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Place dossier plate
SheetTX-SULPHUR-SPRINGS-TX · Sulphur Springs, TX 16,185 pop · income 30th pct · 10 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 Sulphur Springs
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Sulphur Springs on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Mercedes · lowest
41,753
Mercedes · lowest
41,753 median HH income
25.4% of the leader · rank #1
Sulphur Sprin… · this city
56,457
Sulphur Sprin… · this city
56,457 median HH income
34.3% of the leader · rank #2
Shawano · near
56,457
Shawano · near
56,457 median HH income
34.3% of the leader · rank #3
Beaverton · near
56,458
Beaverton · near
56,458 median HH income
34.3% of the leader · rank #4
Fayetteville · near
56,458
Fayetteville · near
56,458 median HH income
34.3% of the leader · rank #5
Kell · near
56,458
Kell · near
56,458 median HH income
34.3% of the leader · rank #6
Highland · highest
164,459
Highland · highest
164,459 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 Sulphur Springs 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: 16,185.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Sulphur Springs - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Sulphur Springs places in the 30th percentile for household income and the 68th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
30th
percentile, household income
39th
percentile, home value
40th
percentile, median rent
68th
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: Sulphur Springs, TX
Sulphur Springs is a small town in Texas, home to 16,185 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Sulphur Springs brings in $56,457 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 12.2%. Home values in Sulphur Springs run a median of $188,200, and the median resident age is 38.8 years. 19.0% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 61.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 63 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 50% from five years earlier. Sulphur Springs reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 912.2 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 puts Sulphur Springs's yearly average temperature at 64.9°F with 46.5 inches of precipitation per year.
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). Commute times here average 16.2 minutes, with 80.5% driving alone and 5.9% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. 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 Sulphur Springs'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 schools and households to within-city variation to population change to climate and hazard context to reported crime to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Sulphur Springs, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history, matched public-school count.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Sulphur Springs?
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 11 public schools within the city match. 19.0% 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.
What can 10 Census tracts reveal inside Sulphur Springs?
PlainCities matches 10 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.
Is Sulphur Springs growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +1,088 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +6.8% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 63 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Sulphur Springs?
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 Hewitt (16,244 residents, $83,798 income); Mount Pleasant (16,061 residents, $53,039 income); Gatesville (16,058 residents, $54,802 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Grosse Pointe Woods, MI (16,177 residents); Four Corners, OR (16,168 residents); Griffith, IN (16,228 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.
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 Sulphur Springs?
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.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 64.9°F, with 46.5 inches of precipitation. 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.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
49.0
Annual precipitation
46.5 in
Mean temperature
64.9°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Sulphur Springs?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 912.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 60% 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.
Total reported rate
912.2
Violent rate
166.9
Property rate
745.3
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the journey to work look like in Sulphur Springs?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.5%. The reported mean trip to work is 16.2 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
80.5%
Work from home
5.9%
Public transit
1.5%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 7,676 workers age 16+.
How far does income reach against housing in Sulphur Springs?
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.
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 12.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
3.3×
Home value
$188,200
Household income
$56,457
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Below median income · poverty 12.2% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
97.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Texas average
D
City profile score · Sulphur Springs, TX
40/100
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.
Violent crime C-
167 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
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
12.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
19.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$56,457
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Sulphur Springs profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 54/100 (C-) · 167 /100k
Cost of living: 53/100 (C-) · 97.1 index
Poverty rate: 31/100 (F) · 12.2%
Bachelor's+ share: 31/100 (F) · 19.0%
Household income: 29/100 (F) · $56,457
Where Sulphur Springs sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Sulphur Springs'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 - Sulphur Springs highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Sulphur Springs, TX (this city): home $188,200, crime 912/100k
Grosse Pointe Woods, MI : home $322,500, crime 1,583/100k
Griffith, IN : home $200,400, crime 1,117/100k
Sikeston, MO : home $158,100, crime 4,655/100k
Hewitt, TX : home $252,200, crime 1,266/100k
Mount Pleasant, TX : home $160,500, crime 2,058/100k
Gatesville, TX : home $162,000, crime 1,015/100k
South Houston, TX : home $176,100, crime 2,873/100k
Mercedes, TX : home $107,700, crime 3,611/100k
How does Sulphur Springs compare to other US cities?
Where Sulphur Springs sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income30% higher than other cities
Home value39% pricier than other cities
Median rent40% pricier than other cities
Safety68% 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, Sulphur Springs ranks #204 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 Sulphur Springs 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 Sulphur Springs near the bottom of Texas's cities
Among the 1,663 Texas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Sulphur Springs ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Sulphur Springs only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#955 of 1,520
37th percentile in Texas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,663
0th percentile in Texas
Median Home Value
#599 of 1,505
60th percentile in Texas
Poverty Rate
#635 of 1,663
61st percentile in Texas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#721 of 1,663
56th 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
30th percentile nationally for median household income · 68th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Sulphur Springs's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Sulphur Springs'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 Sulphur Springs's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$188,200Among the most affordablemore affordable than 61% 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
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,275 of 15,516
More affordable than 47% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,324 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.3×, Sulphur Springs sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,275 of 15,516 and #1,324 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
$56,457Sulphur Springs, TX median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Sulphur Springs, 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 Sulphur Springs, TX.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)19.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)12.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)61.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
16,185
Median Income
$56,457
Median Home Value
$188,200
Median Age
38.8
Poverty Rate
12.2%
Labor force participation
61.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
19.0%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
912.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
166.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
745.3
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
64.9°F
Annual Precipitation
46.5"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
11
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Sulphur Springs's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
15,966 residents
2021
16,082 residents
2022
16,430 residents
2023
16,618 residents
2024
16,925 residents
2025
17,054 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
63
housing units authorized
Single-Family
63
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
42
26
16
$6.2M
2020
10
10
0
$2.0M
2021
128
47
81
$17.1M
2022
46
34
12
$10.4M
2023
71
71
0
$14.0M
2024
63
63
0
$12.7M
Permit volume increased 50% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
16.2 minutes
Drive Alone
80.5%
Carpool
9.7%
Public Transit
1.5%
Walk
1.1%
Work from Home
5.9%
Other
1.3%
Based on 7,676 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 Sulphur Springs. 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 Sulphur Springs 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 Sulphur Springs sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Sulphur Springs 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.