
Iowa · Census place 48720
Malvern, IA population, income and ZIP codes
Quick answer
The population of the city of Malvern, Iowa (Malvern, IA — Census place “Malvern city”) is 1,415 residents, ranking #224 of 1026 places in Iowa. Median household income is $82,027, the median home is worth $173,900 and median gross rent runs $843 a month. Looking for the Malvern Iowa ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Malvern, IA: 51551.
- Population
- 1,415Malvern city residents
- Median household income
- $82,027Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
- Median home value
- $173,900Owner-occupied units
- Median gross rent
- $843Rent plus utilities, monthly
- Median age
- 42.6 yrsAll residents
- Homeownership rate
- 85.3%Owner-occupied households
Malvern ZIP codes (Iowa)
Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Malvern.
The Malvern IA ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.
What the numbers mean in Malvern city
Housing cost measured against local earnings.
A household earning the Malvern city median would spend about 12.3% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 2.1× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 5.3% of residents and 85.3% of households own their home.
Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year
Malvern city, IA in context
How this area compares with national benchmarks.
Malvern city is a small town in Iowa, with 1,415 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #224 of 1,026 ranked by population — larger than 78% of them. The median age here is 42.6 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. 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 Malvern city earn a median of $82,027 a year, 4.4% above the national figure of $78,538 and 21% above 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 5.3% of residents here, less than half the 12.4% national rate.
The typical owner-occupied home in Malvern city is valued at $173,900, 42.7% below the national figure and 11% above the $156,300 peer median, while median gross rent runs $843 a month, 40% below the national figure, or roughly $10,116 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 12.3% 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 2.1×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so purchase prices are unusually low against local pay, the pattern in places where supply is plentiful and wage growth has been flat. 85.3% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, an owner-dominated market where rental listings are scarce and rent medians rest on a thin sample. 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.
All values below were released by the Census for this exact geography, with no gap-filling on our side. 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.
Compare with nearby places
Places of similar size in Iowa.
- Strawberry Point city 1,415
- Woodbine city 1,418
- Earlham city 1,406
- Kingsley city 1,427
- Coon Rapids city 1,403
- Roland city 1,458
- Nora Springs city 1,394
- Traer city 1,464
Keep going
More Iowa coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this area.
- What is the population of Malvern city?
- Malvern city has 1,415 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #224 of 1,026 in Iowa.
- What is the median household income in Malvern city?
- Median household income in Malvern city is $82,027 a year, 4.4% above the national figure of $78,538.
- How much does it cost to rent or buy in Malvern city?
- Median gross rent is $843 a month and the median home value is $173,900, so rent absorbs about 12.3% of median household income.
- Is Malvern city affordable compared with the rest of the US?
- Homes cost about 2.1× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Malvern city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 12.3% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
- How current is this Malvern city data?
- All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. 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.