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Place dossier plate
SheetTN-BLUFF-CITY-TN · Bluff City, TN 2,268 pop · income 35th 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 Bluff City
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Bluff City on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Spring City · lowest
35,957
Spring City · lowest
35,957 median HH income
35.1% of the leader · rank #1
Williston · near
59,776
Williston · near
59,776 median HH income
58.4% of the leader · rank #2
Bluff City · this city
59,783
Bluff City · this city
59,783 median HH income
58.4% of the leader · rank #3
Sneads Ferry · near
59,783
Sneads Ferry · near
59,783 median HH income
58.4% of the leader · rank #4
Liberty · near
59,792
Liberty · near
59,792 median HH income
58.4% of the leader · rank #5
St. Petersburg · near
59,792
St. Petersburg · near
59,792 median HH income
58.4% of the leader · rank #6
Pegram · highest
102,396
Pegram · highest
102,396 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 Bluff City 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: 2,268.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Bluff City - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Bluff City places in the 35th percentile for household income and the 29th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
35th
percentile, household income
26th
percentile, home value
34th
percentile, median rent
29th
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: Bluff City, TN
Bluff City is a small town in Tennessee, home to 2,268 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Bluff City report a median income of $59,783 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 14.5%. Bluff City's housing stock carries a median value of $147,400, and the median resident age is 34.3 years. Educational attainment runs 14.8% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 64.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Bluff City (No Permits), per Census BPS data. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 2112.7 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, near the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Tennessee run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Tennessee at 91.9 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,118 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Tennessee's average monthly utility costs around $218 (state average). Natural-hazard exposure scores 52.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Bluff City'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 housing and income to schools and households to population change to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Bluff City, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, annual population history, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
How far does income reach against housing in Bluff City?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 14.5%, 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.
What does the education layer cover for Bluff City?
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 14.8% 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.
Is Bluff City 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 +22 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.2% 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Bluff City?
Within Tennessee, the closest population matches are Gladeville (2,263 residents, $94,693 income); Mountain City (2,275 residents, $36,902 income); Plainview (2,276 residents, $61,343 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Eureka Springs, AR (2,269 residents); Lake Mack-Forest Hills, FL (2,267 residents); Jasonville, IN (2,269 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.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Bluff City?
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 76.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.2%
Work from home
13.0%
Drive alone
76.9%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 1,114 workers age 16+.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Bluff City?
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 2112.7 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 7% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
1679.3
Violent rate
433.4
Total reported rate
2112.7
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Below median income · poverty 14.5% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
91.9 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Tennessee average
F
City profile score · Bluff City, TN
36/100
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.
Cost of living B+
91.9 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
$59,783
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
14.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
14.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime F
433 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bluff City profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 78/100 (B+) · 91.9 index
Household income: 34/100 (F) · $59,783
Poverty rate: 24/100 (F) · 14.5%
Bachelor's+ share: 20/100 (F) · 14.8%
Violent crime: 20/100 (F) · 433 /100k
Where Bluff City sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Bluff City'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 - Bluff City highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Bluff City, TN (this city): home $147,400, crime 2,113/100k
Eureka Springs, AR : home $246,900, crime 2,135/100k
Jasonville, IN : home $66,400, crime 943/100k
Marceline, MO : home $96,000, crime 808/100k
Newport, WA : home $230,500, crime 2,803/100k
Mountain City, TN : home $186,800, crime 969/100k
Plainview, TN : home $151,200, crime 768/100k
Spring City, TN : home $151,600, crime 615/100k
How does Bluff City compare to other US cities?
Bluff City measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income35% higher than other cities
Home value26% pricier than other cities
Median rent34% pricier than other cities
Safety29% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Tennessee, Bluff City ranks #115 of 174 Tennessee cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Bluff City against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Tennessee only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Tennessee-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Bluff City near the bottom of Tennessee's cities
Among the 482 Tennessee cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Bluff City ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Bluff City only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#199 of 458
57th percentile in Tennessee
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 482
0th percentile in Tennessee
Median Home Value
#311 of 455
32nd percentile in Tennessee
Poverty Rate
#157 of 482
67th percentile in Tennessee
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#275 of 482
43rd percentile in Tennessee
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 Tennessee only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
35th percentile nationally for median household income · 29th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Bluff City's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Bluff City'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 Bluff City's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$147,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 74% 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
Bluff City's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,823 of 15,516
More affordable than 75% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,459 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.5×, Bluff City sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,823 of 15,516 and #3,459 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
$59,783Bluff City, TN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Bluff City, TN median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Bluff City, TN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)14.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)14.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)64.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,268
Median Income
$59,783
Median Home Value
$147,400
Median Age
34.3
Poverty Rate
14.5%
Labor force participation
64.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2112.7
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
433.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1679.3
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.
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
Bluff City's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,814 residents
2021
1,819 residents
2022
1,829 residents
2023
1,829 residents
2024
1,830 residents
2025
1,836 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
Drive Alone
76.9%
Carpool
9.0%
Public Transit
0.2%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
13.0%
Other
0.9%
Based on 1,114 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Tennessee statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $218
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Tennessee at $218 (electricity about $120 , water and sewer about $40 ).
These are Tennessee statewide averages, not a meter reading for Bluff City. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Tennessee's BEA cost-of-living index is 91.9 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Bluff City is $1,118/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Tennessee statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 52.5 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Tennessee statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Bluff City sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Bluff City compares to similar-size Tennessee 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, 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.