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Place dossier plate
SheetIA-MILTON-IA ยท Milton, IA 451 pop ยท income 9th 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 Milton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Milton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Ojo Encino ยท lowest
28,750
Ojo Encino ยท lowest
28,750 median HH income
11.5% of the leader ยท rank #1
Milton ยท this city
41,875
Milton ยท this city
41,875 median HH income
16.7% of the leader ยท rank #2
Ashland ยท near
41,875
Ashland ยท near
41,875 median HH income
16.7% of the leader ยท rank #3
South Taft ยท near
41,875
South Taft ยท near
41,875 median HH income
16.7% of the leader ยท rank #4
Malone ยท near
41,875
Malone ยท near
41,875 median HH income
16.7% of the leader ยท rank #5
Minidoka ยท near
41,875
Minidoka ยท near
41,875 median HH income
16.7% of the leader ยท rank #6
Fort Wingate ยท highest
250,001
Fort Wingate ยท highest
250,001 median HH income
100.0% of the leader ยท 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Milton 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: 451.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Milton places in the 9th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
9th
percentile, household income
1st
percentile, home value
11th
percentile, median rent
๐ 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: Milton, IA
451 people live in Milton, Iowa - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Milton brings in $41,875 a year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 26.2%. Home values in Milton run a median of $54,400, and the median resident age is 33.3 years. 9.3% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 56.4% 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. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $989 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Iowa run around $212, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. 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 Milton'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 population change to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Milton, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Milton growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -5 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.3% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Milton?
Within Iowa, the closest population matches are Arlington (452 residents, $41,250 income); Clermont (452 residents, $73,906 income); Bussey (453 residents, $47,857 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Iuka, IL (451 residents); Leigh, NE (451 residents); Fort Wingate, NM (451 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Milton?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 54.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Milton?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 26.2%, 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. 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.
Lowest-decile income ยท poverty 26.2% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.8 (US=100)
Very affordable ยท BEA RPP 2024, Iowa average
F
City profile score ยท Milton, IA
29/100
4 published dimensions ยท 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 โ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income F
$41,875
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop โฅ1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
26.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
9.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Milton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) ยท 87.8 index
Household income: 9/100 (F) ยท $41,875
Poverty rate: 5/100 (F) ยท 26.2%
Bachelor's+ share: 5/100 (F) ยท 9.3%
How does Milton compare to other US cities?
Where Milton sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income9% higher than other cities
Home value1% 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 Milton 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 Milton near the bottom of Iowa's cities
Among the 858 Iowa cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Milton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Milton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#817 of 845
3rd percentile in Iowa
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 858
0th percentile in Iowa
Median Home Value
#804 of 849
5th percentile in Iowa
Poverty Rate
#19 of 858
98th percentile in Iowa
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#722 of 858
16th 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
9th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Milton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$54,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 99% 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 ยท 2023
Milton's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.3ร
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0ร
National rank
#177 of 15,516
More affordable than 99% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#174 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.3ร, Milton sits in the affordable band:
national rank #177 of 15,516 and #174 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 รท median household income for cities with both fields and population โฅ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0โ5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$41,875Milton, IA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Milton, 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 Milton, IA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)9.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)26.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)56.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
451
Median Income
$41,875
Median Home Value
$54,400
Median Age
33.3
Poverty Rate
26.2%
Labor force participation
56.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
9.3%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020โ2025
Milton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020โ2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
392 residents
2021
394 residents
2022
394 residents
2023
396 residents
2024
390 residents
2025
387 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
54.7%
Carpool
11.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
13.3%
Work from Home
20.4%
Other
0.6%
Based on 181 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 Milton. 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 Milton 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 Milton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Milton 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.