Red Oak is a somewhat small city located in the state of Iowa. With a population of 5,514 people and two associated neighborhoods, Red Oak is the 73rd largest community in Iowa.

The citizens of Red Oak are slightly less educated than the national average of 21.84% for the average city or town: 14.50% of adults in Red Oak have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree

The per capita income in Red Oak in 2018 was $31,651, which is lower middle income relative to Iowa, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $126,604 for a family of four. However, Red Oak contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Red Oak home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Red Oak residents report their race to be White, followed by Native American. Important ancestries of people in Red Oak include German, English, Irish, Swedish, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in Red Oak is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.