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Place dossier plate
SheetWA-MEAD-WA · Mead, WA 7,184 pop · income 57th 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 Mead
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Mead on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Gonzales · lowest
50,324
Gonzales · lowest
50,324 median HH income
23.8% of the leader · rank #1
Crane · near
76,007
Crane · near
76,007 median HH income
35.9% of the leader · rank #2
Wakarusa · near
76,008
Wakarusa · near
76,008 median HH income
35.9% of the leader · rank #3
Franklin Park · near
76,009
Franklin Park · near
76,009 median HH income
35.9% of the leader · rank #4
Griffith · near
76,009
Griffith · near
76,009 median HH income
35.9% of the leader · rank #5
Mead · this city
76,010
Mead · this city
76,010 median HH income
35.9% of the leader · rank #6
Belterra · highest
211,471
Belterra · highest
211,471 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 Mead 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: 7,184.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Mead lands in the 57th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
57th
percentile, household income
75th
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: Mead, WA
7,184 people live in Mead, Washington - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Mead brings in $76,010 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.1%. Mead's housing stock carries a median value of $379,600, and the median resident age is 40.1 years. 26.8% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 54.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 2 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
Washington carries a cost-of-living premium: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Washington scores 107.0 (Above Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,472 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Washington's average monthly utility costs around $188 (state average). 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 Mead'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 work and mobility to housing and income to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Mead, 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
Which cities make useful reference points for Mead?
Within Washington, the closest population matches are Clarkston Heights-Vineland (7,144 residents, $89,628 income); Clarkston (7,240 residents, $53,092 income); Clover Creek (7,128 residents, $97,581 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Pike Creek, DE (7,185 residents); Wetumpka, AL (7,182 residents); Gonzales, TX (7,180 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.
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 80.0%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Mead?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.1%, 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.
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 26.8% 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.
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.
Above median income · poverty 4.1% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
107.0 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Washington average
D
City profile score · Mead, WA
48/100
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
4.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income C
$76,010
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share C-
26.8%
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).
Mead profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 71/100 (B) · 4.1%
Household income: 55/100 (C) · $76,010
Bachelor's+ share: 52/100 (C-) · 26.8%
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
How does Mead compare to other US cities?
Here's how Mead stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income57% higher than other cities
Home value75% 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 Mead 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 Mead near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Mead ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Mead only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#329 of 565
42nd percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#323 of 565
43rd percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#360 of 598
39th percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#281 of 599
53rd 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
57th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Mead's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$379,60025th percentilemore affordable than 25% 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
Mead's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,870 of 15,516
More affordable than 17% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,747 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 5.0×, Mead sits in the moderate band:
national rank #12,870 of 15,516 and #9,747 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
$76,010Mead, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Mead, 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 Mead, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)26.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)54.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
7,184
Median Income
$76,010
Median Home Value
$379,600
Median Age
40.1
Poverty Rate
4.1%
Labor force participation
54.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
26.8%
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
80.0%
Carpool
4.9%
Public Transit
1.7%
Walk
0.6%
Work from Home
11.8%
Other
1.0%
Based on 2,929 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 Mead. 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 Mead 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 Mead sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Mead 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 ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.