What stands out worked out from the figures below

Crystal has the shortest commute (27 min average).

Wade has the most people working from home (10.1%).

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	Wade
People
Population	247Highest	244Lowest
Median age	63.2±8.4Highest 41% above ME	53.6±18.5Lowest 20% above ME
	Crystal and Wade 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%	16.4%±6.7Highest ME: 18.1%
	Wade 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%	34.8%±10.8Lowest ME: 22.4%
	Crystal and Wade are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	22.9%Lowest ME: 36.2%	33.2%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0%±6.3Lowest ME: 5.8%	0.4%±4.6Highest ME: 5.8%
	Wade 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	$41,818±$25kLowest 44% below ME
	Crystal and Wade are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$129,200±$60kLowest 56% below ME	$157,100±$109kHighest 47% below ME
	Wade and Crystal 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	$1,655Highest 45% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	14.3%±100Highest ME: 48.4%	0%±100Lowest ME: 48.4%
	Crystal and Wade are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	14.7%Highest ME: 10.7%	4.2%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	92.8%Highest ME: 74.3%	78.3%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1974Highest 3 yrs older than ME	1951Lowest 26 yrs older than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minLowest 10% above ME	34 minHighest 37% above ME
Work from home	0%±15.1Lowest ME: 15.9%	10.1%±6.8Highest ME: 15.9%
	Wade and Crystal are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
Old photos in Our Story	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.