Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Bentley on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 185.
Iowa's Bentley counts 185 residents. Source: Census ACS.
39th
percentile, home value
11th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Bentley, IA
Bentley is a small town in Iowa, home to 185 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Typical homes in Bentley are valued around $188,800, and the median resident age is 22.9 years. About 62.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 57.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Living costs in Iowa run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Iowa scores 87.8 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $989 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $212 across Iowa, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. The average commute for Bentley workers runs 13.3 minutes, with 100.0% driving alone and 0.0% working from home. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 39.7 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Bentley's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Bentley, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, annual population history, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Bentley?
Within Iowa, the closest population matches are Sherrill (185 residents, $91,250 income); Fostoria (184 residents, $83,125 income); Reasnor (184 residents, $71,250 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are White Mountain, AK (185 residents); Black Oak, AR (185 residents); Boles, AR (185 residents). These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
What does the journey to work look like in Bentley?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 100.0%. The reported mean trip to work is 13.3 minutes.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A+
87.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share A+
62.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
16.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income N/A
N/A
No ACS median household income on file for this place.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Bentley profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Bachelor's+ share: 93/100 (A+) · 62.1%
Poverty rate: 21/100 (F) · 16.1%
How does Bentley compare to other US cities?
Bentley measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Home value39% pricier than other cities
Median rent11% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Bentley against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Iowa only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Iowa-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Bentley near the bottom of Iowa's cities
Among the 858 Iowa cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Bentley ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Bentley only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 858
0th percentile in Iowa
Median Home Value
#151 of 849
82nd percentile in Iowa
Poverty Rate
#91 of 858
89th percentile in Iowa
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#8 of 858
99th percentile in Iowa
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Iowa only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
How Bentley's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$188,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 61% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Income distribution context
Median household income is not available for Bentley in the current Census ACS release (common for very small places).
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)62.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)16.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)57.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
185
Median Income
N/A
Median Home Value
$188,800
Median Age
22.9
Poverty Rate
16.1%
Labor force participation
57.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
62.1%
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
13.3 minutes
Drive Alone
100.0%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
0.0%
Based on 92 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Iowa statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $212
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Iowa at $212 (electricity about $95 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Iowa statewide averages, not a meter reading for Bentley. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Iowa's BEA cost-of-living index is 87.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Bentley is $989/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Iowa statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 39.7 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Iowa statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Bentley sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Bentley compares to similar-size Iowa cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.