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Place dossier plate
SheetPA-WILSON-PA · Wilson, PA 8,196 pop · income 62nd 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 Wilson
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Wilson on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Milan · lowest
45,608
Milan · lowest
45,608 median HH income
21.2% of the leader · rank #1
North Grosven… · near
80,925
North Grosven… · near
80,925 median HH income
37.7% of the leader · rank #2
Wilson · this city
80,928
Wilson · this city
80,928 median HH income
37.7% of the leader · rank #3
Okahumpka · near
80,938
Okahumpka · near
80,938 median HH income
37.7% of the leader · rank #4
Stanton · near
80,938
Stanton · near
80,938 median HH income
37.7% of the leader · rank #5
Yale · near
80,938
Yale · near
80,938 median HH income
37.7% of the leader · rank #6
Oradell · highest
214,736
Oradell · highest
214,736 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 Wilson 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: 8,196.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Wilson - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Wilson places in the 62nd percentile for household income and the 40th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
62nd
percentile, household income
40th
percentile, home value
54th
percentile, median rent
40th
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: Wilson, PA
Wilson is a small town in Pennsylvania, home to 8,196 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $80,928 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.1%. Typical homes in Wilson are valued around $191,800, and the median resident age is 35.5 years. About 20.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 63.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Wilson (No Permits), per Census BPS data. Wilson reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 1691.4 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. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Pennsylvania run around $260, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Commute times here average 27.0 minutes, with 70.5% driving alone and 9.8% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. 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 Wilson'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 reported crime to comparison shortlist 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 Wilson, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count; 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 Wilson?
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 70.5%. The reported mean trip to work is 27.0 minutes.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Wilson?
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 1691.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 26% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Which cities make useful reference points for Wilson?
Within Pennsylvania, the closest population matches are Bellevue (8,186 residents, $64,888 income); Hatboro (8,219 residents, $108,927 income); Downingtown (8,163 residents, $82,292 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are New Prague, MN (8,195 residents); Oradell, NJ (8,197 residents); McGregor, FL (8,198 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.
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 -84 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.0% 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 Wilson?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.1%, 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
$80,928
Home value
$191,800
Value / income
2.4×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 9.1% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
97.6 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Pennsylvania average
C-
City profile score · Wilson, PA
53/100
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 B
99 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income C+
$80,928
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.
Poverty rate D
9.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
20.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Wilson profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 71/100 (B) · 99 /100k
Household income: 60/100 (C+) · $80,928
Cost of living: 50/100 (C-) · 97.6 index
Poverty rate: 43/100 (D) · 9.1%
Bachelor's+ share: 35/100 (F) · 20.1%
Where Wilson sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Wilson'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 - Wilson highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Wilson, PA (this city): home $191,800, crime 1,691/100k
New Prague, MN : home $323,500, crime 677/100k
Oradell, NJ : home $702,400, crime 216/100k
Milan, TN : home $121,400, crime 2,557/100k
Winooski, VT : home $350,700, crime 2,944/100k
Bellevue, PA : home $177,900, crime 1,253/100k
Hatboro, PA : home $340,100, crime 581/100k
Downingtown, PA : home $322,500, crime 2,185/100k
Castle Shannon, PA : home $182,400, crime 348/100k
Camp Hill, PA : home $290,300, crime 1,113/100k
How does Wilson compare to other US cities?
Where Wilson sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income62% higher than other cities
Home value40% pricier than other cities
Median rent54% pricier than other cities
Safety40% 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, Wilson ranks #325 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 Wilson 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 Wilson near the bottom of Pennsylvania's cities
Among the 1,865 Pennsylvania cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Wilson ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Wilson only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#526 of 1,765
70th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,865
0th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Home Value
#702 of 1,790
61st percentile in Pennsylvania
Poverty Rate
#611 of 1,856
67th percentile in Pennsylvania
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#1,020 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
62nd percentile nationally for median household income · 40th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Wilson's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Wilson'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 Wilson's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$191,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 60% 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
Wilson's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,333 of 15,516
More affordable than 79% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,048 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.4×, Wilson sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,333 of 15,516 and #3,048 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
$80,928Wilson, PA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Wilson, 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 Wilson, PA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)20.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)63.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
8,196
Median Income
$80,928
Median Home Value
$191,800
Median Age
35.5
Poverty Rate
9.1%
Labor force participation
63.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
20.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1691.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
98.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1592.6
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
Wilson's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
8,243 residents
2021
8,225 residents
2022
8,160 residents
2023
8,151 residents
2024
8,159 residents
2025
8,159 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
27.0 minutes
Drive Alone
70.5%
Carpool
9.0%
Public Transit
3.8%
Walk
2.4%
Work from Home
9.8%
Other
4.5%
Based on 3,873 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 Wilson. 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 Wilson 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 Wilson sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Wilson 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.