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Place dossier plate
SheetPA-PENBROOK-PA · Penbrook, PA 3,260 pop · income 47th 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 Penbrook
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Penbrook on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Athens · lowest
49,588
Athens · lowest
49,588 median HH income
39.8% of the leader · rank #1
Penbrook · this city
68,295
Penbrook · this city
68,295 median HH income
54.8% of the leader · rank #2
Newhall · near
68,295
Newhall · near
68,295 median HH income
54.8% of the leader · rank #3
Kimberly · near
68,295
Kimberly · near
68,295 median HH income
54.8% of the leader · rank #4
North Fork · near
68,304
North Fork · near
68,304 median HH income
54.8% of the leader · rank #5
Rio · near
68,304
Rio · near
68,304 median HH income
54.8% of the leader · rank #6
Pottsgrove · highest
124,605
Pottsgrove · highest
124,605 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 Penbrook 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: 3,260.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Penbrook - the verdict
Penbrook ranks in the 47th percentile for household income and the 53rd percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
47th
percentile, household income
24th
percentile, home value
54th
percentile, median rent
53rd
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: Penbrook, PA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 3,260 residents in Penbrook, a small town within Pennsylvania. Penbrook households earn a median of $68,295 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 2.1%. Home values in Penbrook run a median of $140,000, and the median resident age is 27.9 years. About 42.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 73.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 0 residential units were authorized in 2024 (No Permits). Penbrook reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 1267.8 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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. Monthly utility costs average around $260 across Pennsylvania, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. 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 Penbrook'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 work and mobility to reported crime to population change to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Penbrook, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Penbrook?
Within Pennsylvania, the closest population matches are Athens (3,260 residents, $49,588 income); West Wyomissing (3,263 residents, $75,944 income); Pottsgrove (3,267 residents, $124,605 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Vandalia, MO (3,260 residents); Meadow Oaks, FL (3,261 residents); Sugar Creek, MO (3,261 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Penbrook?
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 69.5%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Penbrook?
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 1267.8 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 44% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Is Penbrook 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 -19 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.6% 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.
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.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Penbrook?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.1%, 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. 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.
Household income
$68,295
Home value
$140,000
Value / income
2.0×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Pennsylvania average
C
City profile score · Penbrook, PA
55/100
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.
Poverty rate A
2.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share B+
42.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
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 D
$68,295
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
402 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Penbrook profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 85/100 (A) · 2.1%
Bachelor's+ share: 77/100 (B+) · 42.4%
Cost of living: 50/100 (C-) · 97.6 index
Household income: 47/100 (D) · $68,295
Violent crime: 22/100 (F) · 402 /100k
Where Penbrook sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Penbrook'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 - Penbrook highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Penbrook, PA (this city): home $140,000, crime 1,268/100k
Sugar Creek, MO : home $104,800, crime 3,974/100k
Hodgenville, KY : home $137,100, crime 1,500/100k
Athens, PA : home $166,800, crime 1,305/100k
Macungie, PA : home $293,900, crime 123/100k
Trafford, PA : home $143,200, crime 870/100k
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 Penbrook compare to other US cities?
Penbrook measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income47% higher than other cities
Home value24% pricier than other cities
Median rent54% pricier than other cities
Safety53% 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: Penbrook ranks #272 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 Penbrook 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 Penbrook near the bottom of Pennsylvania's cities
Among the 1,865 Pennsylvania cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Penbrook ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Penbrook only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#848 of 1,765
52nd percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,865
0th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Home Value
#1,139 of 1,790
36th percentile in Pennsylvania
Poverty Rate
#1,314 of 1,856
28th percentile in Pennsylvania
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#249 of 1,861
86th 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
47th percentile nationally for median household income · 53rd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Penbrook's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Penbrook'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 Penbrook's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$140,000Among 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
Penbrook's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,819 of 15,516
More affordable than 88% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,735 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.0×, Penbrook sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,819 of 15,516 and #1,735 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
$68,295Penbrook, PA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Penbrook, 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 Penbrook, PA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)42.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)2.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)73.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
3,260
Median Income
$68,295
Median Home Value
$140,000
Median Age
27.9
Poverty Rate
2.1%
Labor force participation
73.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
42.4%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1267.8
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
402.0
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
865.8
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
Penbrook's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
3,262 residents
2021
3,263 residents
2022
3,250 residents
2023
3,250 residents
2024
3,254 residents
2025
3,243 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
69.5%
Carpool
22.2%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.4%
Work from Home
5.0%
Other
0.9%
Based on 1,795 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 Penbrook. 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 Penbrook 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 Penbrook sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Penbrook 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, 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.