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Place dossier plate
SheetMO-ROCKAWAY-BEACH-MO · Rockaway Beach, MO 682 pop · income 30th 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 Rockaway Beach
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Rockaway Beach on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Hermitage · lowest
22,813
Hermitage · lowest
22,813 median HH income
9.1% of the leader · rank #1
Rockaway Beach · this city
56,563
Rockaway Beach · this city
56,563 median HH income
22.6% of the leader · rank #2
Togiak · near
56,563
Togiak · near
56,563 median HH income
22.6% of the leader · rank #3
White Mountain · near
56,563
White Mountain · near
56,563 median HH income
22.6% of the leader · rank #4
Cisne · near
56,563
Cisne · near
56,563 median HH income
22.6% of the leader · rank #5
Garwin · near
56,563
Garwin · near
56,563 median HH income
22.6% of the leader · rank #6
Tuxedo Park · highest
250,001
Tuxedo Park · highest
250,001 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 Rockaway Beach 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: 682.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Rockaway Beach places in the 30th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
30th
percentile, household income
21st
percentile, home value
7th
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: Rockaway Beach, MO
Missouri's Rockaway Beach is a small town, with 682 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Median household income here is $56,563 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 2.2%. Rockaway Beach's housing stock carries a median value of $130,000, and the median resident age is 47.6 years. Educational attainment runs 28.1% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 43.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 1 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Low Activity).
Living costs in Missouri run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Missouri scores 90.8 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $972 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Missouri run around $219, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 50.6 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Rockaway Beach'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 to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Rockaway Beach, 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 Rockaway Beach?
Within Missouri, the closest population matches are Norborne (682 residents, $64,750 income); Fordland (681 residents, $49,167 income); Hardin (683 residents, $75,606 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Madison, CA (682 residents); Palatine Bridge, NY (682 residents); Tuxedo Park, NY (682 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Rockaway Beach?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 64.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Is Rockaway Beach growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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 -32 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.8% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
How far does income reach against housing in Rockaway Beach?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.2%, 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.
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.
Poverty rate A-
2.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living A-
90.8 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
28.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$56,563
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Rockaway Beach profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 84/100 (A-) · 2.2%
Cost of living: 83/100 (A-) · 90.8 index
Bachelor's+ share: 55/100 (C) · 28.1%
Household income: 30/100 (F) · $56,563
How does Rockaway Beach compare to other US cities?
Here's how Rockaway Beach stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income30% higher than other cities
Home value21% pricier than other cities
Median rent7% 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 Rockaway Beach against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Missouri only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Missouri-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Rockaway Beach near the bottom of Missouri's cities
Among the 875 Missouri cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Rockaway Beach ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Rockaway Beach only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#351 of 842
58th percentile in Missouri
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 875
0th percentile in Missouri
Median Home Value
#374 of 833
55th percentile in Missouri
Poverty Rate
#734 of 875
16th percentile in Missouri
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#179 of 875
80th percentile in Missouri
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 Missouri only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
30th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Rockaway Beach's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$130,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 79% 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
Rockaway Beach's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,939 of 15,516
More affordable than 81% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,715 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.3×, Rockaway Beach sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,939 of 15,516 and #2,715 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
$56,563Rockaway Beach, MO median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Rockaway Beach, MO median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Rockaway Beach, MO.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)28.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)2.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)43.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
682
Median Income
$56,563
Median Home Value
$130,000
Median Age
47.6
Poverty Rate
2.2%
Labor force participation
43.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
28.1%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Rockaway Beach's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
848 residents
2021
845 residents
2022
840 residents
2023
830 residents
2024
824 residents
2025
816 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
1
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.5
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
1
1
0
$0.0M
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
1
1
0
$0.1M
2024
1
1
0
$0.1M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
64.6%
Carpool
20.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.5%
Work from Home
4.2%
Other
9.2%
Based on 263 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Missouri statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $219
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Missouri at $219 (electricity about $105 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Missouri statewide averages, not a meter reading for Rockaway Beach. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Missouri's BEA cost-of-living index is 90.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Rockaway Beach is $972/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Missouri statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 50.6 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Missouri statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Rockaway Beach sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Rockaway Beach compares to similar-size Missouri 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.