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Place dossier plate
SheetOR-ST-HELENS-OR · St. Helens, OR 14,152 pop · income 64th 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 St. Helens
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest St. Helens on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Coos Bay · lowest
55,292
Coos Bay · lowest
55,292 median HH income
53.4% of the leader · rank #1
Lake Junaluska · near
82,115
Lake Junaluska · near
82,115 median HH income
79.4% of the leader · rank #2
Mont Clare · near
82,115
Mont Clare · near
82,115 median HH income
79.4% of the leader · rank #3
St. Helens · this city
82,123
St. Helens · this city
82,123 median HH income
79.4% of the leader · rank #4
Gardner · near
82,125
Gardner · near
82,125 median HH income
79.4% of the leader · rank #5
Princeton · near
82,130
Princeton · near
82,130 median HH income
79.4% of the leader · rank #6
Oatfield · highest
103,483
Oatfield · highest
103,483 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 St. Helens 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: 14,152.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
St. Helens - the verdict
St. Helens ranks in the 64th percentile for household income and the 56th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
64th
percentile, household income
72nd
percentile, home value
66th
percentile, median rent
56th
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: St. Helens, OR
St. Helens is a small town in Oregon, home to 14,152 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in St. Helens report a median income of $82,123 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.7%. Typical homes in St. Helens are valued around $350,900, and the median resident age is 36.7 years. Educational attainment runs 16.0% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 58.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 12 residential building permits were authorized in St. Helens (Construction Slowdown), down 91% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. St. Helens reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 1197.3 incidents per 100,000 residents, below the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Oregon carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Oregon at 103.4 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Above Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,425 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Oregon run around $185, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 63.4 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of St. Helens'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 population change to housing and income to reported crime to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For St. Helens, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, annual population history, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is St. Helens growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +558 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +4.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 12 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.
How far does income reach against housing in St. Helens?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for St. Helens?
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 Oregon, the closest population matches are Cornelius (13,700 residents, $90,071 income); La Grande (13,059 residents, $56,409 income); Sandy (12,738 residents, $102,201 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Southchase, FL (14,149 residents); Wells Branch, TX (14,156 residents); Chicago Ridge, IL (14,147 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.
What can 11 Census tracts reveal inside St. Helens?
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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in St. Helens?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1197.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 47% 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
1197.3
Violent rate
273.7
Property rate
923.6
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the journey to work look like in St. Helens?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 69.4%. 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
69.4%
Work from home
9.1%
Public transit
0.3%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 6,401 workers age 16+.
Above median income · poverty 5.7% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
103.4 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Oregon average
D
City profile score · St. Helens, OR
43/100
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.
Household income C+
$82,123
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate C+
5.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
274 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living F
103.4 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
16.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
St. Helens profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 61/100 (C+) · $82,123
Poverty rate: 61/100 (C+) · 5.7%
Violent crime: 37/100 (F) · 274 /100k
Cost of living: 25/100 (F) · 103.4 index
Bachelor's+ share: 23/100 (F) · 16.0%
Where St. Helens sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
St. Helens'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 - St. Helens highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
St. Helens, OR (this city): home $350,900, crime 1,197/100k
Chicago Ridge, IL : home $217,800, crime 2,079/100k
Circleville, OH : home $182,400, crime 1,983/100k
Collingswood, NJ : home $346,300, crime 3,159/100k
Cornelius, OR : home $419,000, crime 1,925/100k
La Grande, OR : home $244,200, crime 2,924/100k
Sandy, OR : home $450,200, crime 1,580/100k
Coos Bay, OR : home $272,100, crime 5,088/100k
The Dalles, OR : home $318,400, crime 2,928/100k
How does St. Helens compare to other US cities?
Here's how St. Helens stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income64% higher than other cities
Home value72% pricier than other cities
Median rent66% pricier than other cities
Safety56% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Oregon and the picture shifts: St. Helens ranks #24 of 85 Oregon cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares St. Helens against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Oregon only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Oregon-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places St. Helens near the bottom of Oregon's cities
Among the 395 Oregon cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, St. Helens ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares St. Helens only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#130 of 364
64th percentile in Oregon
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 395
0th percentile in Oregon
Median Home Value
#183 of 366
50th percentile in Oregon
Poverty Rate
#213 of 395
45th percentile in Oregon
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#260 of 395
34th percentile in Oregon
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 Oregon only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
64th percentile nationally for median household income · 56th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
St. Helens's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
St. Helens'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 St. Helens's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$350,90028th 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
St. Helens's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#11,450 of 15,516
More affordable than 26% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,201 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 4.3×, St. Helens sits in the moderate band:
national rank #11,450 of 15,516 and #2,201 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
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
$82,123St. Helens, OR median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context St. Helens, OR median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for St. Helens, OR.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)16.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
14,152
Median Income
$82,123
Median Home Value
$350,900
Median Age
36.7
Poverty Rate
5.7%
Labor force participation
58.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
16.0%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1197.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
273.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
923.6
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
St. Helens's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
13,892 residents
2021
14,133 residents
2022
14,324 residents
2023
14,398 residents
2024
14,419 residents
2025
14,450 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
12
housing units authorized
Single-Family
8
detached homes
Multifamily
4
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
129
22
107
$18.0M
2020
118
82
36
$24.6M
2021
122
122
0
$32.8M
2022
22
12
10
$5.8M
2023
4
4
0
$1.5M
2024
12
8
4
$2.7M
Permit volume decreased 91% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
69.4%
Carpool
19.7%
Public Transit
0.3%
Walk
1.0%
Work from Home
9.1%
Based on 6,401 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Oregon statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $185
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Oregon at $185 (electricity about $85 , water and sewer about $50 ).
These are Oregon statewide averages, not a meter reading for St. Helens. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Oregon's BEA cost-of-living index is 103.4 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around St. Helens is $1,425/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Oregon statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 63.4 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Oregon statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county St. Helens sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How St. Helens compares to similar-size Oregon 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.