What stands out worked out from the figures below

Cooper has the most people working from home (13.5%).

Shirley has the shortest commute (21 min average).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Cooper	Shirley
People
Population	157Lowest	234Highest
Median age	46.5±9.1Highest 4% above ME	42±8.2Lowest 6% below ME
	Cooper and Shirley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	16.6%±17Highest ME: 18.1%	16.2%±9.2Lowest ME: 18.1%
	Cooper and Shirley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	22.9%±14Lowest ME: 22.4%	26.5%±10.1Highest ME: 22.4%
	Shirley and Cooper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	22.2%Lowest ME: 36.2%	30.6%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.5%±9.8Highest ME: 5.8%	4.3%±5.1Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Cooper and Shirley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$48,750±$15kLowest 35% below ME	$61,875±$22kHighest 17% below ME
	Shirley and Cooper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$212,500±$66kLowest 28% below ME	$219,600±$36kHighest 26% below ME
	Shirley and Cooper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$1,929Lowest 36% below ME	$2,522Highest 17% below ME
Below poverty line	20.4%Highest ME: 10.7%	17%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	95%Lowest ME: 74.3%	99%Highest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1977Lowest same as ME	1984Highest 7 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	44 minHighest 78% above ME	21 minLowest 17% below ME
Work from home	13.5%±11Highest ME: 15.9%	5.3%±4.9Lowest ME: 15.9%
	Cooper and Shirley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

ME average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.