What stands out worked out from the figures below

Cooper has the most expensive homes ($213k median).

Wade has the most affordable homes ($157k median).

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	Wade
People
Population	157Lowest	244Highest
Median age	46.5±9.1Lowest 4% above ME	53.6±18.5Highest 20% above ME
	Wade and Cooper 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%	16.4%±6.7Lowest ME: 18.1%
	Cooper and Wade 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%	34.8%±10.8Highest ME: 22.4%
	Wade 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%	33.2%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.5%±9.8Highest ME: 5.8%	0.4%±4.6Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Cooper and Wade are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$48,750±$15kHighest 35% below ME	$41,818±$25kLowest 44% below ME
	Cooper and Wade are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$212,500±$66kHighest 28% below ME	$157,100±$109kLowest 47% below ME
	Cooper and Wade are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$1,929Highest 36% below ME	$1,655Lowest 45% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	—	0%±100 ME: 48.4%
Below poverty line	20.4%Highest ME: 10.7%	4.2%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	95%Highest ME: 74.3%	78.3%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1977Highest same as ME	1951Lowest 26 yrs older than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	44 minHighest 78% above ME	34 minLowest 37% above ME
Work from home	13.5%±11Highest ME: 15.9%	10.1%±6.8Lowest ME: 15.9%
	Cooper and Wade 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.