
38,750 median HH income
17.4% of the leader · rank #5
Holly Grove · near
38,750
Holly Grove · near
38,750 median HH income
17.4% of the leader · rank #6
Rock Ridge · highest
222,159
Rock Ridge · highest
222,159 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 Branson West 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: 453.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Branson West - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Branson West places in the 7th percentile for household income and the 0th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
7th
percentile, household income
42nd
percentile, home value
7th
percentile, median rent
0th
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: Branson West, MO
453 people live in Branson West, Missouri - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $38,750 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 10.3%. Typical homes in Branson West are valued around $197,200, and the median resident age is 52.8 years. 19.6% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 42.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 0 residential units authorized here in 2024 (No Permits). Branson West's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 15169.7 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, above the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Missouri run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Missouri scores 90.8 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $972 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Missouri's average monthly utility costs around $219 (state average). On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 50.6 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Branson West'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 work and mobility to housing and income to population change to reported crime to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Branson West, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Branson West?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 82.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Branson West?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 10.3%, 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. 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.
Is Branson West growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +8 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Branson West?
Within Missouri, the closest population matches are Novinger (454 residents, $44,063 income); Otterville (454 residents, $48,281 income); Wardell (455 residents, $48,500 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Rock Ridge, CT (453 residents); Edgington, IL (453 residents); Williams Creek, IN (453 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.
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 Branson West?
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 15169.7 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 565% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
14570.9
Violent rate
598.8
Total reported rate
15169.7
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 10.3% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.8 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Missouri average
F
City profile score · Branson West, MO
32/100
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-
90.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate F
10.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
19.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime F
599 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income F
$38,750
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Branson West profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 83/100 (A-) · 90.8 index
Poverty rate: 38/100 (F) · 10.3%
Bachelor's+ share: 33/100 (F) · 19.6%
Violent crime: 10/100 (F) · 599 /100k
Household income: 5/100 (F) · $38,750
Where Branson West sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Branson West'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 - Branson West highlighted among 21 peers.Read the chart values
Branson West, MO (this city): home $197,200, crime 15,170/100k
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 Branson West compare to other US cities?
Here's how Branson West stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income7% higher than other cities
Home value42% pricier than other cities
Median rent7% pricier than other cities
Safety0% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Missouri and the picture shifts: Branson West ranks #235 of 234 Missouri cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Branson West against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Missouri only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Missouri-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Branson West near the bottom of Missouri's cities
Among the 875 Missouri cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Branson West ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Branson West only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#711 of 842
15th percentile in Missouri
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 875
0th percentile in Missouri
Median Home Value
#175 of 833
79th percentile in Missouri
Poverty Rate
#422 of 875
51st percentile in Missouri
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#313 of 875
64th percentile in Missouri
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 Missouri only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
7th percentile nationally for median household income · 0th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Branson West's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Branson West'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 Branson West's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$197,200Among the most affordablemore affordable than 58% 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
Branson West's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,052 of 15,516
More affordable than 16% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,854 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 5.1×, Branson West sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,052 of 15,516 and #9,854 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
$38,750Branson West, MO median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Branson West, MO median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Branson West, MO.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)19.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)10.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)42.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
453
Median Income
$38,750
Median Home Value
$197,200
Median Age
52.8
Poverty Rate
10.3%
Labor force participation
42.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
19.6%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
15169.7
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
598.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
14570.9
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.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Branson West's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
477 residents
2021
479 residents
2022
485 residents
2023
489 residents
2024
490 residents
2025
485 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
2
2
0
$0.4M
2022
2
2
0
$0.4M
2023
3
3
0
$0.4M
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
82.4%
Carpool
8.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
7.9%
Other
1.2%
Based on 165 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Missouri statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $219
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Missouri at $219 (electricity about $105 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Missouri statewide averages, not a meter reading for Branson West. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Missouri's BEA cost-of-living index is 90.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Branson West is $972/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Missouri statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 50.6 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Missouri statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Branson West sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Branson West compares to similar-size Missouri 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, 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.