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Place dossier plate
SheetPA-WATSONTOWN-PA · Watsontown, PA 1,845 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 Watsontown
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Watsontown on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Victoria · lowest
38,021
Victoria · lowest
38,021 median HH income
26.2% of the leader · rank #1
Sunnyside · near
53,350
Sunnyside · near
53,350 median HH income
36.8% of the leader · rank #2
Au Sable Forks · near
53,352
Au Sable Forks · near
53,352 median HH income
36.8% of the leader · rank #3
Watsontown · this city
53,355
Watsontown · this city
53,355 median HH income
36.8% of the leader · rank #4
Vinita Park · near
53,355
Vinita Park · near
53,355 median HH income
36.8% of the leader · rank #5
Shelby · near
53,357
Shelby · near
53,357 median HH income
36.8% of the leader · rank #6
Brass Castle · highest
144,865
Brass Castle · highest
144,865 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 Watsontown 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: 1,845.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Watsontown - the verdict
Nationally, Watsontown sits in the 25th percentile for household income and the 76th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
25th
percentile, household income
31st
percentile, home value
54th
percentile, median rent
76th
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: Watsontown, PA
1,845 people live in Watsontown, Pennsylvania - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Watsontown report a median income of $53,355 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.9%. Home values in Watsontown run a median of $161,200, and the median resident age is 44.3 years. 15.6% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 58.3% 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). Watsontown reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 725.0 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).
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. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Pennsylvania's average monthly utility costs around $260 (state average). FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 67.4 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Watsontown'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 population change to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to housing and income to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Watsontown, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, local building permits.
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.
1. Population change
Is Watsontown growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -39 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.8% 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Watsontown?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 85.3%. 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 Watsontown?
Within Pennsylvania, the closest population matches are Mercer (1,847 residents, $44,865 income); South Coatesville (1,843 residents, $72,976 income); South Connellsville (1,848 residents, $49,821 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Hudson, CO (1,844 residents); Kremmling, CO (1,844 residents); Tecumseh, NE (1,844 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Watsontown?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.9%, 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.
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 Watsontown?
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 725.0 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 68% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
679.7
Violent rate
45.3
Total reported rate
725.0
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Pennsylvania average
D
City profile score · Watsontown, PA
49/100
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 A
45 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate C+
5.9%
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
$53,355
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
15.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Watsontown profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 85/100 (A) · 45 /100k
Poverty rate: 60/100 (C+) · 5.9%
Cost of living: 50/100 (C-) · 97.6 index
Household income: 25/100 (F) · $53,355
Bachelor's+ share: 22/100 (F) · 15.6%
Where Watsontown sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Watsontown'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 - Watsontown highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Watsontown, PA (this city): home $161,200, crime 725/100k
Hudson, CO : home $312,600, crime 1,557/100k
Kremmling, CO : home $322,400, crime 1,264/100k
Victoria, VA : home $123,100, crime 1,144/100k
Mercer, PA : home $130,300, crime 1,565/100k
South Coatesville, PA : home $253,900, crime 1,488/100k
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 Watsontown compare to other US cities?
Here's how Watsontown 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 value31% pricier than other cities
Median rent54% pricier than other cities
Safety76% 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, Watsontown ranks #168 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 Watsontown 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 Watsontown near the bottom of Pennsylvania's cities
Among the 1,865 Pennsylvania cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Watsontown ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Watsontown only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#1,356 of 1,765
23rd percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,865
0th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Home Value
#961 of 1,790
46th percentile in Pennsylvania
Poverty Rate
#900 of 1,856
51st percentile in Pennsylvania
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#1,304 of 1,861
30th 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 · 76th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Watsontown's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Watsontown'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 Watsontown's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$161,200Among the most affordablemore affordable than 69% 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
Watsontown's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#6,805 of 15,516
More affordable than 56% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#5,737 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.0×, Watsontown sits in the moderate band:
national rank #6,805 of 15,516 and #5,737 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
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
$53,355Watsontown, PA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Watsontown, 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 Watsontown, PA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)15.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,845
Median Income
$53,355
Median Home Value
$161,200
Median Age
44.3
Poverty Rate
5.9%
Labor force participation
58.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
15.6%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
725.0
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
45.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
679.7
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
Watsontown's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,227 residents
2021
2,225 residents
2022
2,213 residents
2023
2,203 residents
2024
2,196 residents
2025
2,188 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
4
0
4
$0.2M
2021
4
0
4
$0.2M
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
85.3%
Carpool
3.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
7.0%
Work from Home
3.7%
Other
0.7%
Based on 837 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 Watsontown. 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 Watsontown 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 Watsontown sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Watsontown 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.