City profile · Pennsylvania · Census ACS 2023

West Liberty, PA

West Liberty's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

294
Residents
$54,583
Median income
$269,000
Median home
$1,225
Median rent (state)
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State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for West Liberty.

Place dossier plate

Sheet PA-WEST-LIBERTY-PA · West Liberty, PA 294 pop · income 27th pct

POP-VILLAGE · INC-MID · COL-PAR · SAFE-UNK · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-MID · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-VILLAGE 294
  • INC-MID $54,583
  • COL-PAR 97.6
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-LOWER 27th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Godley
  • HOME-MID $269,000
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: Godley, IL (+ $0 income $)

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 West Liberty

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest West Liberty on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

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.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for West Liberty 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: 294.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $54,583. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

West Liberty - the verdict

West Liberty ranks in the 27th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.

27th
percentile, household income
59th
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: West Liberty, PA

Census ACS 2023 estimates count 294 residents in West Liberty, a small town within Pennsylvania. West Liberty households earn a median of $54,583 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 12.6%. Typical homes in West Liberty are valued around $269,000, and the median resident age is 47.1 years. Educational attainment runs 20.4% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 53.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 0 residential units authorized here in 2024 (No Permits).

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. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,225 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $260 across Pennsylvania, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. 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 West Liberty'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 population change to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For West Liberty, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, local building permits. No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, 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 West Liberty?

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 Ulster (294 residents, $59,375 income); Coulter (293 residents, $61,250 income); Timber Hills (295 residents, $134,063 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Clam Gulch, AK (294 residents); Bloomfield, CA (294 residents); Rollinsville, CO (294 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.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Question 2

Is West Liberty growing, shrinking, or holding steady?

Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -14 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -4.2% 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.

See the national growth ranking →

Question 3

What does the journey to work look like in West Liberty?

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 73.5%. 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.

Compare commute patterns →

4. Housing and income

How far does income reach against housing in West Liberty?

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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.

The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 12.6%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Population

294 residents

Micro place (under 10k)

Median Household Income

$54,583 /yr

Below median income · poverty 12.6% (Above-median poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

97.6 (US=100)

Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Pennsylvania average

City profile score · West Liberty, 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.

Bachelor's+ share F
20.4%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Poverty rate F
12.6%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Household income F
$54,583

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).

West Liberty profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Cost of living, Bachelor's+ share, Poverty rate, Household income. Cost of livingBachelor's+ sharePoverty rateHousehold income 35 F
West Liberty profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Cost of living: 50/100 (C-) · 97.6 index
  • Bachelor's+ share: 35/100 (F) · 20.4%
  • Poverty rate: 29/100 (F) · 12.6%
  • Household income: 27/100 (F) · $54,583

How does West Liberty compare to other US cities?

Here's how West Liberty stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 27% higher than other cities
Home value 59% pricier than other cities
Median rent 54% 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 West Liberty 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 West Liberty near the bottom of Pennsylvania's cities

Among the 1,865 Pennsylvania cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, West Liberty ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares West Liberty only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#1,311 of 1,765
26th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,865
0th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Home Value
#307 of 1,790
83rd percentile in Pennsylvania
Poverty Rate
#418 of 1,856
77th percentile in Pennsylvania
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#1,005 of 1,861
46th 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.

27thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

27th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How West Liberty's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$269,000 41st percentile more affordable than 41% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). This entry sits in this band. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Above this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. West Liberty $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

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

West Liberty's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.9×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,768 of 15,516
More affordable than 18% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,680 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)

At 4.9×, West Liberty sits in the moderate band: national rank #12,768 of 15,516 and #9,680 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

$54,583 West Liberty, PA median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - West Liberty, PA West Liberty, PA's median household income ($54,583) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not West Liberty, PA-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution West Liberty, PA median $54,583/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
West Liberty, 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 West Liberty, PA.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 20.4%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 12.6%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 53.7%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
294
Median Income
$54,583
Median Home Value
$269,000
Median Age
47.1
Poverty Rate
12.6%
Labor force participation
53.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
20.4%

Population Change

PEP vintage

Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025

See the fastest-growing cities →
315 residents320 residents325 residents330 residents335 residents340 residents 202020212022202320242025 334 residents 320 residents ▼ -4.2%
West Liberty's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.
Read the chart as text
Period Population
2020 334 residents
2021 330 residents
2022 326 residents
2023 325 residents
2024 322 residents
2025 320 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
2019 0
2020 0
2021 0
2022 0
2023 0
2024 0

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
73.5%
Carpool
9.8%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.3%
Work from Home
14.4%

Based on 132 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 West Liberty. 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 West Liberty 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 West Liberty sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How West Liberty 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.

City Population Median Household Income
West Liberty (this city) 294 $54,583
Ulster 294 $59,375
Coulter 293 $61,250
Timber Hills 295 $134,063
Census BPS 2024
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, 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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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