State Center is a very small city located in the state of Iowa. With a population of 1,392 people and just one neighborhood, State Center is the 322nd largest community in Iowa. State Center has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.
When you are in State Center, you'll notice that it is more blue-collar than most other communities in America. 35.84% of State Center’s employed work in blue-collar jobs, while America averages only 27.7% that do. Overall, State Center is a city of professionals, transportation and shipping workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in State Center who work in healthcare (14.10%), management occupations (7.65%), and teaching (6.33%).
Of important note, State Center is also a city of artists. State Center has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape State Center’s character.
A relatively large number of people in State Center telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 16.43% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
State Center is a small city, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.
In terms of college education, State Center is somewhat better educated than the 21.84% who have a 4-year degree or higher in the typical US community: 26.44% of adults 25 and older in the city have at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in State Center in 2022 was $35,585, which is middle income relative to Iowa and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $142,340 for a family of four. However, State Center contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
State Center is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call State Center home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of State Center residents report their race to be White. State Center also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 12.08% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in State Center include German, Irish, English, Norwegian, and Italian.
The most common language spoken in State Center is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
Unpopulated, and rural, the neighborhood is one of the least crowded neighborhoods in all of America. If you like open space, no traffic, and lots of room, this neighborhood may be just what you are looking for. According to NeighborhoodScout's leading research, this neighborhood is less densely populated than 95.0% of the neighborhoods in America.
How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in State Center are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 49.1% of the neighborhoods in America. With 10.3% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 50.8% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the neighborhood, 44.7% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 29.6% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (18.3%), and 6.0% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 95.3% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (4.2%).
Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.
In the neighborhood in State Center, IA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (33.1%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (9.2%), and residents who report English roots (8.2%), and some of the residents are also of Mexican ancestry (6.8%), along with some Norwegian ancestry residents (4.8%), among others.
How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (39.7% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (74.4%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (7.2%) and 5.5% of residents also hop out the door and walk to work for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.