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Place dossier plate
SheetMO-FULTON-MO · Fulton, MO 12,611 pop · income 27th pct · 11 tracts
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 Fulton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Fulton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
West Plains · lowest
39,897
West Plains · lowest
39,897 median HH income
36.2% of the leader · rank #1
Bristol · near
55,007
Bristol · near
55,007 median HH income
49.9% of the leader · rank #2
Fulton · this city
55,015
Fulton · this city
55,015 median HH income
50.0% of the leader · rank #3
Tolleson · near
55,015
Tolleson · near
55,015 median HH income
50.0% of the leader · rank #4
Manchester · near
55,019
Manchester · near
55,019 median HH income
50.0% of the leader · rank #5
Coral · near
55,025
Coral · near
55,025 median HH income
50.0% of the leader · rank #6
Riviera Beach · highest
110,136
Riviera Beach · highest
110,136 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 Fulton 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: 12,611.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Fulton - the verdict
Nationally, Fulton sits in the 27th percentile for household income and the 52nd percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
27th
percentile, household income
25th
percentile, home value
7th
percentile, median rent
52nd
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: Fulton, MO
12,611 people live in Fulton, Missouri - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $55,015 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 8.5%. Fulton's housing stock carries a median value of $144,500, and the median resident age is 34.8 years. 24.3% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 42.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 15 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Slowing), down 6% from five years earlier. Fulton reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 1295.1 incidents per 100,000 residents, below the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Fulton's yearly average temperature at 53.4°F with 44.3 inches of precipitation per year and 18.9 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Missouri run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Missouri at 90.8 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $972 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Missouri's average monthly utility costs around $219 (state average). The average commute for Fulton workers runs 15.5 minutes, with 69.1% driving alone and 10.4% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 50.6 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Fulton'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 climate and hazard context to population change to comparison shortlist to schools and households to work and mobility to within-city variation to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Fulton, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Fulton?
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 2.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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 53.4°F, with 44.3 inches of precipitation and 18.9 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Missouri is 50.6 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Fulton?
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 Missouri, the closest population matches are Union (12,560 residents, $71,760 income); Branson (12,760 residents, $54,961 income); Eureka (12,371 residents, $108,947 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are St. Marys, PA (12,612 residents); Gaffney, SC (12,612 residents); Boiling Springs, SC (12,609 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.
PlainCities matches 11 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
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 Fulton growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +249 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 15 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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.
2020 estimate
12,604
2025 estimate
12,853
Period change
+2.0%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
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.
The NCES join finds 10 public schools within the city match. 24.3% 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.
Poverty estimate
8.5%
Bachelor's degree+
24.3%
Matched public schools
10
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in Fulton?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 69.1%. The reported mean trip to work is 15.5 minutes.
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.
Drive alone
69.1%
Work from home
10.4%
Public transit
2.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 4,419 workers age 16+.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Fulton?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1295.1 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 43% 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
1295.1
Violent rate
209.2
Property rate
1086.0
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Below median income · poverty 8.5% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
90.8 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Missouri average
D
City profile score · Fulton, MO
49/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share D
24.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate D
8.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime D
209 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income F
$55,015
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Fulton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 83/100 (A-) · 90.8 index
Bachelor's+ share: 47/100 (D) · 24.3%
Poverty rate: 46/100 (D) · 8.5%
Violent crime: 46/100 (D) · 209 /100k
Household income: 27/100 (F) · $55,015
Where Fulton sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Fulton'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 - Fulton highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Fulton, MO (this city): home $144,500, crime 1,295/100k
Gaffney, SC : home $141,100, crime 4,404/100k
Lewisburg, TN : home $183,400, crime 2,648/100k
Brown Deer, WI : home $221,100, crime 2,960/100k
Union, MO : home $199,100, crime 2,718/100k
Branson, MO : home $237,900, crime 6,494/100k
Eureka, MO : home $352,200, crime 995/100k
Neosho, MO : home $148,600, crime 2,415/100k
St. Ann, MO : home $118,600, crime 1,618/100k
West Plains, MO : home $158,700, crime 2,167/100k
How does Fulton compare to other US cities?
Here's how Fulton stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income27% higher than other cities
Home value25% pricier than other cities
Median rent7% pricier than other cities
Safety52% 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: Fulton ranks #107 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 Fulton 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 Fulton near the bottom of Missouri's cities
Among the 875 Missouri cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Fulton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Fulton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#381 of 842
55th percentile in Missouri
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 875
0th percentile in Missouri
Median Home Value
#316 of 833
62nd percentile in Missouri
Poverty Rate
#502 of 875
42nd percentile in Missouri
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#228 of 875
74th 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
27th percentile nationally for median household income · 52nd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Fulton's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Fulton'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 Fulton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$144,500Among the most affordablemore affordable than 75% 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
Fulton's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,656 of 15,516
More affordable than 70% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#475 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.6×, Fulton sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,656 of 15,516 and #475 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$55,015Fulton, MO median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Fulton, 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 Fulton, MO.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)24.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)42.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
12,611
Median Income
$55,015
Median Home Value
$144,500
Median Age
34.8
Poverty Rate
8.5%
Labor force participation
42.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
24.3%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1295.1
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
209.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1086.0
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.
Climate
Avg Temperature
53.4°F
Annual Precipitation
44.3"
Annual Snowfall
18.9"
Schools
Total Schools
10
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Fulton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
12,604 residents
2021
12,652 residents
2022
12,702 residents
2023
12,481 residents
2024
12,659 residents
2025
12,853 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Slowing
Total Permits (2024)
15
housing units authorized
Single-Family
15
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.2
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
16
16
0
$2.4M
2020
17
17
0
$2.6M
2021
19
19
0
$2.9M
2022
17
17
0
$2.6M
2023
15
15
0
$2.3M
2024
15
15
0
$2.3M
Permit volume decreased 6% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
15.5 minutes
Drive Alone
69.1%
Carpool
11.6%
Public Transit
2.0%
Walk
4.9%
Work from Home
10.4%
Other
2.0%
Based on 4,419 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 Fulton. 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 Fulton 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 Fulton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Fulton 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, NOAA Climate Normals, 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.