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Place dossier plate
SheetVT-POWNAL-VT · Pownal, VT 587 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 Pownal
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Pownal on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Artemus · lowest
25,179
Artemus · lowest
25,179 median HH income
28.9% of the leader · rank #1
Sweetwater · near
55,154
Sweetwater · near
55,154 median HH income
63.2% of the leader · rank #2
Pownal · this city
55,156
Pownal · this city
55,156 median HH income
63.2% of the leader · rank #3
Coolidge · near
55,156
Coolidge · near
55,156 median HH income
63.2% of the leader · rank #4
New Berlin · near
55,156
New Berlin · near
55,156 median HH income
63.2% of the leader · rank #5
Inman · near
55,156
Inman · near
55,156 median HH income
63.2% of the leader · rank #6
Huntington · highest
87,250
Huntington · highest
87,250 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 Pownal 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: 587.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Pownal places in the 27th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
27th
percentile, household income
47th
percentile, home value
73rd
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: Pownal, VT
Pownal is a small town in Vermont, home to 587 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Pownal report a median income of $55,156 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 0.0%. Pownal's housing stock carries a median value of $215,900, and the median resident age is 29.1 years. Educational attainment runs 4.2% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 56.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 45.9°F.
Vermont tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Vermont scores 98.0 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,487 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $251 across Vermont, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Commute times here average 16.8 minutes, with 77.9% driving alone and 22.1% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 36.4 out of 100 (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Pownal'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 schools and households to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Pownal, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates, 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 Pownal?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 0.0%, 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. 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 NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 4.2% 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 Pownal?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.9%. The reported mean trip to work is 16.8 minutes.
Which cities make useful reference points for Pownal?
Within Vermont, the closest population matches are Alburgh (586 residents, $62,955 income); Hinesburg (581 residents, $53,627 income); Huntington (579 residents, $87,250 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Newville, AL (587 residents); Mountain Mesa, CA (587 residents); Hopkins Park, IL (587 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.
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 Pownal?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 45.9°F. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Vermont is 36.4 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
45.9°F
FEMA risk index (state avg)
36.4
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Below median income · poverty 0.0% (Very low poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
98.0 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Vermont average
D
City profile score · Pownal, VT
45/100
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 A+
0.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living D
98.0 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
$55,156
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
4.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Pownal profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 100/100 (A+) · 0.0%
Cost of living: 48/100 (D) · 98.0 index
Household income: 27/100 (F) · $55,156
Bachelor's+ share: 0/100 (F) · 4.2%
How does Pownal compare to other US cities?
Here's how Pownal stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income27% higher than other cities
Home value47% pricier than other cities
Median rent73% 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 Pownal against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Vermont only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Vermont-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Pownal near the bottom of Vermont's cities
Among the 161 Vermont cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Pownal ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Pownal only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#105 of 149
30th percentile in Vermont
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 161
0th percentile in Vermont
Median Home Value
#90 of 152
41st percentile in Vermont
Poverty Rate
#94 of 161
0th percentile in Vermont
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#159 of 161
1st percentile in Vermont
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 Vermont 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 Pownal's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$215,900Among the most affordablemore affordable than 53% 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
Pownal's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#10,443 of 15,516
More affordable than 33% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#8,197 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.9×, Pownal sits in the moderate band:
national rank #10,443 of 15,516 and #8,197 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
$55,156Pownal, VT median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Pownal, VT median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Pownal, VT.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)4.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)0.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)56.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
587
Median Income
$55,156
Median Home Value
$215,900
Median Age
29.1
Poverty Rate
0.0%
Labor force participation
56.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
4.2%
Climate
Avg Temperature
45.9°F
Annual Precipitation
N/A
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
16.8 minutes
Drive Alone
77.9%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
22.1%
Based on 271 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Vermont statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $251
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Vermont at $251 (electricity about $105 , water and sewer about $48 ).
These are Vermont statewide averages, not a meter reading for Pownal. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Vermont's BEA cost-of-living index is 98.0 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Pownal is $1,487/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Vermont statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 36.4 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Vermont statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Pownal sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Pownal compares to similar-size Vermont 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, NOAA Climate Normals, 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.