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Place dossier plate
SheetPA-NEW-CASTLE-PA · New Castle, PA 21,727 pop · income 9th pct · 28 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 New Castle
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest New Castle on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Centerville · lowest
41,472
Centerville · lowest
41,472 median HH income
33.5% of the leader · rank #1
Mackay · near
41,474
Mackay · near
41,474 median HH income
33.5% of the leader · rank #2
Fremont · near
41,477
Fremont · near
41,477 median HH income
33.5% of the leader · rank #3
Knox City · near
41,477
Knox City · near
41,477 median HH income
33.5% of the leader · rank #4
New Castle · this city
41,478
New Castle · this city
41,478 median HH income
33.5% of the leader · rank #5
American Cany… · highest
123,935
American Cany… · highest
123,935 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
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 New Castle 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: 21,727.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
New Castle - the verdict
New Castle ranks in the 9th percentile for household income and the 59th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
9th
percentile, household income
2nd
percentile, home value
54th
percentile, median rent
59th
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: New Castle, PA
Pennsylvania's New Castle is a small city, with 21,727 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Median household income here is $41,478 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 18.9%. Home values in New Castle run a median of $72,000, and the median resident age is 37.7 years. Educational attainment runs 15.2% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 45.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 1 residential building permits were authorized in New Castle (Stable), up 0% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. New Castle reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 1119.9 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 51.1°F with 41.8 inches of precipitation per year and 27.5 inches of snowfall.
Pennsylvania tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Pennsylvania at 97.6 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,225 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Pennsylvania's average monthly utility costs around $260 (state average). Commute times here average 19.5 minutes, with 75.4% driving alone and 9.3% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 67.4 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of New Castle'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 reported crime to work and mobility to population change to housing and income to climate and hazard context to within-city variation to schools and households to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For New Castle, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What can the FBI record say about safety in New Castle?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1119.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 51% 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.
What does the journey to work look like in New Castle?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 75.4%. The reported mean trip to work is 19.5 minutes.
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.
What can 28 Census tracts reveal inside New Castle?
PlainCities matches 28 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 New Castle?
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 Pennsylvania, the closest population matches are Chambersburg (22,051 residents, $56,177 income); Allison Park (22,108 residents, $108,669 income); Carlisle (21,335 residents, $59,742 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Yucca Valley, CA (21,744 residents); Harvey, LA (21,710 residents); Selden, NY (21,707 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.
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 New Castle growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -716 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.3% 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.
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
21,891
2025 estimate
21,175
Period change
-3.3%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
How far does income reach against housing in New Castle?
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 1.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 18.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
1.7×
Home value
$72,000
Household income
$41,478
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What physical conditions frame life in New Castle?
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 51.1°F, with 41.8 inches of precipitation and 27.5 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Pennsylvania is 67.4 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
67.4
Annual precipitation
41.8 in
Mean temperature
51.1°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
What does the education layer cover for New Castle?
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 18 public schools within the city match. 15.2% 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.
Poverty estimate
18.9%
Bachelor's degree+
15.2%
Matched public schools
18
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 18.9% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
97.6 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Pennsylvania average
F
City profile score · New Castle, PA
33/100
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 B+
85 /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 F
15.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
18.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$41,478
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
New Castle profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 75/100 (B+) · 85 /100k
Cost of living: 50/100 (C-) · 97.6 index
Bachelor's+ share: 21/100 (F) · 15.2%
Poverty rate: 15/100 (F) · 18.9%
Household income: 9/100 (F) · $41,478
Where New Castle sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
New Castle'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 - New Castle highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
New Castle, PA (this city): home $72,000, crime 1,120/100k
Yucca Valley, CA : home $321,300, crime 1,567/100k
American Canyon, CA : home $660,100, crime 1,566/100k
Port Hueneme, CA : home $556,200, crime 2,280/100k
Chambersburg, PA : home $196,200, crime 2,218/100k
Carlisle, PA : home $212,400, crime 1,314/100k
Murrysville, PA : home $316,400, crime 256/100k
Pottstown, PA : home $172,300, crime 3,842/100k
How does New Castle compare to other US cities?
Where New Castle sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income9% higher than other cities
Home value2% pricier than other cities
Median rent54% pricier than other cities
Safety59% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Pennsylvania and the picture shifts: New Castle ranks #247 of 402 Pennsylvania cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares New Castle 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 New Castle near the bottom of Pennsylvania's cities
Among the 1,865 Pennsylvania cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, New Castle ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares New Castle only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#1,665 of 1,765
6th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,865
0th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Home Value
#1,705 of 1,790
5th percentile in Pennsylvania
Poverty Rate
#189 of 1,856
90th percentile in Pennsylvania
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#1,327 of 1,861
28th 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
9th percentile nationally for median household income · 59th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
New Castle's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
New Castle'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 New Castle's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$72,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 98% 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
New Castle's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#841 of 15,516
More affordable than 95% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#24 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 1.7×, New Castle sits in the affordable band:
national rank #841 of 15,516 and #24 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
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
$41,478New Castle, PA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context New Castle, 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 New Castle, PA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)15.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)18.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)45.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
21,727
Median Income
$41,478
Median Home Value
$72,000
Median Age
37.7
Poverty Rate
18.9%
Labor force participation
45.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
15.2%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1119.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
84.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1035.2
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.
Climate
Avg Temperature
51.1°F
Annual Precipitation
41.8"
Annual Snowfall
27.5"
Schools
Total Schools
18
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
New Castle's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
21,891 residents
2021
21,741 residents
2022
21,499 residents
2023
21,396 residents
2024
21,259 residents
2025
21,175 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
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.1M
2020
1
1
0
$0.1M
2021
1
1
0
$0.1M
2022
1
1
0
$0.1M
2023
1
1
0
$0.3M
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
Average Commute Time
19.5 minutes
Drive Alone
75.4%
Carpool
11.2%
Public Transit
1.7%
Walk
1.9%
Work from Home
9.3%
Based on 7,621 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 New Castle. 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 New Castle 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 New Castle sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How New Castle 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, NOAA Climate Normals, 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.