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Place dossier plate
SheetWA-ALGONA-WA · Algona, WA 3,239 pop · income 66th 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 Algona
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Algona on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Ely · lowest
46,042
Ely · lowest
46,042 median HH income
28.6% of the leader · rank #1
Algona · this city
84,583
Algona · this city
84,583 median HH income
52.6% of the leader · rank #2
Cantrall · near
84,583
Cantrall · near
84,583 median HH income
52.6% of the leader · rank #3
Hillsdale · near
84,583
Hillsdale · near
84,583 median HH income
52.6% of the leader · rank #4
Frankenmuth · near
84,583
Frankenmuth · near
84,583 median HH income
52.6% of the leader · rank #5
Big Lake · near
84,583
Big Lake · near
84,583 median HH income
52.6% of the leader · rank #6
High Bridge · highest
160,938
High Bridge · highest
160,938 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 Algona 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: 3,239.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Algona - the verdict
Algona ranks in the 66th percentile for household income and the 43rd percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
66th
percentile, household income
78th
percentile, home value
70th
percentile, median rent
43rd
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: Algona, WA
Algona is a small town in Washington, home to 3,239 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Algona households earn a median of $84,583 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 10.8%. Algona's housing stock carries a median value of $413,000, and the median resident age is 32.5 years. Educational attainment runs 15.5% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 60.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 1 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 75% from five years earlier. Algona reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 1582.3 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).
Washington carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 107.0 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,472 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Washington run around $188, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 70.0 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Algona'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 comparison shortlist to reported crime to work and mobility to housing and income to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Algona, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Algona?
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 Washington, the closest population matches are Cashmere (3,263 residents, $63,825 income); Central Park (3,203 residents, $97,273 income); Zillah (3,163 residents, $72,461 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Ely, MN (3,239 residents); Goldstream, AK (3,238 residents); Centerville borough (Washington County), PA (3,240 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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Algona?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1582.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 31% 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Algona?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 73.5%. 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. 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Algona?
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 4.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 10.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
Population change
Is Algona growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -32 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
2020 estimate
3,285
2025 estimate
3,253
Period change
-1.0%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Above median income · poverty 10.8% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
107.0 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Washington average
D
City profile score · Algona, WA
42/100
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.
Household income C+
$84,583
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime C+
127 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate F
10.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
15.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living F
107.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Algona profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 64/100 (C+) · $84,583
Violent crime: 64/100 (C+) · 127 /100k
Poverty rate: 37/100 (F) · 10.8%
Bachelor's+ share: 21/100 (F) · 15.5%
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
Where Algona sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Algona'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 - Algona highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Algona, WA (this city): home $413,000, crime 1,582/100k
Ely, MN : home $150,800, crime 810/100k
Masontown, PA : home $116,700, crime 1,377/100k
Weimar, TX : home $163,300, crime 1,284/100k
Zillah, WA : home $297,000, crime 837/100k
Raymond, WA : home $214,800, crime 703/100k
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 Algona compare to other US cities?
Here's how Algona stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income66% higher than other cities
Home value78% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% pricier than other cities
Safety43% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Washington and the picture shifts: Algona ranks #58 of 156 Washington cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Algona against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Washington only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Washington-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Algona near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Algona ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Algona only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#281 of 565
50th percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#293 of 565
48th percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#137 of 598
77th percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#475 of 599
20th percentile in Washington
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 Washington only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
66th percentile nationally for median household income · 43rd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Algona's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Algona'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 Algona's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$413,00022nd percentilemore affordable than 22% 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
Algona's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,685 of 15,516
More affordable than 18% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,631 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.9×, Algona sits in the moderate band:
national rank #12,685 of 15,516 and #9,631 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
$84,583Algona, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Algona, WA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Algona, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)15.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)10.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
3,239
Median Income
$84,583
Median Home Value
$413,000
Median Age
32.5
Poverty Rate
10.8%
Labor force participation
60.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
15.5%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1582.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
126.6
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1455.7
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.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Algona's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
3,285 residents
2021
3,243 residents
2022
3,215 residents
2023
3,212 residents
2024
3,236 residents
2025
3,253 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
1
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.3
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
4
4
0
$0.7M
2020
5
5
0
$1.2M
2021
7
7
0
$2.1M
2022
7
7
0
$2.1M
2023
8
8
0
$2.4M
2024
1
1
0
$0.2M
Permit volume decreased 75% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
73.5%
Carpool
10.5%
Public Transit
1.0%
Walk
0.5%
Work from Home
6.1%
Other
8.4%
Based on 1,428 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Washington statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $188
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Washington at $188 (electricity about $85 , water and sewer about $55 ).
These are Washington statewide averages, not a meter reading for Algona. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Washington's BEA cost-of-living index is 107.0 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Algona is $1,472/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Washington statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 70.0 / 100 (High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Washington statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Algona sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Algona compares to similar-size Washington 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, 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.