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-PALESTINE-TX · Palestine, TX 18,888 pop · income 14th pct · 12 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 Palestine
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Palestine on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Eastman · lowest
46,214
Eastman · lowest
46,214 median HH income
23.7% of the leader · rank #1
Buhl · near
46,217
Buhl · near
46,217 median HH income
23.7% of the leader · rank #2
Duncan · near
46,219
Duncan · near
46,219 median HH income
23.7% of the leader · rank #3
Rio Communiti… · near
46,223
Rio Communiti… · near
46,223 median HH income
23.7% of the leader · rank #4
Palestine · this city
46,228
Palestine · this city
46,228 median HH income
23.7% of the leader · rank #5
Kenly · near
46,229
Kenly · near
46,229 median HH income
23.7% of the leader · rank #6
Steiner Ranch · highest
195,181
Steiner Ranch · highest
195,181 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 Palestine 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: 18,888.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Palestine - the verdict
Nationally, Palestine sits in the 14th percentile for household income and the 36th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
14th
percentile, household income
28th
percentile, home value
40th
percentile, median rent
36th
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: Palestine, TX
Palestine is a small town in Texas, home to 18,888 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Palestine report a median income of $46,228 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 14.1%. Home values in Palestine run a median of $153,400, and the median resident age is 35.4 years. About 16.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 58.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 25 residential building permits were authorized in Palestine (Construction Slowdown), down 84% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 1862.8 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, near the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 65.6°F with 46.8 inches of precipitation per year and 0.1 inches of snowfall.
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. Monthly utility costs average around $223 across Texas, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. 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 Palestine'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 climate and hazard context to within-city variation to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income to population change to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Palestine, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Palestine?
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 1862.8 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 18% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 65.6°F, with 46.8 inches of precipitation and 0.1 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Texas is 49.0 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.
What can 12 Census tracts reveal inside Palestine?
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 12 Census tracts to this city.
Which cities make useful reference points for Palestine?
Within Texas, the closest population matches are La Marque (18,833 residents, $70,632 income); Seagoville (18,968 residents, $68,020 income); Brownwood (18,805 residents, $47,821 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Cullman, AL (18,894 residents); Mebane, NC (18,899 residents); Chowchilla, CA (18,876 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 Palestine?
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 80.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
2.2%
Work from home
5.4%
Drive alone
80.4%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 8,587 workers age 16+.
How far does income reach against housing in Palestine?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 14.1%, 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.
Household income
$46,228
Home value
$153,400
Value / income
3.3×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Is Palestine growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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 +970 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 25 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
+5.2%
2025 estimate
19,555
2020 estimate
18,585
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the education layer cover for Palestine?
The NCES join finds 13 public schools within the city match. 16.3% 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+
16.3%
Poverty estimate
14.1%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
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.
Poverty rate F
14.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
16.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime F
417 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income F
$46,228
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Palestine profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 53/100 (C-) · 97.1 index
Poverty rate: 24/100 (F) · 14.1%
Bachelor's+ share: 24/100 (F) · 16.3%
Violent crime: 21/100 (F) · 417 /100k
Household income: 15/100 (F) · $46,228
Where Palestine sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Palestine'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 - Palestine highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
Palestine, TX (this city): home $153,400, crime 1,863/100k
Cullman, AL : home $215,200, crime 2,682/100k
Mebane, NC : home $295,600, crime 3,518/100k
Chowchilla, CA : home $331,500, crime 1,866/100k
Onalaska, WI : home $279,100, crime 2,329/100k
Lansdale, PA : home $319,000, crime 1,104/100k
Ellensburg, WA : home $357,800, crime 2,409/100k
La Marque, TX : home $189,400, crime 2,799/100k
Seagoville, TX : home $221,300, crime 1,633/100k
Brownwood, TX : home $123,700, crime 2,609/100k
Crowley, TX : home $241,500, crime 1,689/100k
Terrell, TX : home $190,000, crime 1,862/100k
How does Palestine compare to other US cities?
Where Palestine sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income14% higher than other cities
Home value28% pricier than other cities
Median rent40% pricier than other cities
Safety36% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Texas, Palestine ranks #426 of 624 Texas cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Palestine 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 Palestine near the bottom of Texas's cities
Among the 1,663 Texas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Palestine ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Palestine only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#1,228 of 1,520
19th percentile in Texas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,663
0th percentile in Texas
Median Home Value
#790 of 1,505
47th percentile in Texas
Poverty Rate
#542 of 1,663
67th percentile in Texas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#878 of 1,663
47th 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
14th percentile nationally for median household income · 36th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Palestine's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Palestine'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 Palestine's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$153,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 72% 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
Palestine's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,208 of 15,516
More affordable than 47% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,309 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.3×, Palestine sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,208 of 15,516 and #1,309 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
$46,228Palestine, TX median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Palestine, 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 Palestine, TX.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)16.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)14.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
18,888
Median Income
$46,228
Median Home Value
$153,400
Median Age
35.4
Poverty Rate
14.1%
Labor force participation
58.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
16.3%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1862.8
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
417.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1445.4
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
65.6°F
Annual Precipitation
46.8"
Annual Snowfall
0.1"
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
Palestine's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
18,585 residents
2021
18,946 residents
2022
19,091 residents
2023
19,481 residents
2024
19,503 residents
2025
19,555 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
25
housing units authorized
Single-Family
16
detached homes
Multifamily
9
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.3
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
155
19
136
$9.9M
2020
174
21
153
$11.1M
2021
219
26
193
$14.0M
2022
183
26
157
$15.8M
2023
14
14
0
$2.5M
2024
25
16
9
$4.1M
Permit volume decreased 84% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
80.4%
Carpool
9.2%
Public Transit
2.2%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
5.4%
Other
2.8%
Based on 8,587 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 Palestine. 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 Palestine 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 Palestine sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Palestine 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, 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.