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Place dossier plate
SheetTX-SOUTH-PADRE-ISLAND-TX · South Padre Island, TX 2,852 pop · income 38th 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 South Padre Island
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest South Padre Island on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Clarksville · lowest
26,364
Clarksville · lowest
26,364 median HH income
15.1% of the leader · rank #1
Moose Lake · near
61,576
Moose Lake · near
61,576 median HH income
35.3% of the leader · rank #2
South Padre I… · this city
61,578
South Padre I… · this city
61,578 median HH income
35.3% of the leader · rank #3
Rocky Mount · near
61,580
Rocky Mount · near
61,580 median HH income
35.3% of the leader · rank #4
Scott City · near
61,581
Scott City · near
61,581 median HH income
35.3% of the leader · rank #5
Atlanta · near
61,583
Atlanta · near
61,583 median HH income
35.3% of the leader · rank #6
Weatogue · highest
174,286
Weatogue · highest
174,286 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 South Padre Island 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: 2,852.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
South Padre Island - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, South Padre Island places in the 38th percentile for household income and the 0th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
38th
percentile, household income
85th
percentile, home value
40th
percentile, median rent
0th
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: South Padre Island, TX
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 2,852 residents in South Padre Island, a small town within Texas. South Padre Island households earn a median of $61,578 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.8%. Home values in South Padre Island run a median of $498,800, and the median resident age is 59.0 years. Educational attainment runs 52.5% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 54.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 85 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 305% from five years earlier. South Padre Island's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 13251.2 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,149 per month statewide. 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 South Padre Island'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 comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For South Padre Island, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for 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 South Padre Island growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +12 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 85 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Which cities make useful reference points for South Padre Island?
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 Taft (2,847 residents, $67,431 income); Midway South (2,858 residents, $76,768 income); Brazoria (2,859 residents, $51,354 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Newton, IL (2,852 residents); Lindsay, OK (2,852 residents); Weatogue, CT (2,851 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 South Padre Island?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 61.4%. 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. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
How far does income reach against housing in South Padre Island?
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 8.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in South Padre Island?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 13251.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 481% higher 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.
Total reported rate
13251.2
Violent rate
1428.6
Property rate
11822.7
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Below median income · poverty 9.8% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
97.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Texas average
D
City profile score · South Padre Island, TX
41/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share A
52.5%
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.
Poverty rate D
9.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$61,578
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
1,429 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
South Padre Island profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 86/100 (A) · 52.5%
Cost of living: 53/100 (C-) · 97.1 index
Poverty rate: 40/100 (D) · 9.8%
Household income: 37/100 (F) · $61,578
Violent crime: 0/100 (F) · 1,429 /100k
Where South Padre Island sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
South Padre Island'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 - South Padre Island highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
South Padre Island, TX (this city): home $498,800, crime 13,251/100k
Newton, IL : home $98,900, crime 1,572/100k
Lindsay, OK : home $106,800, crime 2,301/100k
Bedford, PA : home $182,300, crime 532/100k
Bellows Falls, VT : home $176,000, crime 905/100k
Taft, TX : home $124,200, crime 982/100k
Brazoria, TX : home $168,800, crime 1,440/100k
Clarksville, TX : home $50,100, crime 173/100k
How does South Padre Island compare to other US cities?
Where South Padre Island sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income38% higher than other cities
Home value85% pricier than other cities
Median rent40% pricier than other cities
Safety0% 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, South Padre Island ranks #623 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 South Padre Island 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 South Padre Island near the bottom of Texas's cities
Among the 1,663 Texas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, South Padre Island ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares South Padre Island only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#807 of 1,520
47th percentile in Texas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,663
0th percentile in Texas
Median Home Value
#79 of 1,505
95th percentile in Texas
Poverty Rate
#764 of 1,663
54th percentile in Texas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#111 of 1,663
93rd 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
38th percentile nationally for median household income · 0th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
South Padre Island's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
South Padre Island'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 South Padre Island's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$498,80015th percentilemore affordable than 15% 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
South Padre Island's home-value-to-income ratio: 8.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,070 of 15,516
More affordable than 3% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#11,061 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 8.1×, South Padre Island sits in the pressured band:
national rank #15,070 of 15,516 and #11,061 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
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
$61,578South Padre Island, TX median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context South Padre Island, 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 South Padre Island, TX.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)52.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)54.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,852
Median Income
$61,578
Median Home Value
$498,800
Median Age
59.0
Poverty Rate
9.8%
Labor force participation
54.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
52.5%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
13251.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
1428.6
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
11822.7
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.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
South Padre Island's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,074 residents
2021
2,058 residents
2022
2,059 residents
2023
2,053 residents
2024
2,081 residents
2025
2,086 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
85
housing units authorized
Single-Family
36
detached homes
Multifamily
49
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
29.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
21
13
8
$8.2M
2020
18
16
2
$4.2M
2021
44
44
0
$16.5M
2022
37
37
0
$16.7M
2023
92
57
35
$28.5M
2024
85
36
49
$124.1M
Permit volume increased 305% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
61.4%
Carpool
1.0%
Public Transit
1.4%
Walk
13.6%
Work from Home
18.0%
Other
4.6%
Based on 1,388 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 South Padre Island. 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 South Padre Island 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 South Padre Island sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How South Padre Island 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, 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.