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Place dossier plate
SheetIA-MANCHESTER-IA · Manchester, IA 5,144 pop · income 33rd pct · 4 tracts
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 Manchester
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Manchester on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Mechanicville · lowest
47,331
Mechanicville · lowest
47,331 median HH income
38.6% of the leader · rank #1
Grenada · near
58,571
Grenada · near
58,571 median HH income
47.8% of the leader · rank #2
Sheridan · near
58,571
Sheridan · near
58,571 median HH income
47.8% of the leader · rank #3
Stewardson · near
58,571
Stewardson · near
58,571 median HH income
47.8% of the leader · rank #4
Manchester · this city
58,578
Manchester · this city
58,578 median HH income
47.8% of the leader · rank #5
Dugger · near
58,585
Dugger · near
58,585 median HH income
47.8% 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 Manchester 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: 5,144.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Manchester - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Manchester lands in the 33rd percentile for household income and the 54th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
33rd
percentile, household income
21st
percentile, home value
11th
percentile, median rent
54th
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: Manchester, IA
Manchester is a small town in Iowa, home to 5,144 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Manchester report a median income of $58,578 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.6%. Typical homes in Manchester are valued around $130,500, and the median resident age is 49.4 years. About 22.2% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 63.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 46 residential building permits were authorized in Manchester (Rapid Growth), up 48% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Manchester reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 1246.5 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Manchester's yearly average temperature at 46.3°F with 38.6 inches of precipitation per year and 34.7 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Iowa run below the national norm: the state registers 87.8 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. 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. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 39.7 out of 100 (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Manchester'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 comparison shortlist to housing and income to work and mobility to within-city variation to population change to schools and households to climate and hazard context; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Manchester, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What can the FBI record say about safety in Manchester?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1246.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 45% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Manchester?
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.
Within Iowa, the closest population matches are Cherokee (5,157 residents, $48,693 income); Glenwood (5,118 residents, $69,320 income); Windsor Heights (5,171 residents, $89,083 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Buckhannon, WV (5,144 residents); Coal City, IL (5,145 residents); Alexandria, IN (5,145 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Manchester?
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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.6%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What can 4 Census tracts reveal inside Manchester?
PlainCities matches 4 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Manchester?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 86.5%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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.
Drive alone
86.5%
Work from home
8.9%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 2,688 workers age 16+.
Is Manchester growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +282 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +5.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 46 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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.
2020 estimate
5,075
2025 estimate
5,357
Period change
+5.6%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the education layer cover for Manchester?
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.
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 22.2% 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.
Poverty estimate
9.6%
Bachelor's degree+
22.2%
Matched public schools
3
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What physical conditions frame life in Manchester?
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.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 46.3°F, with 38.6 inches of precipitation and 34.7 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.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
39.7
Annual precipitation
38.6 in
Mean temperature
46.3°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Below median income · poverty 9.6% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.8 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Iowa average
C-
City profile score · Manchester, IA
54/100
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.
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 C+
132 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate D
9.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share D
22.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$58,578
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Manchester profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Violent crime: 63/100 (C+) · 132 /100k
Poverty rate: 41/100 (D) · 9.6%
Bachelor's+ share: 41/100 (D) · 22.2%
Household income: 32/100 (F) · $58,578
Where Manchester sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Manchester'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 - Manchester highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Manchester, IA (this city): home $130,500, crime 1,247/100k
Buckhannon, WV : home $152,000, crime 1,556/100k
Coal City, IL : home $211,600, crime 465/100k
Rockmart, GA : home $186,600, crime 2,484/100k
Cherokee, IA : home $119,400, crime 543/100k
Glenwood, IA : home $193,800, crime 728/100k
Windsor Heights, IA : home $251,800, crime 4,829/100k
Iowa Falls, IA : home $106,300, crime 1,769/100k
How does Manchester compare to other US cities?
Manchester measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income33% higher than other cities
Home value21% pricier than other cities
Median rent11% pricier than other cities
Safety54% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Iowa, Manchester ranks #92 of 141 Iowa cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Manchester 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 Manchester near the bottom of Iowa's cities
Among the 858 Iowa cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Manchester ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Manchester only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#577 of 845
32nd percentile in Iowa
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 858
0th percentile in Iowa
Median Home Value
#358 of 849
58th percentile in Iowa
Poverty Rate
#251 of 858
70th percentile in Iowa
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#261 of 858
70th 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
33rd percentile nationally for median household income · 54th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Manchester's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Manchester'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 Manchester's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$130,500Among the most affordablemore affordable than 79% 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
Manchester's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,599 of 15,516
More affordable than 83% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,425 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.2×, Manchester sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,599 of 15,516 and #2,425 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
$58,578Manchester, IA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Manchester, 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 Manchester, IA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)22.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)63.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,144
Median Income
$58,578
Median Home Value
$130,500
Median Age
49.4
Poverty Rate
9.6%
Labor force participation
63.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
22.2%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1246.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
132.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1114.3
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
46.3°F
Annual Precipitation
38.6"
Annual Snowfall
34.7"
Schools
Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Manchester's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
5,075 residents
2021
5,129 residents
2022
5,196 residents
2023
5,232 residents
2024
5,275 residents
2025
5,357 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Rapid Growth
Total Permits (2024)
46
housing units authorized
Single-Family
16
detached homes
Multifamily
30
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
8.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
31
9
22
$4.9M
2020
22
6
16
$4.0M
2021
42
10
32
$6.2M
2022
29
11
18
$7.1M
2023
26
10
16
$6.3M
2024
46
16
30
$10.0M
Permit volume increased 48% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
86.5%
Carpool
4.2%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.4%
Work from Home
8.9%
Based on 2,688 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 Manchester. 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 Manchester 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 Manchester sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Manchester 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.