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Place dossier plate
SheetIA-MOUNT-PLEASANT-IA · Mount Pleasant, IA 9,093 pop · income 34th pct · 5 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 Mount Pleasant
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Mount Pleasant on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Rockingham · lowest
36,695
Rockingham · lowest
36,695 median HH income
21.2% of the leader · rank #1
West Perrine · near
59,213
West Perrine · near
59,213 median HH income
34.2% of the leader · rank #2
Mount Pleasant · this city
59,216
Mount Pleasant · this city
59,216 median HH income
34.2% of the leader · rank #3
Tamarac · near
59,216
Tamarac · near
59,216 median HH income
34.2% of the leader · rank #4
Hinesville · near
59,216
Hinesville · near
59,216 median HH income
34.2% of the leader · rank #5
Parma Heights · near
59,218
Parma Heights · near
59,218 median HH income
34.2% of the leader · rank #6
Cresskill · highest
173,293
Cresskill · highest
173,293 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 Mount Pleasant 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: 9,093.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Mount Pleasant - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Mount Pleasant lands in the 34th percentile for household income and the 59th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
34th
percentile, household income
26th
percentile, home value
11th
percentile, median rent
59th
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: Mount Pleasant, IA
Iowa's Mount Pleasant is a small town, with 9,093 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. The typical household in Mount Pleasant brings in $59,216 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 12.0%. Mount Pleasant's housing stock carries a median value of $145,600, and the median resident age is 35.9 years. About 23.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 54.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 10 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Low Activity). Mount Pleasant reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 1111.0 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Iowa run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Iowa at 87.8 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). 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. 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 Mount Pleasant'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 housing and income to reported crime to within-city variation to comparison shortlist to population change to work and mobility to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Mount Pleasant, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, local building permits.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Mount Pleasant?
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 2.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 12.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Mount Pleasant?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1111.0 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 51% 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.
What can 5 Census tracts reveal inside Mount Pleasant?
PlainCities matches 5 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Mount Pleasant?
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 Fairfield (9,438 residents, $48,302 income); Grinnell (9,527 residents, $64,426 income); Keokuk (9,748 residents, $49,340 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Little Falls, MN (9,094 residents); Rockingham, NC (9,094 residents); Absecon, NJ (9,099 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.
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.
Population change
Is Mount Pleasant growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -772 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -8.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 10 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 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.
2020 estimate
9,272
2025 estimate
8,500
Period change
-8.3%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the journey to work look like in Mount Pleasant?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.9%. 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. 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.
Drive alone
77.9%
Work from home
7.8%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 4,138 workers age 16+.
What does the education layer cover for Mount Pleasant?
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 6 public schools within the city match. 23.5% 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
12.0%
Bachelor's degree+
23.5%
Matched public schools
6
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Below median income · poverty 12.0% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.8 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Iowa average
C
City profile score · Mount Pleasant, IA
57/100
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 A-
48 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share D
23.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$59,216
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
12.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Mount Pleasant profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Violent crime: 84/100 (A-) · 48 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 44/100 (D) · 23.5%
Household income: 33/100 (F) · $59,216
Poverty rate: 32/100 (F) · 12.0%
Where Mount Pleasant sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Mount Pleasant'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 - Mount Pleasant highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Mount Pleasant, IA (this city): home $145,600, crime 1,111/100k
Little Falls, MN : home $198,100, crime 1,948/100k
Rockingham, NC : home $133,900, crime 4,450/100k
Absecon, NJ : home $237,600, crime 2,365/100k
Tuscumbia, AL : home $166,400, crime 510/100k
Grants, NM : home $123,600, crime 2,044/100k
Fairfield, IA : home $152,900, crime 627/100k
Grinnell, IA : home $191,700, crime 1,407/100k
Keokuk, IA : home $93,700, crime 1,874/100k
Sioux Center, IA : home $275,900, crime 127/100k
Denison, IA : home $137,600, crime 946/100k
How does Mount Pleasant compare to other US cities?
Mount Pleasant measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income34% higher than other cities
Home value26% pricier than other cities
Median rent11% pricier than other cities
Safety59% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Iowa and the picture shifts: Mount Pleasant ranks #87 of 141 Iowa cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Mount Pleasant 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 Mount Pleasant near the bottom of Iowa's cities
Among the 858 Iowa cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Mount Pleasant ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Mount Pleasant only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#556 of 845
34th percentile in Iowa
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 858
0th percentile in Iowa
Median Home Value
#292 of 849
66th percentile in Iowa
Poverty Rate
#156 of 858
82nd percentile in Iowa
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#236 of 858
72nd 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
34th percentile nationally for median household income · 59th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Mount Pleasant's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Mount Pleasant'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 Mount Pleasant's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$145,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 74% 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
Mount Pleasant's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,784 of 15,516
More affordable than 76% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,426 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.5×, Mount Pleasant sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,784 of 15,516 and #3,426 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
$59,216Mount Pleasant, IA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Mount Pleasant, 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 Mount Pleasant, IA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)23.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)12.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)54.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
9,093
Median Income
$59,216
Median Home Value
$145,600
Median Age
35.9
Poverty Rate
12.0%
Labor force participation
54.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
23.5%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1111.0
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
47.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1063.2
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.
Schools
Total Schools
6
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Mount Pleasant's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
9,272 residents
2021
9,246 residents
2022
9,221 residents
2023
8,632 residents
2024
8,522 residents
2025
8,500 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
10
housing units authorized
Single-Family
2
detached homes
Multifamily
8
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
8
8
0
$1.8M
2021
15
7
8
$2.4M
2022
25
25
0
$1.1M
2023
23
23
0
$4.6M
2024
10
2
8
$0.5M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
77.9%
Carpool
11.8%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.9%
Work from Home
7.8%
Other
0.6%
Based on 4,138 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 Mount Pleasant. 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 Mount Pleasant 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 Mount Pleasant sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Mount Pleasant 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, 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.