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Place dossier plate
SheetPA-FORD-CITY-PA · Ford City, PA 2,833 pop · income 30th 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 Ford City
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Ford City on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
West Union · lowest
29,934
West Union · lowest
29,934 median HH income
24.2% of the leader · rank #1
Ford City · this city
56,451
Ford City · this city
56,451 median HH income
45.6% of the leader · rank #2
Welcome · near
56,453
Welcome · near
56,453 median HH income
45.6% of the leader · rank #3
Sulphur Sprin… · near
56,457
Sulphur Sprin… · near
56,457 median HH income
45.6% of the leader · rank #4
Shawano · near
56,457
Shawano · near
56,457 median HH income
45.6% of the leader · rank #5
Beaverton · near
56,458
Beaverton · near
56,458 median HH income
45.6% of the leader · rank #6
New Britain · highest
123,819
New Britain · highest
123,819 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 Ford City 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: 2,833.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Ford City places in the 30th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
30th
percentile, household income
3rd
percentile, home value
54th
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: Ford City, PA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 2,833 residents in Ford City, a small town within Pennsylvania. The typical household in Ford City brings in $56,451 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.3%. Typical homes in Ford City are valued around $78,600, and the median resident age is 42.6 years. About 14.0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 54.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Ford City (No Permits), per Census BPS data.
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. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,225 per month. 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 Ford City'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 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 Ford City, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, matched public-school count, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Ford City?
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 Pennsylvania, the closest population matches are Lima (2,834 residents, $76,953 income); Bath (2,829 residents, $73,681 income); Emerald Lakes (2,839 residents, $101,688 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Hickman, NE (2,834 residents); West Union, OH (2,832 residents); Rancho Viejo, TX (2,834 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 does the education layer cover for Ford City?
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 14.0% 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Ford City?
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 1.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the journey to work look like in Ford City?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 78.9%. 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.
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 Ford City growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -109 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.8% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 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 downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
2020 estimate
2,859
2025 estimate
2,750
Period change
-3.8%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Below median income · poverty 4.3% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
97.6 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Pennsylvania average
D
City profile score · Ford City, PA
42/100
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
4.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better 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.
Household income F
$56,451
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
14.0%
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).
Ford City profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 70/100 (B) · 4.3%
Cost of living: 50/100 (C-) · 97.6 index
Household income: 29/100 (F) · $56,451
Bachelor's+ share: 17/100 (F) · 14.0%
How does Ford City compare to other US cities?
Here's how Ford City stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income30% higher than other cities
Home value3% pricier than other cities
Median rent54% 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 Ford City 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 Ford City near the bottom of Pennsylvania's cities
Among the 1,865 Pennsylvania cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Ford City ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Ford City only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#1,241 of 1,765
30th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,865
0th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Home Value
#1,670 of 1,790
7th percentile in Pennsylvania
Poverty Rate
#1,064 of 1,856
42nd percentile in Pennsylvania
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#1,419 of 1,861
24th 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
30th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Ford City's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$78,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 97% 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
Ford City's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#257 of 15,516
More affordable than 98% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#253 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.4×, Ford City sits in the affordable band:
national rank #257 of 15,516 and #253 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
$56,451Ford City, PA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Ford City, 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 Ford City, PA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)14.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)54.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,833
Median Income
$56,451
Median Home Value
$78,600
Median Age
42.6
Poverty Rate
4.3%
Labor force participation
54.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.0%
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Ford City's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,859 residents
2021
2,846 residents
2022
2,815 residents
2023
2,784 residents
2024
2,760 residents
2025
2,750 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
78.9%
Carpool
11.1%
Public Transit
0.1%
Walk
6.5%
Work from Home
3.4%
Based on 1,253 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 Ford City. 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 Ford City 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 Ford City sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Ford City 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, 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.