What stands out worked out from the figures below

Crystal has the most expensive homes ($129k median).

Patten has the most people working from home (24.3%).

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	Crystal	Patten
People
Population	247Lowest	607Highest
Median age	63.2±8.4Highest 41% above ME	56.1±5.8Lowest 25% above ME
	Crystal and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	16.2%±11.8Lowest ME: 18.1%	16.5%±4.8Highest ME: 18.1%
	Patten and Crystal are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	49%±5.3Highest ME: 22.4%	32.9%±5.6Lowest ME: 22.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	22.9%Lowest ME: 36.2%	30.6%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0%±6.3Lowest ME: 5.8%	1.6%±2.7Highest ME: 5.8%
	Patten and Crystal are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$48,125±$13kHighest 36% below ME	$45,750±$19kLowest 39% below ME
	Crystal and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$129,200±$60kHighest 56% below ME	$83,000±$51kLowest 72% below ME
	Crystal and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,563±$922Highest 37% above ME	$389±$99Lowest 66% below ME
Property taxmedian, yearly	$943Highest 69% below ME	$857Lowest 72% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	14.3%±100Lowest ME: 48.4%	56%±58.6Highest ME: 48.4%
	Patten and Crystal are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	14.7%Lowest ME: 10.7%	28.4%Highest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	92.8%Highest ME: 74.3%	72.4%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1974Highest 3 yrs older than ME	1955Lowest 22 yrs older than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minHighest 10% above ME	25 minLowest about the ME average
Work from home	0%±15.1Lowest ME: 15.9%	24.3%±24.5Highest ME: 15.9%
	Patten and Crystal are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
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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.