Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Atlantic run?
Atlantic’s city government spent $7.4 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $1,099 per resident. Water and other utilities ($13.4 million) and the airport ($538,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Atlantic is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,099 per resident a year, or $3.01 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 23%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$1,110 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Atlantic’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($1,110 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 91 Iowa cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $1,177, and the middle half spent $1,027–$1,402. Atlantic spent less than 63% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($1 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Iowa cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Atlantic itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 3% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Atlantic reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $1,110 · 2023: $1,291 · 2024: $1,099.
full-time in March 2025, the same as 36 in 2022.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $2,368 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.58% of the home’s value, vs 1.39% across Iowa.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Atlantic’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Atlantic’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Atlantic →
Who’s in charge in Atlantic
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 188 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (6,769).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Atlantic Community School District
Atlantic’s K–12 school district, shared with Marne. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $12,244 per pupil, $7,821 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Iowa districts overall: 43% local, 49% state, 8% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
How Atlantic voted in 2024
Official results for Atlantic’s own voters, as certified after the November 5, 2024 general election, with the county and the state beside them.
Donald J TrumpRepublican64.8%2,256 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat33.6%1,169 votesOthers: 1.6% (56 votes).
Most votes in Atlantic: Donald J Trump
Cass County: Trump 69.6%, Harris 28.9% · Iowa: Trump 55.7%, Harris 42.5%
of Atlantic’s 5,422 adult citizens voted for president in 2024. Across Iowa: 70%.
Votes ÷ citizens of voting age (Census CVAP, 2020–24 ACS).
Most votes in the district: Zach Nunn
Whole-district result
President, 2024: Atlantic, its county and the state
| Trump | Harris | Others | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | 64.8% | 33.6% | 1.6% | 3,481 |
| Cass County | 69.6% | 28.9% | 1.5% | 7,195 |
| Iowa | 55.7% | 42.5% | 1.8% | 1,663,506 |
Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Atlantic.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2Iowa HouseState representatives
- 3Iowa SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Iowa
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Atlantic’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Atlantic’s government
How much does Atlantic spend per resident?
About $1,099 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $1,110 was less than 63% of 91 Iowa cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Atlantic?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $2,368 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.58% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.39% across Iowa. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the city’s assessor.
Who runs Atlantic’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Atlantic yet.
How did Atlantic vote in 2024?
For president, Donald J Trump 64.8%, Kamala D Harris 33.6% (3,481 votes, official results). Cass County: Trump 69.6%, Harris 28.9%. Iowa: Trump 55.7%, Harris 42.5%.
How many people work for Atlantic?
36 full-time and 20 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $236,391 (about $2.8M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Atlantic in the state legislature?
State Senate District 9 (Tom Shipley) and State House District 18 (Tom Moore). The House district also covers 18 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Atlantic’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →