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Place dossier plate
SheetIA-ROWAN-IA · Rowan, IA 209 pop · income 31st 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 Rowan
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Rowan on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
New Canton · lowest
37,031
New Canton · lowest
37,031 median HH income
45.0% of the leader · rank #1
Rowan · this city
57,500
Rowan · this city
57,500 median HH income
69.8% of the leader · rank #2
Pitkas Point · near
57,500
Pitkas Point · near
57,500 median HH income
69.8% of the leader · rank #3
Meredosia · near
57,500
Meredosia · near
57,500 median HH income
69.8% of the leader · rank #4
Wataga · near
57,500
Wataga · near
57,500 median HH income
69.8% of the leader · rank #5
Burlingame · near
57,500
Burlingame · near
57,500 median HH income
69.8% of the leader · rank #6
Williams · highest
82,375
Williams · highest
82,375 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 Rowan 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: 209.
Rowan ranks in the 31st percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
31st
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: Rowan, IA
209 people live in Rowan, Iowa - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Rowan brings in $57,500 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 19.7%. The median resident age is 28.7 years. 8.4% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 60.1% 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. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $989 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Iowa's average monthly utility costs around $212 (state average). 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 Rowan'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 comparison shortlist to work and mobility to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Rowan, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Rowan?
Within Iowa, the closest population matches are Harpers Ferry (210 residents, $37,813 income); Paton (210 residents, $62,292 income); Defiance (207 residents, $51,458 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Glacier View, AK (209 residents); June Lake, CA (209 residents); New Canton, IL (209 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.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 94.0%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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 -4 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.3% 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.
Below median income · poverty 19.7% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.8 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Iowa average
F
City profile score · Rowan, IA
37/100
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
$57,500
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
19.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
8.4%
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).
Rowan profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Household income: 31/100 (F) · $57,500
Poverty rate: 14/100 (F) · 19.7%
Bachelor's+ share: 2/100 (F) · 8.4%
How does Rowan compare to other US cities?
Here's how Rowan stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income31% higher 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 Rowan 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 Rowan near the bottom of Iowa's cities
Among the 858 Iowa cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Rowan ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Rowan only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#590 of 845
30th percentile in Iowa
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 858
0th percentile in Iowa
Poverty Rate
#46 of 858
95th percentile in Iowa
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#744 of 858
13th 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
31st percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Income distribution context
$57,500Rowan, IA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Rowan, 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 Rowan, IA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)8.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)19.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
209
Median Income
$57,500
Median Home Value
N/A
Median Age
28.7
Poverty Rate
19.7%
Labor force participation
60.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
8.4%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Rowan's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
122 residents
2021
121 residents
2022
119 residents
2023
121 residents
2024
119 residents
2025
118 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
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
94.0%
Carpool
6.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
0.0%
Based on 84 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 Rowan. 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 Rowan 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 Rowan sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Rowan 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.