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Place dossier plate
SheetPA-CATAWISSA-PA · Catawissa, PA 1,498 pop · income 25th 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 Catawissa
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Catawissa on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Lakemont · lowest
49,036
Lakemont · lowest
49,036 median HH income
34.3% of the leader · rank #1
Catawissa · this city
53,472
Catawissa · this city
53,472 median HH income
37.4% of the leader · rank #2
Leesburg · near
53,472
Leesburg · near
53,472 median HH income
37.4% of the leader · rank #3
Rock Island A… · near
53,472
Rock Island A… · near
53,472 median HH income
37.4% of the leader · rank #4
Hendrum · near
53,472
Hendrum · near
53,472 median HH income
37.4% of the leader · rank #5
Arkansas City · near
53,475
Arkansas City · near
53,475 median HH income
37.4% of the leader · rank #6
West Conshoho… · highest
142,917
West Conshoho… · highest
142,917 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 Catawissa 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: 1,498.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Catawissa - the verdict
Catawissa ranks in the 25th percentile for household income and the 67th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
25th
percentile, household income
24th
percentile, home value
54th
percentile, median rent
67th
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: Catawissa, PA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 1,498 residents in Catawissa, a small town within Pennsylvania. Median household income here is $53,472 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 10.8%. Catawissa's housing stock carries a median value of $139,700, and the median resident age is 43.3 years. About 23.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 64.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 1 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Stable), up 0% from five years earlier. Catawissa reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 918.6 incidents per 100,000 residents, below the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Pennsylvania tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Pennsylvania scores 97.6 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,225 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Pennsylvania run around $260, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 67.4 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Catawissa'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 population change to work and mobility to reported crime to comparison shortlist to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Catawissa, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, annual population history, 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 Catawissa?
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 23.4% 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.
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.
Is Catawissa growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -1 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What does the journey to work look like in Catawissa?
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 81.3%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Which cities make useful reference points for Catawissa?
Within Pennsylvania, the closest population matches are Cresson (1,499 residents, $57,841 income); West Conshohocken (1,499 residents, $142,917 income); McConnellstown (1,496 residents, $98,000 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Slater, IA (1,498 residents); Franklin, TX (1,498 residents); Kirkland, IL (1,497 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 Catawissa?
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 918.6 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 60% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
787.4
Violent rate
131.2
Total reported rate
918.6
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
How far does income reach against housing in Catawissa?
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 10.8%, 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. 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.
Household income
$53,472
Home value
$139,700
Value / income
2.6×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Pennsylvania average
D
City profile score · Catawissa, PA
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.
Violent crime C+
131 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living C-
97.6 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
23.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
10.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$53,472
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Catawissa profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 63/100 (C+) · 131 /100k
Cost of living: 50/100 (C-) · 97.6 index
Bachelor's+ share: 44/100 (D) · 23.4%
Poverty rate: 37/100 (F) · 10.8%
Household income: 25/100 (F) · $53,472
Where Catawissa sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Catawissa'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 - Catawissa highlighted among 24 peers.Read the chart values
Catawissa, PA (this city): home $139,700, crime 919/100k
Franklin, TX : home $171,000, crime 452/100k
Cresson, PA : home $119,500, crime 204/100k
West Conshohocken, PA : home $452,400, crime 1,405/100k
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 Catawissa compare to other US cities?
Here's how Catawissa stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income25% higher than other cities
Home value24% pricier than other cities
Median rent54% pricier than other cities
Safety67% 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 Pennsylvania alone, Catawissa ranks #216 of 402 Pennsylvania 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 Catawissa against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Pennsylvania only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Pennsylvania-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Catawissa near the bottom of Pennsylvania's cities
Among the 1,865 Pennsylvania cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Catawissa ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Catawissa only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#1,350 of 1,765
23rd percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,865
0th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Home Value
#1,141 of 1,790
36th percentile in Pennsylvania
Poverty Rate
#506 of 1,856
72nd percentile in Pennsylvania
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#825 of 1,861
55th percentile in Pennsylvania
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 Pennsylvania only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
25th percentile nationally for median household income · 67th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Catawissa's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Catawissa'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 Catawissa's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$139,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 76% 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
Catawissa's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,579 of 15,516
More affordable than 70% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4,066 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.6×, Catawissa sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,579 of 15,516 and #4,066 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
$53,472Catawissa, PA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Catawissa, PA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Catawissa, PA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)23.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)10.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)64.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,498
Median Income
$53,472
Median Home Value
$139,700
Median Age
43.3
Poverty Rate
10.8%
Labor force participation
64.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
23.4%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
918.6
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
131.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
787.4
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
3
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Catawissa's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,540 residents
2021
1,544 residents
2022
1,534 residents
2023
1,536 residents
2024
1,536 residents
2025
1,539 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Stable
Total Permits (2024)
1
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.1M
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
1
1
0
$0.2M
2024
1
1
0
$0.3M
Permit volume increased 0% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
81.3%
Carpool
11.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.9%
Work from Home
4.9%
Other
0.9%
Based on 798 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Pennsylvania statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $260
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Pennsylvania at $260 (electricity about $120 , water and sewer about $52 ).
These are Pennsylvania statewide averages, not a meter reading for Catawissa. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Pennsylvania's BEA cost-of-living index is 97.6 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Catawissa is $1,225/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Pennsylvania statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 67.4 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Pennsylvania statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Catawissa sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Catawissa compares to similar-size Pennsylvania 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.