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Place dossier plate
SheetIA-ZEARING-IA · Zearing, IA 584 pop · income 46th 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 Zearing
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Zearing on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Colesburg · lowest
50,000
Colesburg · lowest
50,000 median HH income
23.6% of the leader · rank #1
Zearing · this city
67,031
Zearing · this city
67,031 median HH income
31.7% of the leader · rank #2
East Globe · near
67,031
East Globe · near
67,031 median HH income
31.7% of the leader · rank #3
Cathedral City · near
67,031
Cathedral City · near
67,031 median HH income
31.7% of the leader · rank #4
Westfir · near
67,031
Westfir · near
67,031 median HH income
31.7% of the leader · rank #5
Nellis AFB · near
67,036
Nellis AFB · near
67,036 median HH income
31.7% of the leader · rank #6
Trout Valley · highest
211,563
Trout Valley · highest
211,563 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 Zearing 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: 584.
Zearing ranks in the 46th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
46th
percentile, household income
23rd
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: Zearing, IA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 584 residents in Zearing, a small town within Iowa. Households in Zearing report a median income of $67,031 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 19.2%. Home values in Zearing run a median of $138,600, and the median resident age is 34.2 years. Educational attainment runs 32.3% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 66.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 2 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Low Activity).
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. 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 Zearing'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 comparison shortlist to housing and income to schools and households to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Zearing, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, matched public-school count, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Zearing growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -32 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -6.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 2 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Zearing?
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 Colesburg (585 residents, $50,000 income); Everly (586 residents, $55,192 income); Hopkinton (586 residents, $80,536 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Trout Valley, IL (584 residents); Cheshire, MA (584 residents); Cement City, MI (584 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Zearing?
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 2.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 19.2%, 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 1 public school within the city match. 32.3% 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.
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 Zearing?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 65.2%. 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
65.2%
Work from home
5.6%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 267 workers age 16+.
Below median income · poverty 19.2% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.8 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Iowa average
C-
City profile score · Zearing, IA
53/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share C+
32.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income D
$67,031
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
19.2%
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).
Zearing profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Bachelor's+ share: 62/100 (C+) · 32.3%
Household income: 45/100 (D) · $67,031
Poverty rate: 15/100 (F) · 19.2%
How does Zearing compare to other US cities?
Zearing measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income46% higher than other cities
Home value23% 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 Zearing 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 Zearing near the bottom of Iowa's cities
Among the 858 Iowa cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Zearing ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Zearing only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#388 of 845
54th percentile in Iowa
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 858
0th percentile in Iowa
Median Home Value
#315 of 849
63rd percentile in Iowa
Poverty Rate
#53 of 858
94th percentile in Iowa
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#102 of 858
88th 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
46th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Zearing's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$138,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 77% 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
Zearing's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,890 of 15,516
More affordable than 88% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,798 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.1×, Zearing sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,890 of 15,516 and #1,798 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
$67,031Zearing, IA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Zearing, 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 Zearing, IA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)32.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)19.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)66.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
584
Median Income
$67,031
Median Home Value
$138,600
Median Age
34.2
Poverty Rate
19.2%
Labor force participation
66.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
32.3%
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Zearing's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
536 residents
2021
539 residents
2022
530 residents
2023
505 residents
2024
503 residents
2025
504 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
2
housing units authorized
Single-Family
2
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.4
permits per 1,000 residents
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
2
2
0
$0.7M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
65.2%
Carpool
28.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
5.6%
Other
1.1%
Based on 267 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 Zearing. 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 Zearing 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 Zearing sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Zearing 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 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.