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Place dossier plate
SheetWA-PE-ELL-WA · Pe Ell, WA 520 pop · income 35th 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 Pe Ell
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Pe Ell on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Naturita · lowest
28,021
Naturita · lowest
28,021 median HH income
27.4% of the leader · rank #1
Churubusco · near
59,621
Churubusco · near
59,621 median HH income
58.2% of the leader · rank #2
Baltimore · near
59,623
Baltimore · near
59,623 median HH income
58.2% of the leader · rank #3
Pe Ell · this city
59,625
Pe Ell · this city
59,625 median HH income
58.2% of the leader · rank #4
Ellinger · near
59,625
Ellinger · near
59,625 median HH income
58.2% of the leader · rank #5
North Judson · near
59,630
North Judson · near
59,630 median HH income
58.2% of the leader · rank #6
Tampico · highest
102,404
Tampico · highest
102,404 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 Pe Ell 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: 520.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Pe Ell places in the 35th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
35th
percentile, household income
42nd
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: Pe Ell, WA
Washington's Pe Ell is a small town, with 520 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in Pe Ell report a median income of $59,625 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 21.1%. Home values in Pe Ell run a median of $196,600, and the median resident age is 38.7 years. Educational attainment runs 9.4% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 50.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 1 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. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,472 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $188 across Washington, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Natural-hazard exposure scores 70.0 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Pe Ell'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 housing and income to comparison shortlist to schools and households to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Pe Ell, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Pe Ell?
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 80.1%. 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 Pe Ell?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 21.1%, 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. 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Pe Ell?
Within Washington, the closest population matches are Naselle (519 residents, $58,642 income); Tampico (514 residents, $102,404 income); Nisqually Indian Community (513 residents, $71,875 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Cantua Creek, CA (520 residents); Naturita, CO (520 residents); Collins, GA (520 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 NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 9.4% 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.
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.
Population change
Is Pe Ell 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 +26 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +4.0% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+4.0%
2025 estimate
669
2020 estimate
643
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Below median income · poverty 21.1% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
107.0 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Washington average
F
City profile score · Pe Ell, WA
18/100
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.
Household income F
$59,625
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); 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.
Poverty rate F
21.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
9.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Pe Ell profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 34/100 (F) · $59,625
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
Poverty rate: 11/100 (F) · 21.1%
Bachelor's+ share: 5/100 (F) · 9.4%
How does Pe Ell compare to other US cities?
Pe Ell measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income35% higher than other cities
Home value42% 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 Pe Ell 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 Pe Ell near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Pe Ell ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Pe Ell only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#453 of 565
20th percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#511 of 565
9th percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#37 of 598
94th percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#548 of 599
8th 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
35th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Pe Ell's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$196,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 58% 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
Pe Ell's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,119 of 15,516
More affordable than 48% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#6,649 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.3×, Pe Ell sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,119 of 15,516 and #6,649 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
$59,625Pe Ell, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Pe Ell, 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 Pe Ell, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)9.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)21.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)50.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
520
Median Income
$59,625
Median Home Value
$196,600
Median Age
38.7
Poverty Rate
21.1%
Labor force participation
50.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
9.4%
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
Pe Ell's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
643 residents
2021
656 residents
2022
655 residents
2023
664 residents
2024
665 residents
2025
669 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
80.1%
Carpool
10.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
4.1%
Work from Home
5.4%
Based on 221 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 Pe Ell. 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 Pe Ell 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 Pe Ell sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Pe Ell 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.