What stands out worked out from the figures below

Springfield has the highest household income ($61k).

Wade has the most expensive 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	Springfield	Wade
People
Population	310Highest	244Lowest
Median age	52.4±7Lowest 17% above ME	53.6±18.5Highest 20% above ME
	Wade and Springfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	18.1%±5.6Highest ME: 18.1%	16.4%±6.7Lowest ME: 18.1%
	Springfield and Wade are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	21.6%±5.4Lowest ME: 22.4%	34.8%±10.8Highest ME: 22.4%
	Wade and Springfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	17.3%Lowest ME: 36.2%	33.2%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0.6%±3.7Highest ME: 5.8%	0.4%±4.6Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Springfield and Wade are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$60,833±$23kHighest 19% below ME	$41,818±$25kLowest 44% below ME
	Springfield and Wade are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$122,500±$28kLowest 59% below ME	$157,100±$109kHighest 47% below ME
	Wade and Springfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$1,067Lowest 65% below ME	$1,655Highest 45% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	—	0%±100 ME: 48.4%
Below poverty line	5.5%Highest ME: 10.7%	4.2%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	96.2%Highest ME: 74.3%	78.3%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1987Highest 10 yrs newer than ME	1951Lowest 26 yrs older than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	30 minLowest 21% above ME	34 minHighest 37% above ME
Work from home	9.6%±5.2Lowest ME: 15.9%	10.1%±6.8Highest ME: 15.9%
	Wade and Springfield 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.