Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetWA-CRESTON-WA · Creston, WA 196 pop · income 25th 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 Creston
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Creston on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Lake Bruce · lowest
29,643
Lake Bruce · lowest
29,643 median HH income
34.4% of the leader · rank #1
Creston · this city
53,516
Creston · this city
53,516 median HH income
62.0% of the leader · rank #2
Chesapeake La… · near
53,516
Chesapeake La… · near
53,516 median HH income
62.0% of the leader · rank #3
Wagram · near
53,516
Wagram · near
53,516 median HH income
62.0% of the leader · rank #4
McArthur · near
53,519
McArthur · near
53,519 median HH income
62.1% of the leader · rank #5
Ocala · near
53,520
Ocala · near
53,520 median HH income
62.1% of the leader · rank #6
Baring · highest
86,250
Baring · highest
86,250 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 Creston 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: 196.
Nationally, Creston sits in the 25th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
25th
percentile, household income
25th
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: Creston, WA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 196 residents in Creston, a small town within Washington. The typical household in Creston brings in $53,516 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.4%. Home values in Creston run a median of $143,100, and the median resident age is 62.8 years. Educational attainment runs 13.8% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 38.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Creston (No Permits), down 100% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data.
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). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,472 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Washington run around $188, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 70.0 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Creston'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 work and mobility to population change to housing and income to comparison shortlist to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Creston, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Creston?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 75.0%. 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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +29 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +13.4% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Creston?
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 home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Creston?
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 Washington, the closest population matches are Blyn (196 residents); Deep River (197 residents, $41,827 income); Keller (195 residents, $61,667 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Dunreith, IN (196 residents); Lake Bruce, IN (196 residents); Bradford, IA (196 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.
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 Creston?
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. 13.8% 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.
Poverty estimate
4.4%
Bachelor's degree+
13.8%
Matched public schools
2
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Below median income · poverty 4.4% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
107.0 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Washington average
F
City profile score · Creston, WA
32/100
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 B-
4.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$53,516
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
13.8%
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).
Creston profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 69/100 (B-) · 4.4%
Household income: 25/100 (F) · $53,516
Bachelor's+ share: 17/100 (F) · 13.8%
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
How does Creston compare to other US cities?
Where Creston sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income25% higher than other cities
Home value25% 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 Creston 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 Creston near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Creston ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Creston only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#487 of 565
14th percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#551 of 565
2nd percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#346 of 598
41st percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#498 of 599
17th 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
25th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Creston's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$143,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 75% 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
Creston's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,892 of 15,516
More affordable than 68% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4,309 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.7×, Creston sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,892 of 15,516 and #4,309 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$53,516Creston, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Creston, 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 Creston, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)13.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)38.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
196
Median Income
$53,516
Median Home Value
$143,100
Median Age
62.8
Poverty Rate
4.4%
Labor force participation
38.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
13.8%
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
Creston's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
216 residents
2021
230 residents
2022
236 residents
2023
240 residents
2024
243 residents
2025
245 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.0M
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
1
1
0
$0.1M
2022
2
2
0
$0.0M
2023
1
1
0
$0.3M
2024
0
0
0
-
Permit volume decreased 100% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
75.0%
Carpool
5.6%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
6.9%
Work from Home
12.5%
Based on 72 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 Creston. 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 Creston 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 Creston sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Creston 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, 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.