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Place dossier plate
SheetTX-STEPHENVILLE-TX · Stephenville, TX 21,345 pop · income 28th 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 Stephenville
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Stephenville on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
West Point · lowest
55,500
West Point · lowest
55,500 median HH income
33.6% of the leader · rank #1
Genoa · near
55,500
Genoa · near
55,500 median HH income
33.6% of the leader · rank #2
Stephenville · this city
55,504
Stephenville · this city
55,504 median HH income
33.6% of the leader · rank #3
Wagon Wheel · near
55,506
Wagon Wheel · near
55,506 median HH income
33.6% of the leader · rank #4
Long Neck · near
55,508
Long Neck · near
55,508 median HH income
33.6% of the leader · rank #5
Murphy · highest
165,109
Murphy · highest
165,109 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
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 Stephenville 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: 21,345.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Stephenville - the verdict
Stephenville ranks in the 28th percentile for household income and the 51st percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
28th
percentile, household income
50th
percentile, home value
40th
percentile, median rent
51st
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: Stephenville, TX
Stephenville is a small city in Texas, home to 21,345 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Stephenville brings in $55,504 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.1%. Typical homes in Stephenville are valued around $226,300, and the median resident age is 26.0 years. Educational attainment runs 33.5% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 62.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 107 residential building permits were authorized in Stephenville (Construction Slowdown), down 68% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Stephenville reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 1340.5 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). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 65.0°F with 34.1 inches of precipitation per year and 0.7 inches of snowfall.
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. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 49.0 out of 100 (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Stephenville'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 work and mobility to climate and hazard context to population change to housing and income to schools and households to within-city variation to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Stephenville, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, local building permits, annual population history.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Stephenville?
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 1340.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 41% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
What does the journey to work look like in Stephenville?
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 76.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
What can 12 Census tracts reveal inside Stephenville?
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 Stephenville?
Within Texas, the closest population matches are Ennis (21,546 residents, $72,772 income); Dickinson (21,612 residents, $82,018 income); Murphy (21,001 residents, $165,109 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Ashland, OR (21,343 residents); Carlisle, PA (21,335 residents); Gallup, NM (21,333 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.
Climate and hazard context
What physical conditions frame life in Stephenville?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 65.0°F, with 34.1 inches of precipitation and 0.7 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.
Mean temperature
65.0°F
Annual precipitation
34.1 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
49.0
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Is Stephenville 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 +685 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +3.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 107 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
+3.2%
2025 estimate
21,793
2020 estimate
21,108
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
How far does income reach against housing in Stephenville?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.1%, 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. 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.
Household income
$55,504
Home value
$226,300
Value / income
4.1×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the education layer cover for Stephenville?
The NCES join finds 10 public schools within the city match. 33.5% 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
10
Bachelor's degree+
33.5%
Poverty estimate
9.1%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Below median income · poverty 9.1% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
97.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Texas average
D
City profile score · Stephenville, TX
46/100
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 C+
33.5%
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.
Violent crime C-
180 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate D
9.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$55,504
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Stephenville profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 64/100 (C+) · 33.5%
Cost of living: 53/100 (C-) · 97.1 index
Violent crime: 51/100 (C-) · 180 /100k
Poverty rate: 43/100 (D) · 9.1%
Household income: 28/100 (F) · $55,504
Where Stephenville sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Stephenville'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 - Stephenville highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Stephenville, TX (this city): home $226,300, crime 1,341/100k
Ashland, OR : home $573,700, crime 2,019/100k
Carlisle, PA : home $212,400, crime 1,314/100k
Gallup, NM : home $134,600, crime 5,400/100k
South Lake Tahoe, CA : home $630,200, crime 2,247/100k
Ennis, TX : home $225,900, crime 1,701/100k
Dickinson, TX : home $244,500, crime 1,270/100k
Murphy, TX : home $508,500, crime 518/100k
Anna, TX : home $312,700, crime 870/100k
Princeton, TX : home $310,700, crime 1,118/100k
How does Stephenville compare to other US cities?
Where Stephenville sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income28% higher than other cities
Home value50% pricier than other cities
Median rent40% pricier than other cities
Safety51% 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, Stephenville ranks #307 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 Stephenville 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 Stephenville near the bottom of Texas's cities
Among the 1,663 Texas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Stephenville ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Stephenville only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#988 of 1,520
35th percentile in Texas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,663
0th percentile in Texas
Median Home Value
#465 of 1,505
69th percentile in Texas
Poverty Rate
#800 of 1,663
51st percentile in Texas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#316 of 1,663
81st 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
28th percentile nationally for median household income · 51st percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Stephenville's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Stephenville'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 Stephenville's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$226,300Among the most affordablemore affordable than 50% 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
Stephenville's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#10,914 of 15,516
More affordable than 30% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,050 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 4.1×, Stephenville sits in the moderate band:
national rank #10,914 of 15,516 and #2,050 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
$55,504Stephenville, TX median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Stephenville, 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 Stephenville, TX.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)33.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
21,345
Median Income
$55,504
Median Home Value
$226,300
Median Age
26.0
Poverty Rate
9.1%
Labor force participation
62.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
33.5%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1340.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
179.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1160.5
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
65.0°F
Annual Precipitation
34.1"
Annual Snowfall
0.7"
Schools
Total Schools
10
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Stephenville's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
21,108 residents
2021
21,414 residents
2022
21,623 residents
2023
22,041 residents
2024
21,761 residents
2025
21,793 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
107
housing units authorized
Single-Family
24
detached homes
Multifamily
83
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
336
30
306
$22.4M
2020
62
37
25
$10.0M
2021
49
37
12
$11.5M
2022
209
31
178
$35.8M
2023
67
47
20
$12.1M
2024
107
24
83
$17.5M
Permit volume decreased 68% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
76.1%
Carpool
10.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
6.8%
Work from Home
3.8%
Other
3.2%
Based on 10,756 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 Stephenville. 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 Stephenville 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 Stephenville sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Stephenville 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.