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Place dossier plate
SheetIA-SEYMOUR-IA · Seymour, IA 558 pop · income 13th 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 Seymour
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Seymour on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Hot Springs · lowest
21,319
Hot Springs · lowest
21,319 median HH income
13.3% of the leader · rank #1
Seymour · this city
45,000
Seymour · this city
45,000 median HH income
28.1% of the leader · rank #2
Chalkyitsik · near
45,000
Chalkyitsik · near
45,000 median HH income
28.1% of the leader · rank #3
St. Mary's · near
45,000
St. Mary's · near
45,000 median HH income
28.1% of the leader · rank #4
Dyess · near
45,000
Dyess · near
45,000 median HH income
28.1% of the leader · rank #5
Sugar City · near
45,000
Sugar City · near
45,000 median HH income
28.1% of the leader · rank #6
Cumming · highest
160,357
Cumming · highest
160,357 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 Seymour 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: 558.
Seymour ranks in the 13th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
13th
percentile, household income
3rd
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: Seymour, IA
Seymour is a small town in Iowa, home to 558 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Seymour report a median income of $45,000 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 19.5%. Seymour's housing stock carries a median value of $78,600, and the median resident age is 51.8 years. About 13.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 53.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 2 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
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. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Iowa run around $212, per EIA 2023 residential energy 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 Seymour'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 housing and income to schools and households to work and mobility to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Seymour, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Seymour growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +5 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.8% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
How far does income reach against housing in Seymour?
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 1.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 19.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 13.4% 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Seymour?
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 Cumming (558 residents, $160,357 income); Lynnville (557 residents, $61,875 income); Garwin (554 residents, $56,563 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Pilot Station, AK (558 residents); Piney Grove, GA (558 residents); Richfield, ID (558 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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Seymour?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 82.0%. 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.
Drive alone
82.0%
Work from home
4.0%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 250 workers age 16+.
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.
Bachelor's+ share F
13.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$45,000
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.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Seymour profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Bachelor's+ share: 16/100 (F) · 13.4%
Household income: 14/100 (F) · $45,000
Poverty rate: 14/100 (F) · 19.5%
How does Seymour compare to other US cities?
Where Seymour sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income13% higher than other cities
Home value3% 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 Seymour 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 Seymour near the bottom of Iowa's cities
Among the 858 Iowa cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Seymour ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Seymour only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#798 of 845
6th percentile in Iowa
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 858
0th percentile in Iowa
Median Home Value
#693 of 849
18th percentile in Iowa
Poverty Rate
#48 of 858
94th percentile in Iowa
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#602 of 858
30th 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
13th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Seymour's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$78,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 97% 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
Seymour's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#871 of 15,516
More affordable than 94% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#844 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.7×, Seymour sits in the affordable band:
national rank #871 of 15,516 and #844 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
$45,000Seymour, IA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Seymour, 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 Seymour, IA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)13.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)19.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)53.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
558
Median Income
$45,000
Median Home Value
$78,600
Median Age
51.8
Poverty Rate
19.5%
Labor force participation
53.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
13.4%
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Seymour's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
636 residents
2021
638 residents
2022
633 residents
2023
640 residents
2024
646 residents
2025
641 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
82.0%
Carpool
9.6%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
4.0%
Work from Home
4.0%
Based on 250 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 Seymour. 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 Seymour 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 Seymour sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Seymour 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, NCES CCD, 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.