Living in Red Oak, Iowa: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 15.9% below the U.S. average in the parts of Iowa outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood25 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 high school and 1 other.
A hospital close byMontgomery County Memorial Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityOmaha is about 46 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Red Oak meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $99,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 39%Montgomery County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $812 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $50,109U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 60%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,950 a yearIowa: $2,897
Homes built before 1940: 29%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 84.1U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Iowa outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 39% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Iowa outside metro areas, not Red Oak alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 5,3882020: 5,596
Median age: 40.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 18%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 8%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (21%); manufacturing (19%); retail (16%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 22%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Montgomery County Memorial Hospital, Red Oak, IA, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Methodist Jennie Edmundson, Council Bluffs, IA, about 36 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Red Oak, run by Red Oak Comm School District.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Iowa's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 65%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 83%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 12°F
July average high: 86°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 26 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 142 a year
Rain and melted snow: 37.2 inches a year
Snow: 27 inches a year
Elevation: 1,079 feet

Weather station: Red Oak (1 mile away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Council Bluffs, IACity of 63,00036

Omaha, NEMetro of 1 million46

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Council Bluffs, Omaha.

Montgomery County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Red Oak Downtown Historic District.

Read about Red Oak's history on Wikipedia.

Know Red Oak?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Villisca, IA1,100 people, 14 miles
Malvern, IA1,100 people, 19 miles
Shenandoah, IA4,800 people, 19 miles
Clarinda, IA5,300 people, 22 miles
Oakland, IA1,500 people, 22 miles
Treynor, IA1,100 people, 25 miles

Smaller places

Stanton, IA664 people, 7 miles
Emerson, IA400 people, 9 miles
Elliott, IA325 people, 10 miles
Essex, IA712 people, 13 miles
Henderson, IA137 people, 14 miles
Hastings, IA158 people, 14 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.