Dow City, IA population, income and ZIP codes

Dow City city is a very small community in Iowa, with 384 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #540 of 1,026 ranked by population — larger than 47% of them. The median age here is 48.3 years against 39.1 nationally, a markedly older profile that usually tracks retirees staying put and younger households leaving for work. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.

Households in Dow City city earn a median of $46,932 a year, 40.2% below the national figure of $78,538 and 31% below the $67,791 median for the 290 Iowa cities we cover. The median is the midpoint household, not an average, so a handful of very high earners cannot drag it upward the way they distort a mean. Poverty reaches 15.1% of residents here, above the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Dow City city is valued at $130,200, 57.1% below the national figure and 17% below the $156,300 peer median, while median gross rent runs $714 a month, 49.2% below the national figure, or roughly $8,568 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 18.3% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 2.8×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 69.8% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.

With 384 residents, a handful of survey responses moves every median on this page. Compare Dow City city against its county rather than against national figures.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.