What stands out worked out from the figures below

Crystal has the oldest population (median age 63.2).

Springfield has the most people working from home (9.6%).

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	Springfield
People
Population	247Lowest	310Highest
Median age	63.2±8.4Highest 41% above ME	52.4±7Lowest 17% above ME
	Crystal and Springfield 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%	18.1%±5.6Highest ME: 18.1%
	Springfield 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%	21.6%±5.4Lowest ME: 22.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	22.9%Highest ME: 36.2%	17.3%Lowest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0%±6.3Lowest ME: 5.8%	0.6%±3.7Highest ME: 5.8%
	Springfield 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±$13kLowest 36% below ME	$60,833±$23kHighest 19% below ME
	Springfield and Crystal 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	$122,500±$28kLowest 59% below ME
	Crystal and Springfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,563±$922 37% above ME	—
Property taxmedian, yearly	$943Lowest 69% below ME	$1,067Highest 65% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	14.3%±100 ME: 48.4%	—
Below poverty line	14.7%Highest ME: 10.7%	5.5%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	92.8%Lowest ME: 74.3%	96.2%Highest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1974Lowest 3 yrs older than ME	1987Highest 10 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minLowest 10% above ME	30 minHighest 21% above ME
Work from home	0%±15.1Lowest ME: 15.9%	9.6%±5.2Highest ME: 15.9%
	Springfield and Crystal 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.