Red Oak is a somewhat small city located in the state of Iowa. With a population of 5,461 people and two associated neighborhoods, Red Oak is the 73rd largest community in Iowa.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 10.09% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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.

The citizens of Red Oak are slightly less educated than the national average of 21.84% for the average city or town: 15.35% of adults in Red Oak have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree

The per capita income in Red Oak in 2022 was $30,150, which is low income relative to Iowa, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $120,600 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 Hawaiian. 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.