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Place dossier plate
SheetTX-BLUE-RIDGE-TX · Blue Ridge, TX 1,135 pop · income 58th 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 Blue Ridge
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Blue Ridge on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Jolivue · lowest
38,738
Jolivue · lowest
38,738 median HH income
35.9% of the leader · rank #1
Vandalia · near
76,290
Vandalia · near
76,290 median HH income
70.8% of the leader · rank #2
Big Lake · near
76,292
Big Lake · near
76,292 median HH income
70.8% of the leader · rank #3
Blair · near
76,292
Blair · near
76,292 median HH income
70.8% of the leader · rank #4
Blue Ridge · this city
76,296
Blue Ridge · this city
76,296 median HH income
70.8% of the leader · rank #5
Marine · near
76,304
Marine · near
76,304 median HH income
70.8% of the leader · rank #6
Wooster · highest
107,813
Wooster · highest
107,813 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 Blue Ridge 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: 1,135.
Nationally, Blue Ridge sits in the 58th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
58th
percentile, household income
44th
percentile, home value
40th
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: Blue Ridge, TX
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 1,135 residents in Blue Ridge, a small town within Texas. Blue Ridge households earn a median of $76,296 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 17.6%. Typical homes in Blue Ridge are valued around $206,100, and the median resident age is 33.8 years. Educational attainment runs 12.8% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 72.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 6 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 500% from five years earlier.
Texas tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: the state registers 97.1 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Near Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,149 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Texas's average monthly utility costs around $223 (state average). Natural-hazard exposure scores 49.0 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Blue Ridge'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 schools and households to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Blue Ridge, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, local building permits, commute-mode shares.
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
Is Blue Ridge growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +84 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +7.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 6 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.
What does the education layer cover for Blue Ridge?
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. 12.8% 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Blue Ridge?
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 Texas, the closest population matches are Daisetta (1,133 residents, $59,079 income); Sudan (1,132 residents, $70,536 income); Gholson (1,131 residents, $76,833 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Fayetteville, AL (1,135 residents); Wooster, AR (1,135 residents); Cayuga, IN (1,135 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Blue Ridge?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 78.5%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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.
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 Blue Ridge?
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 2.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 17.6%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
2.7×
Home value
$206,100
Household income
$76,296
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 17.6% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
97.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Texas average
F
City profile score · Blue Ridge, TX
38/100
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.
Household income C
$76,296
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living C-
97.1 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
17.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
12.8%
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).
Blue Ridge profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 56/100 (C) · $76,296
Cost of living: 53/100 (C-) · 97.1 index
Poverty rate: 18/100 (F) · 17.6%
Bachelor's+ share: 14/100 (F) · 12.8%
How does Blue Ridge compare to other US cities?
Where Blue Ridge sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income58% higher than other cities
Home value44% pricier than other cities
Median rent40% 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 Blue Ridge against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Texas only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Texas-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Blue Ridge near the bottom of Texas's cities
Among the 1,663 Texas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Blue Ridge ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Blue Ridge only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#487 of 1,520
68th percentile in Texas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,663
0th percentile in Texas
Median Home Value
#540 of 1,505
64th percentile in Texas
Poverty Rate
#399 of 1,663
76th percentile in Texas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#1,095 of 1,663
34th percentile in Texas
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 Texas only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
58th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Blue Ridge's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$206,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 56% 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
Blue Ridge's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#5,040 of 15,516
More affordable than 68% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4,420 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.7×, Blue Ridge sits in the affordable band:
national rank #5,040 of 15,516 and #4,420 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
$76,296Blue Ridge, TX median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Blue Ridge, TX median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Blue Ridge, TX.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)12.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)17.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)72.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,135
Median Income
$76,296
Median Home Value
$206,100
Median Age
33.8
Poverty Rate
17.6%
Labor force participation
72.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
12.8%
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
Blue Ridge's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,181 residents
2021
1,191 residents
2022
1,207 residents
2023
1,218 residents
2024
1,255 residents
2025
1,265 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
6
housing units authorized
Single-Family
6
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
5.3
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.2M
2020
2
0
2
$0.3M
2021
4
2
2
$1.1M
2022
5
5
0
$1.0M
2023
14
14
0
$4.0M
2024
6
6
0
$2.1M
Permit volume increased 500% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
78.5%
Carpool
7.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.5%
Work from Home
8.6%
Other
3.9%
Based on 590 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Texas statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $223
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Texas at $223 (electricity about $130 , water and sewer about $48 ).
These are Texas statewide averages, not a meter reading for Blue Ridge. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Texas's BEA cost-of-living index is 97.1 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Blue Ridge is $1,149/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Texas statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 49.0 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Texas statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Blue Ridge sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Blue Ridge compares to similar-size Texas 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.