City profile · Iowa · Census ACS 2023

Osterdock, IA

Osterdock's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

144
Residents
$49,185
Median income
$989
Median rent (state)
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Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.

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See how it ranks

State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Osterdock.

Place dossier plate

Sheet IA-OSTERDOCK-IA · Osterdock, IA 144 pop · income 18th pct

POP-VILLAGE · INC-MID · COL-BELOW · SAFE-UNK · RANK-BOTTOM · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-UNK · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-VILLAGE 144
  • INC-MID $49,185
  • COL-BELOW 87.8
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-BOTTOM 18th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Bay Springs
  • HOME-UNK Homes pending
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: Bay Springs, MS ( $2 income $)

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 Osterdock

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Osterdock on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

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.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Osterdock 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: 144.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $49,185. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Osterdock - the verdict

Nationally, Osterdock sits in the 18th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.

18th
percentile, household income
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: Osterdock, IA

Osterdock is a small town in Iowa, home to 144 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Osterdock brings in $49,185 a year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 19.5%. The median resident age is 58.1 years. Educational attainment runs 1.8% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 24.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 0 residential units authorized here in 2024 (No Permits).

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. 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 Osterdock'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 population change to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Osterdock, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history. No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count; 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 Osterdock?

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 60.0%. 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.

Compare commute patterns →

Question 2

Is Osterdock growing, shrinking, or holding steady?

Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -1 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.3% 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.

See the national growth ranking →

3. Comparison shortlist

Which cities make useful reference points for Osterdock?

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 Archer (144 residents, $66,250 income); Haverhill (144 residents, $59,583 income); Kamrar (145 residents, $50,417 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Yellow Bluff, AL (144 residents); Eareckson Station, AK (144 residents); Freedom Acres, AZ (144 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.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Population

144 residents

Micro place (under 10k)

Median Household Income

$49,185 /yr

Low income · poverty 19.5% (High poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

87.8 (US=100)

Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Iowa average

City profile score · Osterdock, IA

33/100

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 F
$49,185

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Poverty rate F
19.5%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Bachelor's+ share F
1.8%

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).

Osterdock profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Cost of living, Household income, Poverty rate, Bachelor's+ share. Cost of livingHousehold incomePoverty rateBachelor's+ share 33 F
Osterdock profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
  • Household income: 19/100 (F) · $49,185
  • Poverty rate: 14/100 (F) · 19.5%
  • Bachelor's+ share: 0/100 (F) · 1.8%

How does Osterdock compare to other US cities?

Here's how Osterdock stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 18% higher than other cities
Median rent 11% 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 Osterdock 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 Osterdock near the bottom of Iowa's cities

Among the 858 Iowa cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Osterdock ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Osterdock only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#761 of 845
10th percentile in Iowa
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 858
0th percentile in Iowa
Poverty Rate
#48 of 858
94th percentile in Iowa
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#848 of 858
1st 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.

18thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

18th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

Income distribution context

$49,185 Osterdock, IA median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Osterdock, IA Osterdock, IA's median household income ($49,185) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Osterdock, IA-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Osterdock, IA median $49,185/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Osterdock, 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 Osterdock, IA.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 1.8%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 19.5%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 24.6%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
144
Median Income
$49,185
Median Home Value
N/A
Median Age
58.1
Poverty Rate
19.5%
Labor force participation
24.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
1.8%

Population Change

PEP vintage

Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025

See the fastest-growing cities →
42.5 residents43 residents43.5 residents44 residents44.5 residents 202020212022202320242025 44 residents 43 residents ▼ -2.3%
Osterdock's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.
Read the chart as text
Period Population
2020 44 residents
2021 44 residents
2022 44 residents
2023 44 residents
2024 43 residents
2025 43 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
2019 0
2020 0
2021 0
2022 0
2023 0
2024 0

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
60.0%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
0.0%
Other
40.0%

Based on 30 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 Osterdock. 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 Osterdock 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 Osterdock sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Osterdock 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.

City Population Median Household Income
Osterdock (this city) 144 $49,185
Archer 144 $66,250
Haverhill 144 $59,583
Kamrar 145 $50,417
Census BPS 2024
Primary sources on this page

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.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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