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Place dossier plate
SheetVA-RADFORD-VA · Radford, VA 16,505 pop · income 24th pct · 4 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 Radford
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Radford on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Tahlequah · lowest
48,515
Tahlequah · lowest
48,515 median HH income
21.7% of the leader · rank #1
Emporia · near
52,787
Emporia · near
52,787 median HH income
23.6% of the leader · rank #2
Radford · this city
52,791
Radford · this city
52,791 median HH income
23.6% of the leader · rank #3
Viborg · near
52,794
Viborg · near
52,794 median HH income
23.6% of the leader · rank #4
Redwood · near
52,796
Redwood · near
52,796 median HH income
23.6% of the leader · rank #5
North Irwin · near
52,798
North Irwin · near
52,798 median HH income
23.6% of the leader · rank #6
Vienna · highest
223,571
Vienna · highest
223,571 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 Radford 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: 16,505.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Radford - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Radford places in the 24th percentile for household income and the 59th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
24th
percentile, household income
46th
percentile, home value
62nd
percentile, median rent
59th
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: Radford, VA
Radford is a small town in Virginia, home to 16,505 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Radford brings in $52,791 a year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 14.6%. Radford's housing stock carries a median value of $211,700, and the median resident age is 23.0 years. About 39.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 54.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 28 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Growing), up 17% from five years earlier. Radford reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 1115.0 incidents per 100,000 residents, below the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 52.9°F with 42.1 inches of precipitation per year.
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. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,369 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $235 across Virginia, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Commute times here average 16.1 minutes, with 76.3% driving alone and 5.0% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. 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 Radford'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 comparison shortlist to population change to climate and hazard context to work and mobility to within-city variation to housing and income to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Radford, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, matched public-school count.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Radford?
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 1115.0 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 51% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Which cities make useful reference points for Radford?
Within Virginia, the closest population matches are Fort Hunt (16,519 residents, $210,471 income); Glen Allen (16,630 residents, $96,085 income); Vienna (16,369 residents, $223,571 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Morton, IL (16,503 residents); Tahlequah, OK (16,513 residents); Stallings, NC (16,495 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.
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 +1,126 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +7.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 28 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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.
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 Radford?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 52.9°F, with 42.1 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Virginia is 33.3 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
52.9°F
Annual precipitation
42.1 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
33.3
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
What does the journey to work look like in Radford?
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 76.3%. The reported mean trip to work is 16.1 minutes.
Public transit
0.6%
Work from home
5.0%
Drive alone
76.3%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 7,797 workers age 16+.
How far does income reach against housing in Radford?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 14.6%, 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
$52,791
Home value
$211,700
Value / income
4.0×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
The NCES join finds 7 public schools within the city match. 39.8% 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
7
Bachelor's degree+
39.8%
Poverty estimate
14.6%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Virginia average
F
City profile score · Radford, VA
38/100
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 B+
39.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime D
213 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger 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.
Household income F
$52,791
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
14.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Radford profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 75/100 (B+) · 39.8%
Violent crime: 46/100 (D) · 213 /100k
Cost of living: 35/100 (F) · 101.1 index
Household income: 24/100 (F) · $52,791
Poverty rate: 23/100 (F) · 14.6%
Where Radford sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Radford'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 - Radford highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Radford, VA (this city): home $211,700, crime 1,115/100k
Morton, IL : home $238,900, crime 910/100k
Tahlequah, OK : home $182,800, crime 2,477/100k
Stallings, NC : home $381,700, crime 723/100k
Payson, AZ : home $343,200, crime 1,484/100k
Grovetown, GA : home $226,000, crime 253/100k
Kerman, CA : home $331,500, crime 1,852/100k
Vienna, VA : home $961,100, crime 910/100k
Manassas Park, VA : home $381,200, crime 844/100k
How does Radford compare to other US cities?
Here's how Radford stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income24% higher than other cities
Home value46% pricier than other cities
Median rent62% pricier than other cities
Safety59% 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, Radford ranks #30 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 Radford 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 Radford near the bottom of Virginia's cities
Among the 619 Virginia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Radford ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Radford only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#412 of 558
26th percentile in Virginia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 619
0th percentile in Virginia
Median Home Value
#346 of 567
39th percentile in Virginia
Poverty Rate
#126 of 616
80th percentile in Virginia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#197 of 618
68th 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
24th percentile nationally for median household income · 59th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Radford's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Radford'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 Radford's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$211,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 54% 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
Radford's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#10,735 of 15,516
More affordable than 31% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,996 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 4.0×, Radford sits in the moderate band:
national rank #10,735 of 15,516 and #1,996 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
$52,791Radford, VA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Radford, 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 Radford, VA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)39.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)14.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)54.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
16,505
Median Income
$52,791
Median Home Value
$211,700
Median Age
23.0
Poverty Rate
14.6%
Labor force participation
54.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
39.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1115.0
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
212.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
902.4
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
52.9°F
Annual Precipitation
42.1"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
7
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Radford's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
16,117 residents
2021
16,487 residents
2022
16,710 residents
2023
16,969 residents
2024
17,239 residents
2025
17,243 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Growing
Total Permits (2024)
28
housing units authorized
Single-Family
28
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
24
22
2
$3.1M
2020
24
24
0
$3.0M
2021
9
9
0
$1.0M
2022
30
30
0
$4.6M
2023
35
35
0
$6.0M
2024
28
28
0
$4.6M
Permit volume increased 17% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
16.1 minutes
Drive Alone
76.3%
Carpool
6.5%
Public Transit
0.6%
Walk
11.0%
Work from Home
5.0%
Other
0.6%
Based on 7,797 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 Radford. 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 Radford 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 Radford sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Radford 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, 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.