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Place dossier plate
SheetPA-WEST-MIDDLESEX-PA · West Middlesex, PA 1,063 pop · income 64th 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 West Middlesex
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest West Middlesex on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Duncan · lowest
38,750
Duncan · lowest
38,750 median HH income
32.9% of the leader · rank #1
West Middlesex · this city
82,500
West Middlesex · this city
82,500 median HH income
70.1% of the leader · rank #2
Patterson Tra… · near
82,500
Patterson Tra… · near
82,500 median HH income
70.1% of the leader · rank #3
Bogart · near
82,500
Bogart · near
82,500 median HH income
70.1% of the leader · rank #4
Paris · near
82,500
Paris · near
82,500 median HH income
70.1% of the leader · rank #5
Columbus City · near
82,500
Columbus City · near
82,500 median HH income
70.1% of the leader · rank #6
Dorseyville · highest
117,614
Dorseyville · highest
117,614 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 West Middlesex 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: 1,063.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, West Middlesex lands in the 64th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
64th
percentile, household income
29th
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 Middlesex, PA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 1,063 residents in West Middlesex, a small town within Pennsylvania. West Middlesex households earn a median of $82,500 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 1.3%. Home values in West Middlesex run a median of $156,100, and the median resident age is 43.2 years. About 20.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 67.7% 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: 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. Workers in West Middlesex report an average commute of 19.2 minutes, with 85.0% driving alone and 6.4% working from home. 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 Middlesex'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 schools and households to population change to housing and income to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For West Middlesex, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, local building permits, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in West Middlesex?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 85.0%. The reported mean trip to work is 19.2 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. 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.
What does the education layer cover for West Middlesex?
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 3 public schools within the city match. 20.3% 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.
Is West Middlesex growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -28 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.5% 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for West Middlesex?
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 Clinton CDP (Allegheny County) (1,063 residents, $99,436 income); Dauphin (1,065 residents); Speers (1,061 residents, $67,292 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Berry, AL (1,063 residents); Craig, AK (1,063 residents); Duncan, AZ (1,063 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.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in West Middlesex?
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 1.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 1.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
1.9×
Home value
$156,100
Household income
$82,500
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 1.3% (Very low poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
97.6 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Pennsylvania average
C+
City profile score · West Middlesex, PA
61/100
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.
Poverty rate A+
1.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income C+
$82,500
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); 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.
Bachelor's+ share F
20.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
West Middlesex profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 91/100 (A+) · 1.3%
Household income: 62/100 (C+) · $82,500
Cost of living: 50/100 (C-) · 97.6 index
Bachelor's+ share: 35/100 (F) · 20.3%
How does West Middlesex compare to other US cities?
West Middlesex measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income64% higher than other cities
Home value29% 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 West Middlesex 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 Middlesex near the bottom of Pennsylvania's cities
Among the 1,865 Pennsylvania cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, West Middlesex ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares West Middlesex only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#488 of 1,765
72nd percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,865
0th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Home Value
#1,010 of 1,790
44th percentile in Pennsylvania
Poverty Rate
#1,396 of 1,856
24th percentile in Pennsylvania
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#1,009 of 1,861
45th 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
64th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How West Middlesex's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$156,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 71% 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
West Middlesex's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,272 of 15,516
More affordable than 92% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,227 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.9×, West Middlesex sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,272 of 15,516 and #1,227 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
$82,500West Middlesex, PA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context West Middlesex, 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 Middlesex, PA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)20.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)1.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)67.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,063
Median Income
$82,500
Median Home Value
$156,100
Median Age
43.2
Poverty Rate
1.3%
Labor force participation
67.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
20.3%
Schools
Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
West Middlesex's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
800 residents
2021
797 residents
2022
789 residents
2023
780 residents
2024
776 residents
2025
772 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
Average Commute Time
19.2 minutes
Drive Alone
85.0%
Carpool
5.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
3.6%
Work from Home
6.4%
Based on 560 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 Middlesex. 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 Middlesex 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 Middlesex sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How West Middlesex 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, 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.