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Place dossier plate
SheetWA-MOUNT-VERNON-WA · Mount Vernon, WA 35,312 pop · income 54th 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 Mount Vernon
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Mount Vernon on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Lima · lowest
43,370
Lima · lowest
43,370 median HH income
35.1% of the leader · rank #1
Mount Vernon · this city
73,277
Mount Vernon · this city
73,277 median HH income
59.4% of the leader · rank #2
Silver Lake · near
73,277
Silver Lake · near
73,277 median HH income
59.4% of the leader · rank #3
Paola · near
73,281
Paola · near
73,281 median HH income
59.4% of the leader · rank #4
Flat Rock · near
73,288
Flat Rock · near
73,288 median HH income
59.4% of the leader · rank #5
LaCoste · near
73,289
LaCoste · near
73,289 median HH income
59.4% of the leader · rank #6
Watertown · highest
123,422
Watertown · highest
123,422 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 Mount Vernon 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: 35,312.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Mount Vernon - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Mount Vernon lands in the 54th percentile for household income and the 33rd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
54th
percentile, household income
80th
percentile, home value
70th
percentile, median rent
33rd
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: Mount Vernon, WA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 35,312 residents in Mount Vernon, a small city within Washington. The typical household in Mount Vernon brings in $73,277 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 11.4%. Home values in Mount Vernon run a median of $429,300, and the median resident age is 36.1 years. Educational attainment runs 25.6% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 57.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 109 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Rapid Growth), up 27% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 1966.3 incidents per 100,000 residents, near the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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). 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. 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 Mount Vernon'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 comparison shortlist to population change to schools and households to reported crime to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Mount Vernon, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for 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 Mount Vernon?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 74.8%. 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Mount Vernon?
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 Wenatchee (35,502 residents, $70,000 income); Graham (35,090 residents, $115,501 income); University Place (34,850 residents, $94,952 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are American Fork, UT (35,312 residents); Lima, OH (35,304 residents); Brunswick, OH (35,284 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.
Is Mount Vernon growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -112 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 109 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.
What does the education layer cover for Mount Vernon?
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.
The NCES join finds 16 public schools within the city match. 25.6% 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.
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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Mount Vernon?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1966.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 14% 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.
Total reported rate
1966.3
Violent rate
190.1
Property rate
1776.2
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
How far does income reach against housing in Mount Vernon?
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 5.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 11.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
5.9×
Home value
$429,300
Household income
$73,277
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 11.4% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
107.0 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Washington average
D
City profile score · Mount Vernon, WA
40/100
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-
$73,277
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share C-
25.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime D
190 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate F
11.4%
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.
Mount Vernon profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 53/100 (C-) · $73,277
Bachelor's+ share: 50/100 (C-) · 25.6%
Violent crime: 49/100 (D) · 190 /100k
Poverty rate: 34/100 (F) · 11.4%
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
Where Mount Vernon sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Mount Vernon'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 - Mount Vernon highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Mount Vernon, WA (this city): home $429,300, crime 1,966/100k
Lima, OH : home $95,900, crime 4,127/100k
Brunswick, OH : home $233,300, crime 449/100k
Hinesville, GA : home $174,300, crime 3,118/100k
Watertown, MA : home $737,600, crime 2,012/100k
Wenatchee, WA : home $391,200, crime 3,023/100k
University Place, WA : home $578,100, crime 2,160/100k
Walla Walla, WA : home $356,600, crime 2,498/100k
Longview, WA : home $339,000, crime 3,392/100k
How does Mount Vernon compare to other US cities?
Here's how Mount Vernon stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income54% higher than other cities
Home value80% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% pricier than other cities
Safety33% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Washington alone, Mount Vernon ranks #76 of 156 Washington cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Mount Vernon ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Mount Vernon only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#354 of 565
37th percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#275 of 565
51st percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#129 of 598
78th percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#299 of 599
50th 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
54th percentile nationally for median household income · 33rd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Mount Vernon's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Mount Vernon'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 Mount Vernon's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$429,30020th 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
Mount Vernon's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,981 of 15,516
More affordable than 10% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,936 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 5.9×, Mount Vernon sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,981 of 15,516 and #2,936 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
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
$73,277Mount Vernon, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Mount Vernon, 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 Mount Vernon, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)25.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)11.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)57.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
35,312
Median Income
$73,277
Median Home Value
$429,300
Median Age
36.1
Poverty Rate
11.4%
Labor force participation
57.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
25.6%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1966.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
190.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1776.2
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.
Schools
Total Schools
16
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Mount Vernon's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
35,305 residents
2021
35,465 residents
2022
35,404 residents
2023
35,225 residents
2024
35,232 residents
2025
35,193 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Rapid Growth
Total Permits (2024)
109
housing units authorized
Single-Family
16
detached homes
Multifamily
93
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
86
84
2
$23.5M
2020
91
86
5
$23.2M
2021
176
40
136
$21.9M
2022
18
4
14
$3.3M
2023
15
13
2
$6.6M
2024
109
16
93
$13.0M
Permit volume increased 27% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
74.8%
Carpool
10.1%
Public Transit
0.6%
Walk
1.9%
Work from Home
11.9%
Other
0.7%
Based on 15,753 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 Mount Vernon. 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 Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Mount Vernon 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, 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.