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Place dossier plate
SheetVA-BRIDGEWATER-VA · Bridgewater, VA 6,650 pop · income 62nd 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 Bridgewater
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Bridgewater on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Galax · lowest
41,438
Galax · lowest
41,438 median HH income
16.6% of the leader · rank #1
Gann (Brinkha… · near
81,010
Gann (Brinkha… · near
81,010 median HH income
32.4% of the leader · rank #2
Bridgewater · this city
81,012
Bridgewater · this city
81,012 median HH income
32.4% of the leader · rank #3
Bourbonnais · near
81,017
Bourbonnais · near
81,017 median HH income
32.4% of the leader · rank #4
Caroleen · near
81,019
Caroleen · near
81,019 median HH income
32.4% of the leader · rank #5
Lauderdale-by… · near
81,020
Lauderdale-by… · near
81,020 median HH income
32.4% of the leader · rank #6
South Run · highest
250,001
South Run · highest
250,001 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 Bridgewater 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: 6,650.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Bridgewater - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Bridgewater lands in the 62nd percentile for household income and the 81st percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
62nd
percentile, household income
75th
percentile, home value
62nd
percentile, median rent
81st
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: Bridgewater, VA
Bridgewater is a small town in Virginia, home to 6,650 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $81,012 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 3.7%. Bridgewater's housing stock carries a median value of $372,400, and the median resident age is 31.9 years. Educational attainment runs 48.6% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 57.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Bridgewater reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 600.9 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Virginia tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Virginia at 101.1 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,369 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Virginia run around $235, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Workers in Bridgewater report an average commute of 11.8 minutes, with 60.4% driving alone and 12.1% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 33.3 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Bridgewater'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 comparison shortlist to schools and households to work and mobility to reported crime to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Bridgewater, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
How far does income reach against housing in Bridgewater?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 3.7%, 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Bridgewater?
Within Virginia, the closest population matches are Buena Vista (6,612 residents, $54,458 income); Galax (6,698 residents, $41,438 income); Bedford (6,703 residents, $47,697 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Forest Glen, MD (6,650 residents); Lackland AFB, TX (6,650 residents); Ontario, OH (6,649 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.
What does the education layer cover for Bridgewater?
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 48.6% 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 matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
What does the journey to work look like in Bridgewater?
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 60.4%. The reported mean trip to work is 11.8 minutes.
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 Bridgewater?
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 600.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 74% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
571.6
Violent rate
29.3
Total reported rate
600.9
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Is Bridgewater 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 +330 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.0% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+5.0%
2025 estimate
6,924
2020 estimate
6,594
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Above median income · poverty 3.7% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
101.1 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Virginia average
B-
City profile score · Bridgewater, VA
67/100
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 A
29 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share A-
48.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate B
3.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income C+
$81,012
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living F
101.1 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bridgewater profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 89/100 (A) · 29 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 83/100 (A-) · 48.6%
Poverty rate: 74/100 (B) · 3.7%
Household income: 60/100 (C+) · $81,012
Cost of living: 35/100 (F) · 101.1 index
Where Bridgewater sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Bridgewater'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 - Bridgewater highlighted among 25 peers.Read the chart values
Bridgewater, VA (this city): home $372,400, crime 601/100k
Ontario, OH : home $163,300, crime 3,609/100k
Buena Vista, VA : home $153,500, crime 379/100k
Galax, VA : home $126,800, crime 4,845/100k
Bedford, VA : home $192,600, crime 1,760/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Bridgewater compare to other US cities?
Where Bridgewater sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income62% higher than other cities
Home value75% pricier than other cities
Median rent62% pricier than other cities
Safety81% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Virginia alone, Bridgewater ranks #9 of 117 Virginia cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Bridgewater against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Virginia only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Virginia-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Bridgewater near the bottom of Virginia's cities
Among the 619 Virginia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Bridgewater ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Bridgewater only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#245 of 558
56th percentile in Virginia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 619
0th percentile in Virginia
Median Home Value
#175 of 567
69th percentile in Virginia
Poverty Rate
#363 of 616
41st percentile in Virginia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#150 of 618
76th percentile in Virginia
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 Virginia only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
62nd percentile nationally for median household income · 81st percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Bridgewater's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Bridgewater'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 Bridgewater's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$372,40025th percentilemore affordable than 25% 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
Bridgewater's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,178 of 15,516
More affordable than 22% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,301 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.6×, Bridgewater sits in the moderate band:
national rank #12,178 of 15,516 and #9,301 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
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
$81,012Bridgewater, VA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Bridgewater, VA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Bridgewater, VA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)48.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)3.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)57.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
6,650
Median Income
$81,012
Median Home Value
$372,400
Median Age
31.9
Poverty Rate
3.7%
Labor force participation
57.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
48.6%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
600.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
29.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
571.6
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
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Bridgewater's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
6,594 residents
2021
6,622 residents
2022
6,695 residents
2023
6,783 residents
2024
6,867 residents
2025
6,924 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
11.8 minutes
Drive Alone
60.4%
Carpool
10.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
15.2%
Work from Home
12.1%
Other
1.8%
Based on 3,005 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Virginia statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $235
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Virginia at $235 (electricity about $115 , water and sewer about $50 ).
These are Virginia statewide averages, not a meter reading for Bridgewater. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Virginia's BEA cost-of-living index is 101.1 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Bridgewater is $1,369/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Virginia statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 33.3 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Virginia statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Bridgewater sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Bridgewater compares to similar-size Virginia 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 ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.