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Place dossier plate
SheetWA-GOLDENDALE-WA · Goldendale, WA 3,458 pop · income 9th pct · 6 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 Goldendale
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Goldendale on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Elba · lowest
41,310
Elba · lowest
41,310 median HH income
16.5% of the leader · rank #1
Niles · near
41,618
Niles · near
41,618 median HH income
16.6% of the leader · rank #2
East Tawas · near
41,619
East Tawas · near
41,619 median HH income
16.6% of the leader · rank #3
Goldendale · this city
41,621
Goldendale · this city
41,621 median HH income
16.6% of the leader · rank #4
Rice Lake · near
41,625
Rice Lake · near
41,625 median HH income
16.6% of the leader · rank #5
Whitehall · near
41,625
Whitehall · near
41,625 median HH income
16.6% of the leader · rank #6
Monte Sereno · highest
250,001
Monte Sereno · highest
250,001 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 Goldendale 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: 3,458.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Goldendale - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Goldendale lands in the 9th percentile for household income and the 12th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
9th
percentile, household income
41st
percentile, home value
70th
percentile, median rent
12th
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: Goldendale, WA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 3,458 residents in Goldendale, a small town within Washington. Median household income here is $41,621 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 18.7%. Typical homes in Goldendale are valued around $194,100, and the median resident age is 42.1 years. 14.9% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 45.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 3 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 200% from five years earlier. Goldendale's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 3333.3 in FBI UCR data, above the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Goldendale's yearly average temperature at 48.0°F with 16.5 inches of precipitation per year and 26.6 inches of snowfall.
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. 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 Goldendale'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 housing and income to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to within-city variation to schools and households to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Goldendale, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Population change
Is Goldendale 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 +73 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 3 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What physical conditions frame life in Goldendale?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 48.0°F, with 16.5 inches of precipitation and 26.6 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Goldendale?
Within Washington, the closest population matches are Elma (3,452 residents, $66,194 income); Three Lakes (3,466 residents, $148,625 income); Forks (3,413 residents, $46,389 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Shadyside, OH (3,458 residents); Elba, AL (3,459 residents); Monte Sereno, CA (3,459 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.
What can 6 Census tracts reveal inside Goldendale?
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.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Goldendale?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 18.7%, 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
$41,621
Home value
$194,100
Value / income
4.7×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the journey to work look like in Goldendale?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 87.7%. 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
1.3%
Drive alone
87.7%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 1,312 workers age 16+.
What does the education layer cover for Goldendale?
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 14.9% 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.
Matched public schools
1
Bachelor's degree+
14.9%
Poverty estimate
18.7%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Goldendale?
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 3333.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 46% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
3218.4
Violent rate
114.9
Total reported rate
3333.3
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 18.7% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
107.0 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Washington average
F
City profile score · Goldendale, WA
25/100
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.
Violent crime B-
115 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
14.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
18.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
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.
Household income F
$41,621
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Goldendale profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 67/100 (B-) · 115 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 20/100 (F) · 14.9%
Poverty rate: 16/100 (F) · 18.7%
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
Household income: 9/100 (F) · $41,621
Where Goldendale sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Goldendale'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 - Goldendale highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Goldendale, WA (this city): home $194,100, crime 3,333/100k
Elba, AL : home $105,000, crime 3,496/100k
Monte Sereno, CA : home $2,000,000+, crime 810/100k
Fulton, IL : home $124,400, crime 1,271/100k
Frederick, OK : home $67,100, crime 3,086/100k
Elma, WA : home $379,200, crime 1,761/100k
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 Goldendale compare to other US cities?
Goldendale measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income9% higher than other cities
Home value41% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% pricier than other cities
Safety12% 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: Goldendale ranks #123 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 Goldendale 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 Goldendale near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Goldendale ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Goldendale only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#547 of 565
3rd percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#515 of 565
9th percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#51 of 598
91st percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#484 of 599
19th 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
9th percentile nationally for median household income · 12th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Goldendale's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Goldendale'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 Goldendale's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$194,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 59% 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
Goldendale's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,310 of 15,516
More affordable than 21% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,383 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.7×, Goldendale sits in the moderate band:
national rank #12,310 of 15,516 and #9,383 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
$41,621Goldendale, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Goldendale, 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 Goldendale, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)14.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)18.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)45.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
3,458
Median Income
$41,621
Median Home Value
$194,100
Median Age
42.1
Poverty Rate
18.7%
Labor force participation
45.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3333.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
114.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3218.4
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
48.0°F
Annual Precipitation
16.5"
Annual Snowfall
26.6"
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Goldendale's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
3,455 residents
2021
3,477 residents
2022
3,447 residents
2023
3,471 residents
2024
3,505 residents
2025
3,528 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
3
housing units authorized
Single-Family
3
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.1M
2020
7
7
0
$1.3M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
17
13
4
$2.3M
2023
13
7
6
$1.7M
2024
3
3
0
$1.8M
Permit volume increased 200% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
87.7%
Carpool
6.8%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.7%
Work from Home
1.3%
Other
2.5%
Based on 1,312 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 Goldendale. 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 Goldendale 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 Goldendale sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Goldendale 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, 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.