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Place dossier plate
SheetVA-ONLEY-VA · Onley, VA 612 pop · income 27th 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 Onley
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Onley on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Sugar Grove · lowest
45,357
Sugar Grove · lowest
45,357 median HH income
35.2% of the leader · rank #1
Onley · this city
55,139
Onley · this city
55,139 median HH income
42.8% of the leader · rank #2
Mount Olive · near
55,139
Mount Olive · near
55,139 median HH income
42.8% of the leader · rank #3
Marceline · near
55,139
Marceline · near
55,139 median HH income
42.8% of the leader · rank #4
Toledo · near
55,139
Toledo · near
55,139 median HH income
42.8% of the leader · rank #5
Goose Creek L… · near
55,147
Goose Creek L… · near
55,147 median HH income
42.8% of the leader · rank #6
Hamilton · highest
128,750
Hamilton · highest
128,750 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Onley on ACS population and median household income
. 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: 612.
Nationally, Onley sits in the 27th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
27th
percentile, household income
68th
percentile, home value
62nd
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Onley, VA
612 people live in Onley, Virginia - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Onley report a median income of $55,139 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 6.3%. Typical homes in Onley are valued around $320,300, and the median resident age is 40.1 years. 17.9% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 65.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 2 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
Virginia tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Virginia scores 101.1 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,369 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $235 across Virginia, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 33.3 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Onley'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 population change to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Onley, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Onley?
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 5.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 6.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +8 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.5% 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.
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 Onley?
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.
Within Virginia, the closest population matches are Skyland Estates (607 residents, $94,375 income); Hamilton (604 residents, $128,750 income); Kincora (600 residents, $114,618 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Wainwright, AK (612 residents); Pioneer, FL (612 residents); Potomac, IL (612 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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 72.2%. 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.
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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Onley?
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.
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 17.9% 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.
Poverty estimate
6.3%
Bachelor's degree+
17.9%
Matched public schools
2
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Below median income · poverty 6.3% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
101.1 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Virginia average
F
City profile score · Onley, VA
37/100
4 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.
Poverty rate C
6.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
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.
Bachelor's+ share F
17.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$55,139
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Onley profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 57/100 (C) · 6.3%
Cost of living: 35/100 (F) · 101.1 index
Bachelor's+ share: 28/100 (F) · 17.9%
Household income: 27/100 (F) · $55,139
How does Onley compare to other US cities?
Onley measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income27% higher than other cities
Home value68% pricier than other cities
Median rent62% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Onley 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 Onley near the bottom of Virginia's cities
Among the 619 Virginia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Onley ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Onley only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#392 of 558
30th percentile in Virginia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 619
0th percentile in Virginia
Median Home Value
#214 of 567
62nd percentile in Virginia
Poverty Rate
#277 of 616
55th percentile in Virginia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#418 of 618
32nd 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
27th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Onley's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$320,30032nd percentilemore affordable than 32% 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
Onley's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,923 of 15,516
More affordable than 10% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,354 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 5.8×, Onley sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,923 of 15,516 and #10,354 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
$55,139Onley, VA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Onley, 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 Onley, VA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)17.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)6.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)65.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
612
Median Income
$55,139
Median Home Value
$320,300
Median Age
40.1
Poverty Rate
6.3%
Labor force participation
65.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
17.9%
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
Onley's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
533 residents
2021
534 residents
2022
531 residents
2023
536 residents
2024
540 residents
2025
541 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
72.2%
Carpool
8.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
19.1%
Based on 299 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 Onley. 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 Onley 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 Onley sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Onley 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, 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.