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Place dossier plate
SheetTN-DICKSON-TN · Dickson, TN 16,246 pop · income 48th pct · 11 tracts
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 Dickson
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Dickson on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Poplar Bluff · lowest
42,035
Poplar Bluff · lowest
42,035 median HH income
24.7% of the leader · rank #1
Canadian Lakes · near
69,069
Canadian Lakes · near
69,069 median HH income
40.6% of the leader · rank #2
Yankton · near
69,071
Yankton · near
69,071 median HH income
40.6% of the leader · rank #3
Dickson · this city
69,074
Dickson · this city
69,074 median HH income
40.6% of the leader · rank #4
Johnson City · near
69,081
Johnson City · near
69,081 median HH income
40.6% of the leader · rank #5
Crane · near
69,083
Crane · near
69,083 median HH income
40.6% of the leader · rank #6
Nolensville · highest
170,068
Nolensville · highest
170,068 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 Dickson 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: 16,246.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Dickson - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Dickson places in the 48th percentile for household income and the 18th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
48th
percentile, household income
58th
percentile, home value
34th
percentile, median rent
18th
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: Dickson, TN
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 16,246 residents in Dickson, a small town within Tennessee. Dickson households earn a median of $69,074 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 8.5%. Home values in Dickson run a median of $263,100, and the median resident age is 35.7 years. Educational attainment runs 18.1% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 62.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 70 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 52% from five years earlier. Dickson's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 2791.5 in FBI UCR data, above the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Dickson's yearly average temperature at 58.1°F with 54.1 inches of precipitation per year and 2.5 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Tennessee run below the national norm: the state registers 91.9 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,118 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Tennessee run around $218, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 52.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Dickson'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 work and mobility to housing and income to within-city variation to reported crime to climate and hazard context to schools and households to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Dickson, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Dickson?
Within Tennessee, the closest population matches are Dyersburg (16,075 residents, $51,846 income); Seymour (15,914 residents, $85,240 income); Greeneville (15,531 residents, $51,516 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Hewitt, TX (16,244 residents); Poplar Bluff, MO (16,243 residents); Kings Park, NY (16,249 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Dickson?
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 79.5%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Dickson?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.5%, 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. 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.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 11 Census tracts to this city.
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 Dickson?
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 2791.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 22% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
2326.3
Violent rate
465.3
Total reported rate
2791.5
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 58.1°F, with 54.1 inches of precipitation and 2.5 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Tennessee is 52.5 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Mean temperature
58.1°F
Annual precipitation
54.1 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
52.5
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
The NCES join finds 7 public schools within the city match. 18.1% 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.
Matched public schools
7
Bachelor's degree+
18.1%
Poverty estimate
8.5%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
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 +979 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +6.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 70 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+6.1%
2025 estimate
17,051
2020 estimate
16,072
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Below median income · poverty 8.5% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
91.9 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Tennessee average
D
City profile score · Dickson, TN
45/100
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 D
$69,074
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate D
8.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
18.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime F
465 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Dickson profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 78/100 (B+) · 91.9 index
Household income: 48/100 (D) · $69,074
Poverty rate: 46/100 (D) · 8.5%
Bachelor's+ share: 29/100 (F) · 18.1%
Violent crime: 18/100 (F) · 465 /100k
Where Dickson sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Dickson'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 - Dickson highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Dickson, TN (this city): home $263,100, crime 2,792/100k
Hewitt, TX : home $252,200, crime 1,266/100k
Poplar Bluff, MO : home $109,700, crime 248/100k
Fairview Heights, IL : home $166,800, crime 3,436/100k
Dyersburg, TN : home $170,900, crime 6,012/100k
Greeneville, TN : home $210,700, crime 2,156/100k
Goodlettsville, TN : home $355,000, crime 1,022/100k
Nolensville, TN : home $695,100, crime 257/100k
How does Dickson compare to other US cities?
Dickson measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income48% higher than other cities
Home value58% pricier than other cities
Median rent34% pricier than other cities
Safety18% 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 Tennessee alone, Dickson ranks #140 of 174 Tennessee 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 Dickson 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 Dickson near the bottom of Tennessee's cities
Among the 482 Tennessee cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Dickson ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Dickson only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#136 of 458
70th percentile in Tennessee
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 482
0th percentile in Tennessee
Median Home Value
#100 of 455
78th percentile in Tennessee
Poverty Rate
#267 of 482
44th percentile in Tennessee
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#213 of 482
55th 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
48th percentile nationally for median household income · 18th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Dickson's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Dickson'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 Dickson's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$263,10042nd percentilemore affordable than 42% 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
Dickson's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#10,089 of 15,516
More affordable than 35% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,800 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.8×, Dickson sits in the moderate band:
national rank #10,089 of 15,516 and #1,800 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
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
$69,074Dickson, TN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Dickson, 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 Dickson, TN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)18.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
16,246
Median Income
$69,074
Median Home Value
$263,100
Median Age
35.7
Poverty Rate
8.5%
Labor force participation
62.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
18.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2791.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
465.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2326.3
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.
Climate
Avg Temperature
58.1°F
Annual Precipitation
54.1"
Annual Snowfall
2.5"
Schools
Total Schools
7
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Dickson's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
16,072 residents
2021
16,132 residents
2022
16,339 residents
2023
16,773 residents
2024
16,922 residents
2025
17,051 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
70
housing units authorized
Single-Family
70
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
4.3
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
46
46
0
$9.5M
2020
68
68
0
$15.2M
2021
230
86
144
$40.0M
2022
245
180
65
$41.7M
2023
62
62
0
$20.8M
2024
70
70
0
$23.1M
Permit volume increased 52% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
79.5%
Carpool
6.4%
Public Transit
1.8%
Walk
0.1%
Work from Home
7.6%
Other
4.6%
Based on 7,953 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 Dickson. 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 Dickson 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 Dickson sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Dickson 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, NOAA Climate Normals, 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.