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Place dossier plate
SheetTN-GIBSON-TN · Gibson, TN 536 pop · income 24th 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 Gibson
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Gibson on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Pennington · lowest
28,186
Pennington · lowest
28,186 median HH income
21.7% of the leader · rank #1
Gibson · this city
52,656
Gibson · this city
52,656 median HH income
40.6% of the leader · rank #2
Blakely · near
52,656
Blakely · near
52,656 median HH income
40.6% of the leader · rank #3
London Mills · near
52,656
London Mills · near
52,656 median HH income
40.6% of the leader · rank #4
Lyndon · near
52,656
Lyndon · near
52,656 median HH income
40.6% of the leader · rank #5
Garrison · near
52,656
Garrison · near
52,656 median HH income
40.6% of the leader · rank #6
Clarkedale · highest
129,750
Clarkedale · highest
129,750 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 Gibson 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: 536.
Gibson ranks in the 24th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
24th
percentile, household income
29th
percentile, home value
34th
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: Gibson, TN
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 536 residents in Gibson, a small town within Tennessee. Households in Gibson report a median income of $52,656 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 11.9%. Gibson's housing stock carries a median value of $155,800, and the median resident age is 38.9 years. Educational attainment runs 14.7% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 59.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 1 residential building permits were authorized in Gibson (Stable), up 0% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data.
Living costs in Tennessee run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Tennessee scores 91.9 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. 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. Commute times here average 25.5 minutes, with 77.2% driving alone and 14.5% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. 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 Gibson'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 population change to housing and income to work and mobility to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Gibson, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Gibson growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +10 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1 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 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Gibson?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 11.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the journey to work look like in Gibson?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.2%. The reported mean trip to work is 25.5 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. 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Gibson?
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 Tennessee, the closest population matches are Gallaway (541 residents, $30,750 income); McDonald (541 residents, $56,492 income); Michie (526 residents, $67,813 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Pennington, AL (536 residents); Cincinnati, AR (536 residents); Clarkedale, AR (536 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.
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.
Poverty rate F
11.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$52,656
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
14.7%
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).
Gibson profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 78/100 (B+) · 91.9 index
Poverty rate: 32/100 (F) · 11.9%
Household income: 24/100 (F) · $52,656
Bachelor's+ share: 19/100 (F) · 14.7%
How does Gibson compare to other US cities?
Here's how Gibson stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income24% higher than other cities
Home value29% pricier than other cities
Median rent34% 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 Gibson 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 Gibson near the bottom of Tennessee's cities
Among the 482 Tennessee cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Gibson ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Gibson only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#266 of 458
42nd percentile in Tennessee
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 482
0th percentile in Tennessee
Median Home Value
#287 of 455
37th percentile in Tennessee
Poverty Rate
#200 of 482
57th percentile in Tennessee
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#278 of 482
42nd 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
24th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Gibson's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$155,800Among 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
Gibson's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#6,467 of 15,516
More affordable than 58% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#5,504 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.0×, Gibson sits in the affordable band:
national rank #6,467 of 15,516 and #5,504 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
$52,656Gibson, TN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Gibson, 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 Gibson, TN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)14.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)11.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)59.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
536
Median Income
$52,656
Median Home Value
$155,800
Median Age
38.9
Poverty Rate
11.9%
Labor force participation
59.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.7%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Gibson's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
364 residents
2021
362 residents
2022
370 residents
2023
373 residents
2024
373 residents
2025
374 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Stable
Total Permits (2024)
1
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.1M
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
5
5
0
$1.2M
2022
1
1
0
$0.1M
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
1
1
0
$0.2M
Permit volume increased 0% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
25.5 minutes
Drive Alone
77.2%
Carpool
8.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
14.5%
Based on 228 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 Gibson. 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 Gibson 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 Gibson sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Gibson 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, 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.