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Place dossier plate
SheetTX-LANCASTER-TX · Lancaster, TX 40,753 pop · income 46th 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 Lancaster
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Lancaster on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Weslaco · lowest
54,995
Weslaco · lowest
54,995 median HH income
38.0% of the leader · rank #1
Carbondale · near
67,578
Carbondale · near
67,578 median HH income
46.7% of the leader · rank #2
Morrison · near
67,580
Morrison · near
67,580 median HH income
46.7% of the leader · rank #3
Lancaster · this city
67,584
Lancaster · this city
67,584 median HH income
46.7% of the leader · rank #4
Stony Ridge · near
67,587
Stony Ridge · near
67,587 median HH income
46.7% of the leader · rank #5
Naplate · near
67,589
Naplate · near
67,589 median HH income
46.7% of the leader · rank #6
Germantown · highest
144,799
Germantown · highest
144,799 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 Lancaster 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: 40,753.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Lancaster - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Lancaster lands in the 46th percentile for household income and the 10th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
46th
percentile, household income
51st
percentile, home value
40th
percentile, median rent
10th
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: Lancaster, TX
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 40,753 residents in Lancaster, a small city within Texas. Median household income here is $67,584 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 10.2%. Typical homes in Lancaster are valued around $229,900, and the median resident age is 34.6 years. Educational attainment runs 25.7% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 61.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 40 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 82% from five years earlier. Lancaster's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 3537.0 in FBI UCR data, above the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Texas tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Texas scores 97.1 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. 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). On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 49.0 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Lancaster'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 population change to reported crime to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Lancaster, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history.
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 Lancaster?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 10.2%, 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.
Is Lancaster growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -727 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.8% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 40 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Lancaster?
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 3537.0 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 55% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Which cities make useful reference points for Lancaster?
Within Texas, the closest population matches are Friendswood (40,827 residents, $125,052 income); Weslaco (41,437 residents, $54,995 income); Hurst (39,912 residents, $71,743 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Annapolis, MD (40,744 residents); Meadow Woods, FL (40,741 residents); Germantown, TN (40,812 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 Lancaster?
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 76.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.3%
Work from home
7.9%
Drive alone
76.8%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 17,875 workers age 16+.
What does the education layer cover for Lancaster?
The NCES join finds 13 public schools within the city match. 25.7% 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
13
Bachelor's degree+
25.7%
Poverty estimate
10.2%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Below median income · poverty 10.2% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
97.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Texas average
D
City profile score · Lancaster, TX
42/100
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 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.
Bachelor's+ share C-
25.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income D
$67,584
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
10.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
410 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Lancaster profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 53/100 (C-) · 97.1 index
Bachelor's+ share: 51/100 (C-) · 25.7%
Household income: 46/100 (D) · $67,584
Poverty rate: 39/100 (F) · 10.2%
Violent crime: 22/100 (F) · 410 /100k
Where Lancaster sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Lancaster'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 - Lancaster highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Lancaster, TX (this city): home $229,900, crime 3,537/100k
Annapolis, MD : home $510,200, crime 2,903/100k
Germantown, TN : home $441,200, crime 1,345/100k
Mount Juliet, TN : home $423,000, crime 1,124/100k
Westfield, MA : home $295,500, crime 998/100k
Friendswood, TX : home $399,500, crime 645/100k
Weslaco, TX : home $119,200, crime 3,916/100k
Hurst, TX : home $287,600, crime 2,592/100k
Duncanville, TX : home $239,200, crime 2,586/100k
Coppell, TX : home $525,300, crime 929/100k
Rosenberg, TX : home $218,600, crime 1,720/100k
How does Lancaster compare to other US cities?
Here's how Lancaster stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income46% higher than other cities
Home value51% pricier than other cities
Median rent40% pricier than other cities
Safety10% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Texas and the picture shifts: Lancaster ranks #585 of 624 Texas cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Lancaster 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 Lancaster near the bottom of Texas's cities
Among the 1,663 Texas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Lancaster ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Lancaster only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#653 of 1,520
57th percentile in Texas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,663
0th percentile in Texas
Median Home Value
#448 of 1,505
70th percentile in Texas
Poverty Rate
#740 of 1,663
55th percentile in Texas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#480 of 1,663
71st 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
46th percentile nationally for median household income · 10th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Lancaster's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Lancaster'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 Lancaster's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$229,90049th percentilemore affordable than 49% 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
Lancaster's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,582 of 15,516
More affordable than 45% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,398 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.4×, Lancaster sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,582 of 15,516 and #1,398 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
$67,584Lancaster, TX median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Lancaster, 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 Lancaster, TX.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)25.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)10.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)61.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
40,753
Median Income
$67,584
Median Home Value
$229,900
Median Age
34.6
Poverty Rate
10.2%
Labor force participation
61.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
25.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3537.0
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
410.0
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3127.0
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
13
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Lancaster's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
41,253 residents
2021
40,709 residents
2022
40,521 residents
2023
40,645 residents
2024
40,869 residents
2025
40,526 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
40
housing units authorized
Single-Family
40
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
222
222
0
$42.7M
2020
71
71
0
$15.3M
2021
37
37
0
$7.9M
2022
120
120
0
$28.3M
2023
76
76
0
$20.0M
2024
40
40
0
$7.8M
Permit volume decreased 82% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
76.8%
Carpool
12.7%
Public Transit
0.3%
Walk
0.4%
Work from Home
7.9%
Other
1.9%
Based on 17,875 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 Lancaster. 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 Lancaster 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 Lancaster sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Lancaster 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.