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Place dossier plate
SheetIA-OCHEYEDAN-IA · Ocheyedan, IA 486 pop · income 52nd 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 Ocheyedan
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Ocheyedan on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
East Newnan · lowest
41,080
East Newnan · lowest
41,080 median HH income
24.3% of the leader · rank #1
Ocheyedan · this city
71,875
Ocheyedan · this city
71,875 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #2
Layton · near
71,875
Layton · near
71,875 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #3
Alston · near
71,875
Alston · near
71,875 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #4
Hoyleton · near
71,875
Hoyleton · near
71,875 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #5
Mackinaw · near
71,875
Mackinaw · near
71,875 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #6
Jupiter Inlet… · highest
168,750
Jupiter Inlet… · highest
168,750 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Ocheyedan 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: 486.
Nationally, Ocheyedan sits in the 52nd percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
52nd
percentile, household income
11th
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: Ocheyedan, IA
486 people live in Ocheyedan, Iowa - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Ocheyedan households earn a median of $71,875 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 15.3%. Typical homes in Ocheyedan are valued around $105,400, and the median resident age is 40.8 years. About 5.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 70.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Ocheyedan (No Permits), down 100% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data.
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. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Iowa run around $212, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Commute times here average 21.2 minutes, with 80.1% driving alone and 3.1% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. 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 Ocheyedan'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 work and mobility to housing and income to comparison shortlist to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Ocheyedan, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Ocheyedan?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.1%. The reported mean trip to work is 21.2 minutes.
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.
How far does income reach against housing in Ocheyedan?
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 1.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 15.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Ocheyedan?
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.
Within Iowa, the closest population matches are Anthon (488 residents, $52,500 income); Packwood (484 residents, $43,750 income); Charter Oak (489 residents, $58,068 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Jupiter Inlet Colony, FL (486 residents); East Newnan, GA (486 residents); Butterfield, MN (486 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.
Is Ocheyedan growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -19 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -4.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 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.
Above median income · poverty 15.3% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.8 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Iowa average
D
City profile score · Ocheyedan, IA
45/100
4 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.
Household income C-
$71,875
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
15.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
5.3%
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).
Ocheyedan profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Household income: 51/100 (C-) · $71,875
Poverty rate: 22/100 (F) · 15.3%
Bachelor's+ share: 0/100 (F) · 5.3%
How does Ocheyedan compare to other US cities?
Here's how Ocheyedan stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income52% higher than other cities
Home value11% 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 Ocheyedan 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 Ocheyedan near the bottom of Iowa's cities
Among the 858 Iowa cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Ocheyedan ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Ocheyedan only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#299 of 845
65th percentile in Iowa
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 858
0th percentile in Iowa
Median Home Value
#504 of 849
41st percentile in Iowa
Poverty Rate
#97 of 858
89th percentile in Iowa
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#804 of 858
6th 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
52nd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Ocheyedan's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$105,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 89% 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
Ocheyedan's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#348 of 15,516
More affordable than 98% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#342 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.5×, Ocheyedan sits in the affordable band:
national rank #348 of 15,516 and #342 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
$71,875Ocheyedan, IA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Ocheyedan, 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 Ocheyedan, IA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)5.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)15.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)70.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
486
Median Income
$71,875
Median Home Value
$105,400
Median Age
40.8
Poverty Rate
15.3%
Labor force participation
70.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
5.3%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Ocheyedan's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
438 residents
2021
436 residents
2022
427 residents
2023
423 residents
2024
421 residents
2025
419 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.1M
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Permit volume decreased 100% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
21.2 minutes
Drive Alone
80.1%
Carpool
6.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
8.0%
Work from Home
3.1%
Other
2.3%
Based on 261 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 Ocheyedan. 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 Ocheyedan 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 Ocheyedan sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Ocheyedan 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 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.