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Place dossier plate
SheetOR-SWEET-HOME-OR · Sweet Home, OR 9,977 pop · income 34th 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 Sweet Home
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Sweet Home on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Fort Stewart · lowest
51,090
Fort Stewart · lowest
51,090 median HH income
35.7% of the leader · rank #1
Val Verde Park · near
59,476
Val Verde Park · near
59,476 median HH income
41.6% of the leader · rank #2
Sweet Home · this city
59,479
Sweet Home · this city
59,479 median HH income
41.6% of the leader · rank #3
Akron · near
59,479
Akron · near
59,479 median HH income
41.6% of the leader · rank #4
Elgin · near
59,479
Elgin · near
59,479 median HH income
41.6% of the leader · rank #5
Independence · near
59,480
Independence · near
59,480 median HH income
41.6% of the leader · rank #6
Winfield · highest
143,102
Winfield · highest
143,102 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 Sweet Home 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: 9,977.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Sweet Home - the verdict
Nationally, Sweet Home sits in the 34th percentile for household income and the 17th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
34th
percentile, household income
55th
percentile, home value
66th
percentile, median rent
17th
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: Sweet Home, OR
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 9,977 residents in Sweet Home, a small town within Oregon. Households in Sweet Home report a median income of $59,479 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 7.9%. Typical homes in Sweet Home are valued around $245,700, and the median resident age is 41.6 years. About 9.6% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 46.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 36 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Growing), up 9% from five years earlier. Sweet Home's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 2847.5 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Oregon carries a cost-of-living premium: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Oregon scores 103.4 (Above Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,425 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Oregon run around $185, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. The average commute for Sweet Home workers runs 30.0 minutes, with 75.6% driving alone and 7.8% working from home. 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 Sweet Home'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 schools and households to comparison shortlist to housing and income to population change to reported crime to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Sweet Home, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, 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.
Question 1
What does the education layer cover for Sweet Home?
The NCES join finds 6 public schools within the city match. 9.6% 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.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Sweet Home?
Within Oregon, the closest population matches are Lincoln City (9,890 residents, $56,322 income); Independence (10,088 residents, $79,158 income); Astoria (10,162 residents, $70,043 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Cape Canaveral, FL (9,976 residents); Fort Stewart, GA (9,976 residents); Columbia City, IN (9,975 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Sweet Home?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 7.9%, 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 Sweet Home 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 +458 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +4.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 36 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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 Sweet Home?
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 2847.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 25% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
2673.1
Violent rate
174.3
Total reported rate
2847.5
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the journey to work look like in Sweet Home?
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 75.6%. The reported mean trip to work is 30.0 minutes.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
7.8%
Drive alone
75.6%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 3,835 workers age 16+.
Below median income · poverty 7.9% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
103.4 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Oregon average
F
City profile score · Sweet Home, OR
34/100
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 C-
174 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate D
7.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$59,479
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
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
9.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Sweet Home profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 52/100 (C-) · 174 /100k
Poverty rate: 48/100 (D) · 7.9%
Household income: 34/100 (F) · $59,479
Cost of living: 25/100 (F) · 103.4 index
Bachelor's+ share: 5/100 (F) · 9.6%
Where Sweet Home sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Sweet Home'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 - Sweet Home highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Sweet Home, OR (this city): home $245,700, crime 2,848/100k
Columbia City, IN : home $184,300, crime 992/100k
Winfield, IL : home $363,400, crime 405/100k
Bay St. Louis, MS : home $231,900, crime 2,477/100k
Lincoln City, OR : home $374,400, crime 2,445/100k
Independence, OR : home $345,200, crime 1,238/100k
Astoria, OR : home $422,400, crime 1,956/100k
Molalla, OR : home $416,900, crime 825/100k
Eagle Point, OR : home $393,400, crime 1,773/100k
How does Sweet Home compare to other US cities?
Where Sweet Home sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income34% higher than other cities
Home value55% pricier than other cities
Median rent66% pricier than other cities
Safety17% 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 Oregon alone, Sweet Home ranks #64 of 85 Oregon 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 Sweet Home 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 Sweet Home near the bottom of Oregon's cities
Among the 395 Oregon cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Sweet Home ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Sweet Home only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#249 of 364
32nd percentile in Oregon
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 395
0th percentile in Oregon
Median Home Value
#278 of 366
24th percentile in Oregon
Poverty Rate
#150 of 395
62nd percentile in Oregon
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#344 of 395
12th 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
34th percentile nationally for median household income · 17th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Sweet Home's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Sweet Home'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 Sweet Home's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$245,70045th percentilemore affordable than 45% 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
Sweet Home's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#11,057 of 15,516
More affordable than 29% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#8,596 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.1×, Sweet Home sits in the moderate band:
national rank #11,057 of 15,516 and #8,596 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
$59,479Sweet Home, OR median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Sweet Home, 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 Sweet Home, OR.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)9.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)7.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)46.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
9,977
Median Income
$59,479
Median Home Value
$245,700
Median Age
41.6
Poverty Rate
7.9%
Labor force participation
46.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
9.6%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2847.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
174.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2673.1
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
6
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Sweet Home's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
9,850 residents
2021
9,963 residents
2022
10,098 residents
2023
10,210 residents
2024
10,266 residents
2025
10,308 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Growing
Total Permits (2024)
36
housing units authorized
Single-Family
30
detached homes
Multifamily
6
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
33
33
0
$2.6M
2020
70
22
48
$11.4M
2021
82
28
54
$12.1M
2022
40
33
7
$10.4M
2023
19
7
12
$3.9M
2024
36
30
6
$8.9M
Permit volume increased 9% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
30.0 minutes
Drive Alone
75.6%
Carpool
12.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.7%
Work from Home
7.8%
Other
2.8%
Based on 3,835 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 Sweet Home. 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 Sweet Home 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 Sweet Home sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Sweet Home 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, 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.