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.
Place dossier plate
SheetIA-VAN-METER-IA · Van Meter, IA 1,469 pop · income 91st 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 Van Meter
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Van Meter on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Newport · lowest
42,740
Newport · lowest
42,740 median HH income
31.9% of the leader · rank #1
Van Meter · this city
133,750
Van Meter · this city
133,750 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #2
Mullica Hill · near
133,750
Mullica Hill · near
133,750 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #3
Nevada · near
133,750
Nevada · near
133,750 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #4
Walnut · near
133,762
Walnut · near
133,762 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #5
Tyrone · near
133,773
Tyrone · near
133,773 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
Woodlake · highest
133,782
Woodlake · highest
133,782 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 Van Meter 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: 1,469.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Van Meter - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Van Meter lands in the 91st percentile for household income and the 98th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
91st
percentile, household income
56th
percentile, home value
11th
percentile, median rent
98th
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: Van Meter, IA
1,469 people live in Van Meter, Iowa - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Van Meter brings in $133,750 a year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 1.8%. Van Meter's housing stock carries a median value of $250,300, and the median resident age is 35.8 years. About 42.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 77.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 37 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 236% from five years earlier. Van Meter reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 110.4 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Iowa run below the national norm: the state registers 87.8 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $989 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $212 across Iowa, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. 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 Van Meter'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 housing and income to work and mobility to population change to reported crime to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Van Meter, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Van Meter?
Within Iowa, the closest population matches are Lenox (1,474 residents, $59,750 income); Manning (1,474 residents, $62,310 income); Traer (1,464 residents, $79,653 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Smoke Rise, AL (1,469 residents); Newport, ME (1,469 residents); Seabrook Farms, NJ (1,469 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Van Meter?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 1.8%, 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Van Meter?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Is Van Meter growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +482 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +32.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 37 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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 Van Meter?
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 110.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 95% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
55.2
Violent rate
55.2
Total reported rate
110.4
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the education layer cover for Van Meter?
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 42.4% 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+
42.4%
Poverty estimate
1.8%
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.
Household income A+
$133,750
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate A
1.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime A-
55 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share B+
42.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Van Meter profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Household income: 91/100 (A+) · $133,750
Poverty rate: 87/100 (A) · 1.8%
Violent crime: 82/100 (A-) · 55 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 77/100 (B+) · 42.4%
Where Van Meter sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Van Meter'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 - Van Meter highlighted among 23 peers.Read the chart values
Van Meter, IA (this city): home $250,300, crime 110/100k
Newport, ME : home $162,800, crime 1,139/100k
Blawnox, PA : home $181,600, crime 217/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Van Meter compare to other US cities?
Here's how Van Meter stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income91% higher than other cities
Home value56% pricier than other cities
Median rent11% pricier than other cities
Safety98% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Iowa alone, Van Meter ranks #6 of 141 Iowa cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Van Meter 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 Van Meter near the bottom of Iowa's cities
Among the 858 Iowa cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Van Meter ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Van Meter only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#7 of 845
99th percentile in Iowa
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 858
0th percentile in Iowa
Median Home Value
#71 of 849
92nd percentile in Iowa
Poverty Rate
#700 of 858
17th percentile in Iowa
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#57 of 858
93rd 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
91st percentile nationally for median household income · 98th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Van Meter's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Van Meter'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 Van Meter's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$250,30044th percentilemore affordable than 44% 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
Van Meter's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,207 of 15,516
More affordable than 92% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,165 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.9×, Van Meter sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,207 of 15,516 and #1,165 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
$133,750Van Meter, IA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Van Meter, 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 Van Meter, IA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)42.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)1.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)77.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,469
Median Income
$133,750
Median Home Value
$250,300
Median Age
35.8
Poverty Rate
1.8%
Labor force participation
77.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
42.4%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
110.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
55.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
55.2
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.
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
Van Meter's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,496 residents
2021
1,553 residents
2022
1,579 residents
2023
1,762 residents
2024
1,885 residents
2025
1,978 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
37
housing units authorized
Single-Family
37
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
25.2
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
11
11
0
$3.8M
2020
18
9
9
$5.3M
2021
10
10
0
$3.8M
2022
72
58
14
$18.5M
2023
43
39
4
$15.6M
2024
37
37
0
$11.8M
Permit volume increased 236% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
80.6%
Carpool
1.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.3%
Work from Home
17.0%
Based on 757 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 Van Meter. 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 Van Meter 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 Van Meter sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Van Meter 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, 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.