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Place dossier plate
SheetIA-WEST-CHESTER-IA · West Chester, IA 168 pop · income 19th 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 West Chester
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest West Chester on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Davis City · lowest
37,417
Davis City · lowest
37,417 median HH income
57.6% of the leader · rank #1
West Chester · this city
49,750
West Chester · this city
49,750 median HH income
76.5% of the leader · rank #2
Naco · near
49,750
Naco · near
49,750 median HH income
76.5% of the leader · rank #3
Patterson · near
49,750
Patterson · near
49,750 median HH income
76.5% of the leader · rank #4
Nauvoo · near
49,750
Nauvoo · near
49,750 median HH income
76.5% of the leader · rank #5
Gilbert · near
49,750
Gilbert · near
49,750 median HH income
76.5% of the leader · rank #6
Geneva · highest
65,000
Geneva · highest
65,000 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 West Chester 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: 168.
Nationally, West Chester sits in the 19th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
19th
percentile, household income
2nd
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: West Chester, IA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 168 residents in West Chester, a small town within Iowa. Households in West Chester report a median income of $49,750 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 17.1%. West Chester's housing stock carries a median value of $73,800, and the median resident age is 28.5 years. About 14.7% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 44.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
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). Commute times here average 22.0 minutes, with 96.7% driving alone and 3.3% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. 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 West Chester'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 population change to housing and income to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For West Chester, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for West Chester?
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 Geneva (168 residents, $65,000 income); Oakville (168 residents, $53,750 income); Rembrandt (167 residents, $56,528 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Poston, AZ (168 residents); Ulm, AR (168 residents); Macdoel, CA (168 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.
Is West Chester growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +2 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.4% 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.
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.
How far does income reach against housing in West Chester?
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 1.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 17.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the journey to work look like in West Chester?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 96.7%. The reported mean trip to work is 22.0 minutes.
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.
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
$49,750
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
17.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
14.7%
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).
West Chester profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Household income: 20/100 (F) · $49,750
Poverty rate: 19/100 (F) · 17.1%
Bachelor's+ share: 19/100 (F) · 14.7%
How does West Chester compare to other US cities?
Where West Chester sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income19% higher than other cities
Home value2% 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 West Chester 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 West Chester near the bottom of Iowa's cities
Among the 858 Iowa cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, West Chester ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares West Chester only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#748 of 845
11th percentile in Iowa
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 858
0th percentile in Iowa
Median Home Value
#721 of 849
15th percentile in Iowa
Poverty Rate
#82 of 858
90th percentile in Iowa
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#553 of 858
35th 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
19th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How West Chester's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$73,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 98% 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
West Chester's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#372 of 15,516
More affordable than 98% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#366 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.5×, West Chester sits in the affordable band:
national rank #372 of 15,516 and #366 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
$49,750West Chester, IA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context West Chester, 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 West Chester, IA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)14.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)17.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)44.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
168
Median Income
$49,750
Median Home Value
$73,800
Median Age
28.5
Poverty Rate
17.1%
Labor force participation
44.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.7%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
West Chester's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
145 residents
2021
146 residents
2022
145 residents
2023
147 residents
2024
147 residents
2025
147 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
22.0 minutes
Drive Alone
96.7%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
3.3%
Based on 61 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 West Chester. 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 West Chester 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 West Chester sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How West Chester 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 ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.