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Place dossier plate
SheetNV-ELY-NV · Ely, NV 3,941 pop · income 68th pct · 3 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 Ely
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Ely on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Yerington · lowest
44,974
Yerington · lowest
44,974 median HH income
34.7% of the leader · rank #1
Graball · near
86,379
Graball · near
86,379 median HH income
66.7% of the leader · rank #2
Kilauea · near
86,382
Kilauea · near
86,382 median HH income
66.7% of the leader · rank #3
Ely · this city
86,389
Ely · this city
86,389 median HH income
66.7% of the leader · rank #4
Moody · near
86,389
Moody · near
86,389 median HH income
66.7% of the leader · rank #5
Westmere · near
86,398
Westmere · near
86,398 median HH income
66.7% of the leader · rank #6
Highland Lakes · highest
129,500
Highland Lakes · highest
129,500 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Ely on ACS population and median household income
. 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: 3,941.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Ely lands in the 68th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
68th
percentile, household income
43rd
percentile, home value
67th
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Ely, NV
Nevada's Ely is a small town, with 3,941 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Ely households earn a median of $86,389 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 3.9%. Typical homes in Ely are valued around $201,500, and the median resident age is 41.8 years. 18.4% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 65.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 7 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
Nevada tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: the state registers 100.0 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Near Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,428 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Nevada's average monthly utility costs around $190 (state average). On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 46.2 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Ely'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 within-city variation to comparison shortlist to schools and households to housing and income to work and mobility to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Ely, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What can 3 Census tracts reveal inside Ely?
PlainCities matches 3 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Ely?
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.
Within Nevada, the closest population matches are Battle Mountain (3,957 residents, $78,149 income); Lemmon Valley (4,385 residents, $91,132 income); Washoe Valley (3,404 residents, $111,371 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Mitchell, IN (3,941 residents); Highland Lakes, NJ (3,941 residents); Cherry Grove, OH (3,940 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.
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 7 public schools within the city match. 18.4% 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.
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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 3.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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 Ely?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 70.2%. 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.
Drive alone
70.2%
Work from home
11.0%
Public transit
2.1%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 2,150 workers age 16+.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +11 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.3% 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.
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
3,935
2025 estimate
3,946
Period change
+0.3%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Above median income · poverty 3.9% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
100.0 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Nevada average
C-
City profile score · Ely, NV
54/100
4 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.
Poverty rate B
3.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income B-
$86,389
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living D
100.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share F
18.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Ely profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 72/100 (B) · 3.9%
Household income: 66/100 (B-) · $86,389
Cost of living: 40/100 (D) · 100.0 index
Bachelor's+ share: 30/100 (F) · 18.4%
How does Ely compare to other US cities?
Here's how Ely stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income68% higher than other cities
Home value43% pricier than other cities
Median rent67% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Ely against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Nevada only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Nevada-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Ely near the bottom of Nevada's cities
Among the 111 Nevada cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Ely ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Ely only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#41 of 101
59th percentile in Nevada
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 111
0th percentile in Nevada
Median Home Value
#72 of 97
26th percentile in Nevada
Poverty Rate
#69 of 111
38th percentile in Nevada
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#56 of 111
50th percentile in Nevada
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 Nevada only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
68th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Ely's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$201,500Among the most affordablemore affordable than 57% 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
Ely's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,135 of 15,516
More affordable than 80% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,887 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.3×, Ely sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,135 of 15,516 and #2,887 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
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
$86,389Ely, NV median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Ely, NV median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Ely, NV.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)18.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)3.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)65.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
3,941
Median Income
$86,389
Median Home Value
$201,500
Median Age
41.8
Poverty Rate
3.9%
Labor force participation
65.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
18.4%
Schools
Total Schools
7
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Ely's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
3,935 residents
2021
3,984 residents
2022
3,938 residents
2023
3,916 residents
2024
3,937 residents
2025
3,946 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
70.2%
Carpool
11.6%
Public Transit
2.1%
Walk
4.7%
Work from Home
11.0%
Based on 2,150 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Nevada statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $190
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Nevada at $190 (electricity about $105 , water and sewer about $55 ).
These are Nevada statewide averages, not a meter reading for Ely. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Nevada's BEA cost-of-living index is 100.0 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Ely is $1,428/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Nevada statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 46.2 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Nevada statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Ely sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Ely compares to similar-size Nevada 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, 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.