Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetTX-COLLEGE-STATION-TX · College Station, TX 122,280 pop · income 22nd pct · 63 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 College Station
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest College Station on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Unionville · lowest
51,771
Unionville · lowest
51,771 median HH income
36.6% of the leader · rank #1
Miller · near
51,774
Miller · near
51,774 median HH income
36.6% of the leader · rank #2
College Stati… · this city
51,776
College Stati… · this city
51,776 median HH income
36.6% of the leader · rank #3
Midfield · near
51,776
Midfield · near
51,776 median HH income
36.6% of the leader · rank #4
Jamestown · near
51,779
Jamestown · near
51,779 median HH income
36.6% of the leader · rank #5
Samoset · near
51,780
Samoset · near
51,780 median HH income
36.6% of the leader · rank #6
The Woodlands · highest
141,353
The Woodlands · highest
141,353 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 College Station 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: 122,280.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
College Station - the verdict
Nationally, College Station sits in the 22nd percentile for household income and the 53rd percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
22nd
percentile, household income
69th
percentile, home value
40th
percentile, median rent
53rd
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: College Station, TX
122,280 people live in College Station, Texas - a mid-sized U.S. city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in College Station brings in $51,776 a year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 11.9%. Typical homes in College Station are valued around $326,500, and the median resident age is 22.9 years. 57.1% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 59.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 1,112 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 80% from five years earlier. College Station reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 1273.1 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Texas tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Texas at 97.1 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,149 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $223 across Texas, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. The average commute for College Station workers runs 15.1 minutes, with 70.8% driving alone and 12.1% working from home. 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 College Station'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 reported crime to comparison shortlist to population change to schools and households to work and mobility to housing and income to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For College Station, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What can the FBI record say about safety in College Station?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1273.1 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 44% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for College Station?
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.
Within Texas, the closest population matches are Round Rock (124,288 residents, $97,187 income); Pearland (125,983 residents, $112,470 income); Richardson (118,269 residents, $96,257 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Independence, MO (121,944 residents); Clovis, CA (122,719 residents); Arvada, CO (122,835 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.
Is College Station growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +6,681 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1,112 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 can 63 Census tracts reveal inside College Station?
PlainCities matches 63 Census tracts to this city.
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.
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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for College Station?
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 24 public schools within the city match. 57.1% 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.
Poverty estimate
11.9%
Bachelor's degree+
57.1%
Matched public schools
24
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in College Station?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 70.8%. The reported mean trip to work is 15.1 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.
Drive alone
70.8%
Work from home
12.1%
Public transit
2.3%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 60,180 workers age 16+.
How far does income reach against housing in College Station?
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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 6.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 11.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
6.3×
Home value
$326,500
Household income
$51,776
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
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.
Bachelor's+ share A+
57.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; 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.
Violent crime C-
171 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate F
11.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$51,776
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
College Station profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 90/100 (A+) · 57.1%
Cost of living: 53/100 (C-) · 97.1 index
Violent crime: 53/100 (C-) · 171 /100k
Poverty rate: 32/100 (F) · 11.9%
Household income: 23/100 (F) · $51,776
Where College Station sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
College Station'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 - College Station highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
College Station, TX (this city): home $326,500, crime 1,273/100k
Independence, MO : home $166,400, crime 4,095/100k
Clovis, CA : home $453,300, crime 1,911/100k
Arvada, CO : home $600,800, crime 2,765/100k
Rochester, MN : home $287,500, crime 1,523/100k
Lafayette, LA : home $251,300, crime 5,414/100k
Ann Arbor, MI : home $435,100, crime 2,018/100k
Round Rock, TX : home $383,700, crime 2,071/100k
Pearland, TX : home $330,900, crime 1,536/100k
Richardson, TX : home $405,600, crime 1,980/100k
Abilene, TX : home $178,900, crime 2,188/100k
Lewisville, TX : home $350,200, crime 1,705/100k
How does College Station compare to other US cities?
Where College Station sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income22% higher than other cities
Home value69% pricier than other cities
Median rent40% pricier than other cities
Safety53% 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 Texas alone, College Station ranks #294 of 624 Texas 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 College Station 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 College Station near the bottom of Texas's cities
Among the 1,663 Texas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, College Station ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares College Station only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#1,083 of 1,520
29th percentile in Texas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,663
0th percentile in Texas
Median Home Value
#217 of 1,505
86th percentile in Texas
Poverty Rate
#651 of 1,663
61st percentile in Texas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#86 of 1,663
95th 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
22nd percentile nationally for median household income · 53rd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
College Station's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
College Station'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 College Station's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$326,50031st percentilemore affordable than 31% 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
College Station's home-value-to-income ratio: 6.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,332 of 15,516
More affordable than 8% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#607 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 6.3×, College Station sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,332 of 15,516 and #607 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
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
$51,776College Station, TX median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context College Station, 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 College Station, TX.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)57.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)11.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)59.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
122,280
Median Income
$51,776
Median Home Value
$326,500
Median Age
22.9
Poverty Rate
11.9%
Labor force participation
59.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
57.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1273.1
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
170.5
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1102.6
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.
Schools
Total Schools
24
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
College Station's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
120,791 residents
2021
122,619 residents
2022
124,421 residents
2023
126,369 residents
2024
127,208 residents
2025
127,472 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
1,112
housing units authorized
Single-Family
650
detached homes
Multifamily
462
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
9.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
617
398
219
$108.5M
2020
1,165
484
681
$160.6M
2021
992
674
318
$169.7M
2022
689
592
97
$160.4M
2023
741
448
293
$167.9M
2024
1,112
650
462
$232.7M
Permit volume increased 80% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
15.1 minutes
Drive Alone
70.8%
Carpool
8.0%
Public Transit
2.3%
Walk
3.9%
Work from Home
12.1%
Other
2.9%
Based on 60,180 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 College Station. 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 College Station 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 College Station sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How College Station 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, 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.