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Place dossier plate
SheetIA-RED-OAK-IA · Red Oak, IA 5,542 pop · income 24th 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 Red Oak
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Red Oak on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Trenton · lowest
49,836
Trenton · lowest
49,836 median HH income
26.7% of the leader · rank #1
Greenville · near
52,991
Greenville · near
52,991 median HH income
28.4% of the leader · rank #2
Red Oak · this city
52,996
Red Oak · this city
52,996 median HH income
28.4% of the leader · rank #3
Lecanto · near
52,996
Lecanto · near
52,996 median HH income
28.4% of the leader · rank #4
Arlee · near
53,000
Arlee · near
53,000 median HH income
28.4% of the leader · rank #5
Pawlet · near
53,000
Pawlet · near
53,000 median HH income
28.4% of the leader · rank #6
La Habra Heig… · highest
186,837
La Habra Heig… · highest
186,837 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 Red Oak 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: 5,542.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Red Oak - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Red Oak places in the 24th percentile for household income and the 55th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
24th
percentile, household income
7th
percentile, home value
11th
percentile, median rent
55th
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: Red Oak, IA
Iowa's Red Oak is a small town, with 5,542 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Red Oak households earn a median of $52,996 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 12.7%. Typical homes in Red Oak are valued around $91,600, and the median resident age is 39.7 years. 15.4% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 55.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 6 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 200% from five years earlier. Red Oak reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 1218.4 incidents per 100,000 residents, below the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 50.8°F with 37.2 inches of precipitation per year and 27.4 inches of snowfall.
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. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Iowa's average monthly utility costs around $212 (state average). 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 Red Oak'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 climate and hazard context to comparison shortlist to reported crime to housing and income to work and mobility to schools and households to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Red Oak, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Population change
Is Red Oak 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 -208 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 6 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 50.8°F, with 37.2 inches of precipitation and 27.4 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.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Red Oak?
Within Iowa, the closest population matches are DeWitt (5,535 residents, $84,474 income); Anamosa (5,553 residents, $56,167 income); Osceola (5,495 residents, $62,363 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Trenton, MO (5,542 residents); Dulles Town Center, VA (5,541 residents); Morganville, NJ (5,544 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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Red Oak?
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.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1218.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 47% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
941.5
Violent rate
276.9
Total reported rate
1218.4
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
How far does income reach against housing in Red Oak?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 12.7%, 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.
Household income
$52,996
Home value
$91,600
Value / income
1.7×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the journey to work look like in Red Oak?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.5%
Work from home
10.1%
Drive alone
79.4%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 2,437 workers age 16+.
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 15.4% 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.
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.
Matched public schools
3
Bachelor's degree+
15.4%
Poverty estimate
12.7%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
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 F
277 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate F
12.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$52,996
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
15.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Red Oak profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Violent crime: 36/100 (F) · 277 /100k
Poverty rate: 29/100 (F) · 12.7%
Household income: 24/100 (F) · $52,996
Bachelor's+ share: 21/100 (F) · 15.4%
Where Red Oak sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Red Oak'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 - Red Oak highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Red Oak, IA (this city): home $91,600, crime 1,218/100k
Trenton, MO : home $93,000, crime 870/100k
Pahokee, FL : home $137,500, crime 3,377/100k
Margaret, AL : home $224,700, crime 105/100k
La Habra Heights, CA : home $1,114,100, crime 853/100k
DeWitt, IA : home $223,100, crime 1,248/100k
Anamosa, IA : home $164,900, crime 674/100k
Osceola, IA : home $145,300, crime 2,208/100k
Spirit Lake, IA : home $218,400, crime 1,728/100k
Algona, IA : home $156,200, crime 227/100k
Sheldon, IA : home $173,600, crime 982/100k
How does Red Oak compare to other US cities?
Red Oak measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income24% higher than other cities
Home value7% pricier than other cities
Median rent11% pricier than other cities
Safety55% 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, Red Oak ranks #91 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 Red Oak 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 Red Oak near the bottom of Iowa's cities
Among the 858 Iowa cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Red Oak ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Red Oak only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#694 of 845
18th percentile in Iowa
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 858
0th percentile in Iowa
Median Home Value
#601 of 849
29th percentile in Iowa
Poverty Rate
#135 of 858
84th percentile in Iowa
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#534 of 858
37th 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
24th percentile nationally for median household income · 55th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Red Oak's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Red Oak'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 Red Oak's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$91,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 93% 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
Red Oak's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#816 of 15,516
More affordable than 95% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#791 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.7×, Red Oak sits in the affordable band:
national rank #816 of 15,516 and #791 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
$52,996Red Oak, IA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Red Oak, 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 Red Oak, IA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)15.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)12.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)55.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,542
Median Income
$52,996
Median Home Value
$91,600
Median Age
39.7
Poverty Rate
12.7%
Labor force participation
55.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
15.4%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1218.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
276.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
941.5
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
50.8°F
Annual Precipitation
37.2"
Annual Snowfall
27.4"
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
Red Oak's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
5,596 residents
2021
5,582 residents
2022
5,506 residents
2023
5,478 residents
2024
5,418 residents
2025
5,388 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
6
housing units authorized
Single-Family
6
detached homes
Multifamily
0
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
2
2
0
$0.6M
2020
2
0
2
$0.2M
2021
1
1
0
$0.1M
2022
1
1
0
$0.1M
2023
4
4
0
$1.8M
2024
6
6
0
$2.1M
Permit volume increased 200% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
79.4%
Carpool
9.1%
Public Transit
0.5%
Walk
0.9%
Work from Home
10.1%
Based on 2,437 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 Red Oak. 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 Red Oak 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 Red Oak sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Red Oak 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.