Muscatine, Iowa

Area Profile

23,489 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Muscatine, in Muscatine County.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 39% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity3,042nd of 4,199 cities measured46
Schools2,923rd of 4,162 cities measured34
GrowthTop 45% of 4,224 cities measured52
Housing affordabilityTop 39% of 4,218 cities measured70
Climate3,807th of 4,225 cities measured58
Physical resilienceTop 35% of 4,226 cities measured70
Access3,058th of 4,226 cities measured85
Economic stability3,316th of 4,226 cities measured40
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 3.6% and the Opportunity signal places Muscatine in the bottom 28%. The unemployment rate is published for Muscatine County, IA, which contains Muscatine, rather than for Muscatine alone.

In the public schools here, 63% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.4 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 31% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.1 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
23,489
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$58,117
Bottom 36% nationally
Density
1,291/sq mi
18.2 sq mi of land
Median age
37.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
Micro area
Nearest major airport
MLI
29 mi · Quad Cities Intl
Median home value
$153,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Muscatine County, IA, which contains Muscatine, is 3.6%, lower than in 77% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Muscatine County, IA, which contains Muscatine, fell 1.5% over the past year, to 19,909 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMuscatine County, IA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$54,75415th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMuscatine County, IA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,88619th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,0582024 ACS 5-Year$58,117Bottom 36%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,9862024 ACS 5-Year$30,853Bottom 40%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year18.5%Bottom 26%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year17.7 minTop 11%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year21.1%Top 48%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year79.6%58th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentMuscatine County, IA’s figureJuly 202619,909Bottom 23%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Muscatine County, IA’s figureJuly 2026−4.5%Bottom 5%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Muscatine County, IA’s figureJuly 2026−1.5%Bottom 34%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceMuscatine County, IA’s figureJuly 202620,65323rd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year77.2%Bottom 46%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%76th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Muscatine County, IA’s figureJuly 2026−0.2%Top 49%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateMuscatine County, IA’s figureJuly 20263.6%Top 23%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.3%43rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202459k55k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $58,117 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Muscatine County, IA, which contains this city.

63% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 56% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.4 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
62.9%
Bottom 29% in Iowa
Reading proficiency
55.5%
Bottom 15% in Iowa
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Muscatine High SchoolMuscatine Comm School District1,38015.752%44%
Susan Clark Junior HighMuscatine Comm School District54412.1——
Jefferson Elementary SchoolMuscatine Comm School District44112.358%52%
McKinley Elementary SchoolMuscatine Comm School District39411.674%62%
Madison Elementary SchoolMuscatine Comm School District37212.477%67%
Grant Elementary SchoolMuscatine Comm School District30012.077%77%
Franklin Elementary SchoolMuscatine Comm School District29510.562%62%
Mulberry Elementary SchoolMuscatine Comm School District29315.472%62%
Muskie Early Learning CenterMuscatine Comm School District26118.667%57%

49.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Iowa’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Iowa is up 40% over five years, and up 3.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,556 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.66% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,071, some 10% above the $974 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,071 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $42,800 a year, about 74% of the median household income here of $58,117.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $974 a month.

A median home at $153,600 costs 2.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $71,552, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
31.1%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,071
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$974
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$153,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Muscatine’s median household income of $58,117, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Iowa’s figure2026 Q2+3.1%49th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Iowa’s figure2026 Q2+39.6%39th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Iowa’s figure2026 Q2+74.3%20th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.1Top 38%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year66.5%31st percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3022024 ACS 5-Year10,41194th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$858Top 11%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,374Top 12%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,071Top 12%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$372024 ACS 5-Year$974Bottom 49%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,5122024 ACS 5-Year$153,60038th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1172024 ACS 5-Year$2,55666th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,8562024 ACS 5-Year$71,552Bottom 40%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year1.66%84th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year31.1%Bottom 36%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1162024 ACS 5-Year13591st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.3%64th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.1%45th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2982024 ACS 5-Year77193rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

52/ 100
Top 45% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 3 years of a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 2% since 2020, to 23,298 in 2024.

Permit activity rose in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025.

68% of the 95 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Muscatine County, which contains Muscatine, lost about 0.3% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $54,754, close to the $56,886 of households that moved out.

At 4.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
95
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.0
Top 35% nationally
Year over year
+30%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
68.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202424k23k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
39%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$54,754
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$56,886
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Scott County, IA 247 people · 16% of arrivals
  2. Johnson County, IA 159 people · 11% of arrivals
  3. Louisa County, IA 144 people · 9.5% of arrivals
  4. Cedar County, IA 89 people · 5.9% of arrivals
  5. Rock Island County, IL 72 people · 4.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Scott County, IA 233 people · 14% of departures
  2. Johnson County, IA 187 people · 12% of departures
  3. Louisa County, IA 163 people · 10% of departures
  4. Cedar County, IA 113 people · 7.0% of departures
  5. Rock Island County, IL 102 people · 6.3% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Muscatine County, IA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025939.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+933%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 13°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 40.0 inches, including 23.5 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 38, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

0°20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MUSCATINE, 0.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year562024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals40.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals23.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals13°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year382024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals53°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
38
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
56
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

70 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, strong wind and hail, with inland flooding alone responsible for 49% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Strong windElevated
HailHigh
DroughtModerate
Heat waveModerate
Ice stormModerate
TornadoModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, landslide, winter weather, inland flooding, wildfire, earthquake, hurricane, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
185
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
936
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Muscatine's police department reported 185 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 936.

Muscatine County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.0 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 12.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 13.8 per 100,000 residents in Muscatine County.

Homicide
3.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
12.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
13.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
26.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Muscatine’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Muscatine (Muscatine County) rather than Muscatine itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Quad Cities Intl at 29 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year90.6%Top 46%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle29 miBottom 29%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.6%Bottom 49%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Quad Cities IntlMLI29 mi10,002 ft
The Eastern IowaCID46 mi8,600 ft
General Downing - Peoria IntlPIA89 mi10,104 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
56
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Put Muscatine side by side with a similar place.

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You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April 2025 to March 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Muscatine

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Muscatine with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
5276129,474$62,098$170,60058