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Place dossier plate
SheetWA-CHELAN-WA · Chelan, WA 4,314 pop · income 52nd pct · 9 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 Chelan
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Chelan on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Hampton · lowest
48,922
Hampton · lowest
48,922 median HH income
26.8% of the leader · rank #1
Posen · near
71,994
Posen · near
71,994 median HH income
39.5% of the leader · rank #2
Chelan · this city
71,996
Chelan · this city
71,996 median HH income
39.5% of the leader · rank #3
Brinson · near
72,000
Brinson · near
72,000 median HH income
39.5% of the leader · rank #4
Burtons Bridge · near
72,000
Burtons Bridge · near
72,000 median HH income
39.5% of the leader · rank #5
Canton · near
72,000
Canton · near
72,000 median HH income
39.5% of the leader · rank #6
Mirrormont · highest
182,283
Mirrormont · highest
182,283 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 Chelan 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: 4,314.
Chelan ranks in the 52nd percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
52nd
percentile, household income
80th
percentile, home value
70th
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: Chelan, WA
4,314 people live in Chelan, Washington - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $71,996 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.9%. Typical homes in Chelan are valued around $428,200, and the median resident age is 46.7 years. About 26.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 53.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 34 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Slowing), down 8% from five years earlier. The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 50.1°F with 12.0 inches of precipitation per year and 20.5 inches of snowfall.
Washington carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Washington at 107.0 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Above Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,472 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $188 across Washington, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 70.0 out of 100 (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Chelan'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 population change to climate and hazard context to schools and households to work and mobility to within-city variation to housing and income to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Chelan, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, matched public-school count, local building permits, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Chelan 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 +254 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +6.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 34 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 50.1°F, with 12.0 inches of precipitation and 20.5 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Washington is 70.0 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.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Chelan?
Within Washington, the closest population matches are Boulevard Park (4,334 residents, $75,646 income); Bethel (4,276 residents, $84,214 income); Rosedale (4,267 residents, $149,632 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Lincoln Park, CO (4,315 residents); Baldwin, WI (4,313 residents); Mills, WY (4,315 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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Chelan?
The NCES join finds 6 public schools within the city match. 26.5% 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
6
Bachelor's degree+
26.5%
Poverty estimate
5.9%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in Chelan?
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 60.0%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
14.5%
Drive alone
60.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 1,914 workers age 16+.
How far does income reach against housing in Chelan?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.9%, 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
$71,996
Home value
$428,200
Value / income
5.9×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 5.9% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
107.0 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Washington average
D
City profile score · Chelan, WA
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 C+
5.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income C-
$71,996
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share C-
26.5%
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.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Chelan profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 60/100 (C+) · 5.9%
Household income: 52/100 (C-) · $71,996
Bachelor's+ share: 52/100 (C-) · 26.5%
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
How does Chelan compare to other US cities?
Here's how Chelan stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income52% higher than other cities
Home value80% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% 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 Chelan 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 Chelan near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Chelan ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Chelan only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#367 of 565
35th percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#276 of 565
51st percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#285 of 598
52nd percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#288 of 599
52nd 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
52nd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Chelan's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$428,20020th percentilemore affordable than 20% 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
Chelan's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,060 of 15,516
More affordable than 9% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,437 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 5.9×, Chelan sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,060 of 15,516 and #10,437 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
$71,996Chelan, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Chelan, 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 Chelan, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)26.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)53.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
4,314
Median Income
$71,996
Median Home Value
$428,200
Median Age
46.7
Poverty Rate
5.9%
Labor force participation
53.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
26.5%
Climate
Avg Temperature
50.1°F
Annual Precipitation
12.0"
Annual Snowfall
20.5"
Schools
Total Schools
6
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Chelan's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
4,240 residents
2021
4,326 residents
2022
4,370 residents
2023
4,397 residents
2024
4,477 residents
2025
4,494 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Slowing
Total Permits (2024)
34
housing units authorized
Single-Family
32
detached homes
Multifamily
2
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
7.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
37
33
4
$11.1M
2020
99
99
0
$28.7M
2021
66
64
2
$26.2M
2022
60
60
0
$27.5M
2023
36
30
6
$16.5M
2024
34
32
2
$19.0M
Permit volume decreased 8% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
60.0%
Carpool
6.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
15.2%
Work from Home
14.5%
Other
4.0%
Based on 1,914 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 Chelan. 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 Chelan 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 Chelan sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Chelan 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, 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.