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Place dossier plate
SheetPA-WASHINGTON-PA · Washington, PA 13,361 pop · income 23rd pct · 62 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 Washington
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Washington on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Butler · lowest
41,705
Butler · lowest
41,705 median HH income
19.1% of the leader · rank #1
Liberty · near
52,341
Liberty · near
52,341 median HH income
23.9% of the leader · rank #2
Huntington · near
52,344
Huntington · near
52,344 median HH income
23.9% of the leader · rank #3
Charlevoix · near
52,344
Charlevoix · near
52,344 median HH income
23.9% of the leader · rank #4
Warden · near
52,344
Warden · near
52,344 median HH income
23.9% of the leader · rank #5
Washington · this city
52,350
Washington · this city
52,350 median HH income
23.9% of the leader · rank #6
Western Sprin… · highest
218,839
Western Sprin… · highest
218,839 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 Washington 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: 13,361.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Washington lands in the 23rd percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
23rd
percentile, household income
18th
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: Washington, PA
Washington is a small town in Pennsylvania, home to 13,361 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Washington report a median income of $52,350 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 10.5%. Typical homes in Washington are valued around $121,000, and the median resident age is 38.5 years. About 19.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 58.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 1 residential building permits were authorized in Washington (Construction Slowdown), down 67% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 51.4°F with 41.3 inches of precipitation per year and 31.9 inches of snowfall.
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. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Pennsylvania's average monthly utility costs around $260 (state average). Commute times here average 18.3 minutes, with 69.1% driving alone and 9.0% working from home, per Census ACS commuting 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 Washington'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 work and mobility to climate and hazard context to comparison shortlist to population change to schools and households to housing and income to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Washington, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Washington?
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 69.1%. The reported mean trip to work is 18.3 minutes.
What physical conditions frame life in Washington?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 51.4°F, with 41.3 inches of precipitation and 31.9 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.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Washington?
Within Pennsylvania, the closest population matches are Pottsville (13,374 residents, $53,465 income); Kingston (13,333 residents, $53,885 income); Coatesville (13,323 residents, $57,323 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Lake Forest Park, WA (13,356 residents); Pell City, AL (13,353 residents); Atlantic Beach, FL (13,353 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.
What can 62 Census tracts reveal inside Washington?
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.
PlainCities matches 62 Census tracts to this city.
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 Washington 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 +246 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.9% 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.
Period change
+1.9%
2025 estimate
13,377
2020 estimate
13,131
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the education layer cover for Washington?
The NCES join finds 10 public schools within the city match. 19.3% 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.
Matched public schools
10
Bachelor's degree+
19.3%
Poverty estimate
10.5%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Washington?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 10.5%, 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
$52,350
Home value
$121,000
Value / income
2.3×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Pennsylvania average
F
City profile score · Washington, PA
35/100
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.
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.
Poverty rate F
10.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
19.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$52,350
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Washington profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 50/100 (C-) · 97.6 index
Poverty rate: 38/100 (F) · 10.5%
Bachelor's+ share: 32/100 (F) · 19.3%
Household income: 23/100 (F) · $52,350
How does Washington compare to other US cities?
Washington measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income23% higher than other cities
Home value18% 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 Washington 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 Washington near the bottom of Pennsylvania's cities
Among the 1,865 Pennsylvania cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Washington ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Washington only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#1,390 of 1,765
21st percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,865
0th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Home Value
#1,282 of 1,790
28th percentile in Pennsylvania
Poverty Rate
#529 of 1,856
71st percentile in Pennsylvania
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#1,068 of 1,861
42nd 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
23rd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Washington's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$121,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 82% 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
Washington's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,013 of 15,516
More affordable than 81% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#215 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.3×, Washington sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,013 of 15,516 and #215 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
$52,350Washington, PA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Washington, 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 Washington, PA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)19.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)10.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
13,361
Median Income
$52,350
Median Home Value
$121,000
Median Age
38.5
Poverty Rate
10.5%
Labor force participation
58.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
19.3%
Climate
Avg Temperature
51.4°F
Annual Precipitation
41.3"
Annual Snowfall
31.9"
Schools
Total Schools
10
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Washington's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
13,131 residents
2021
13,502 residents
2022
13,434 residents
2023
13,370 residents
2024
13,428 residents
2025
13,377 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
1
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
3
3
0
$0.5M
2020
3
3
0
$0.5M
2021
3
3
0
$0.5M
2022
4
4
0
$0.6M
2023
3
3
0
$1.0M
2024
1
1
0
$0.3M
Permit volume decreased 67% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
18.3 minutes
Drive Alone
69.1%
Carpool
11.0%
Public Transit
0.8%
Walk
8.7%
Work from Home
9.0%
Other
1.4%
Based on 6,621 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 Washington. 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 Washington 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 Washington sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Washington 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, 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.