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Place dossier plate
SheetIA-GLENWOOD-IA · Glenwood, IA 5,118 pop · income 49th pct
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.
Income neighbourhood around Glenwood
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Glenwood on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Cherokee · lowest
48,693
Cherokee · lowest
48,693 median HH income
39.7% of the leader · rank #1
Kulm · near
69,318
Kulm · near
69,318 median HH income
56.5% of the leader · rank #2
Glenwood · this city
69,320
Glenwood · this city
69,320 median HH income
56.5% of the leader · rank #3
Carroll · near
69,323
Carroll · near
69,323 median HH income
56.5% of the leader · rank #4
Malden · near
69,327
Malden · near
69,327 median HH income
56.5% of the leader · rank #5
Pecos · near
69,327
Pecos · near
69,327 median HH income
56.5% of the leader · rank #6
Sergeant Bluff · highest
122,610
Sergeant Bluff · highest
122,610 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Glenwood on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 5,118.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Glenwood - the verdict
Nationally, Glenwood sits in the 49th percentile for household income and the 75th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
49th
percentile, household income
41st
percentile, home value
11th
percentile, median rent
75th
percentile, safety
📝 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: Glenwood, IA
5,118 people live in Glenwood, Iowa - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $69,320 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 0.5%. Home values in Glenwood run a median of $193,800, and the median resident age is 42.3 years. Educational attainment runs 27.0% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 57.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 31 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 343% from five years earlier. Glenwood reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 728.2 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Glenwood's yearly average temperature at 50.9°F with 34.8 inches of precipitation per year and 23.7 inches of snowfall.
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. Natural-hazard exposure scores 39.7 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Glenwood'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 reported crime to population change to housing and income to comparison shortlist to climate and hazard context to schools and households to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Glenwood, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Glenwood?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 728.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 68% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Is Glenwood growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +221 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +4.4% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 31 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
How far does income reach against housing in Glenwood?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 0.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
Which cities make useful reference points for Glenwood?
Within Iowa, the closest population matches are Manchester (5,144 residents, $58,578 income); Sergeant Bluff (5,090 residents, $122,610 income); Cherokee (5,157 residents, $48,693 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Pendleton, IN (5,115 residents); Fussels Corner, FL (5,113 residents); Social Circle, GA (5,113 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. 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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Climate and hazard context
What physical conditions frame life in Glenwood?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 50.9°F, with 34.8 inches of precipitation and 23.7 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Iowa is 39.7 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Mean temperature
50.9°F
Annual precipitation
34.8 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
39.7
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
The NCES join finds 4 public schools within the city match. 27.0% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
4
Bachelor's degree+
27.0%
Poverty estimate
0.5%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in Glenwood?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
6.9%
Drive alone
80.8%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 2,504 workers age 16+.
Below median income · poverty 0.5% (Very low poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.8 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Iowa average
B
City profile score · Glenwood, IA
74/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
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.
Poverty rate A+
0.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
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.
Violent crime A-
58 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C-
27.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income D
$69,320
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Glenwood profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 96/100 (A+) · 0.5%
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Violent crime: 82/100 (A-) · 58 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 53/100 (C-) · 27.0%
Household income: 48/100 (D) · $69,320
Where Glenwood sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Glenwood's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Glenwood highlighted among 27 peers.Read the chart values
Glenwood, IA (this city): home $193,800, crime 728/100k
Pendleton, IN : home $236,200, crime 84/100k
Headland, AL : home $190,700, crime 1,521/100k
Manchester, IA : home $130,500, crime 1,247/100k
Cherokee, IA : home $119,400, crime 543/100k
Windsor Heights, IA : home $251,800, crime 4,829/100k
Iowa Falls, IA : home $106,300, crime 1,769/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Glenwood compare to other US cities?
Here's how Glenwood stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income49% higher than other cities
Home value41% pricier than other cities
Median rent11% pricier than other cities
Safety75% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Iowa alone, Glenwood ranks #61 of 141 Iowa cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Glenwood 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 Glenwood near the bottom of Iowa's cities
Among the 858 Iowa cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Glenwood ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Glenwood only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#343 of 845
59th percentile in Iowa
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 858
0th percentile in Iowa
Median Home Value
#138 of 849
84th percentile in Iowa
Poverty Rate
#759 of 858
11th percentile in Iowa
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#162 of 858
81st 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.
Gauge source note
49th percentile nationally for median household income · 75th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Glenwood's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Glenwood's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Glenwood's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$193,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 59% 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
Glenwood's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#5,561 of 15,516
More affordable than 64% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4,830 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.8×, Glenwood sits in the affordable band:
national rank #5,561 of 15,516 and #4,830 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$69,320Glenwood, IA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Glenwood, IA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Glenwood, IA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)27.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)0.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)57.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,118
Median Income
$69,320
Median Home Value
$193,800
Median Age
42.3
Poverty Rate
0.5%
Labor force participation
57.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
27.0%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
728.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
57.5
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
670.8
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
50.9°F
Annual Precipitation
34.8"
Annual Snowfall
23.7"
Schools
Total Schools
4
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Glenwood's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
5,066 residents
2021
5,095 residents
2022
5,143 residents
2023
5,159 residents
2024
5,233 residents
2025
5,287 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
31
housing units authorized
Single-Family
31
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
6.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
7
3
4
$1.3M
2020
5
1
4
$0.8M
2021
23
11
12
$3.2M
2022
11
11
0
$2.9M
2023
24
18
6
$5.3M
2024
31
31
0
$9.2M
Permit volume increased 343% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
80.8%
Carpool
6.9%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
5.2%
Work from Home
6.9%
Based on 2,504 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 Glenwood. 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 Glenwood 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 Glenwood sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Glenwood 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, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, 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.