Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Burlington gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $126K, 2 years of the Burlington area’s $63K median household income. It grades C− overall, 118th of 140 graded towns in Iowa. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its public schools score at or near the bottom of Iowa, and its police reported 60 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 78% of U.S. towns. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 29 places on the National Register. 40% of working residents work locally in Burlington, above both Iowa’s towns (31%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include First Congregational Church and Mary Darwin House. Among 140 Iowa towns, just 3 have a higher January low than Burlington.
Where Burlington beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Snake Alley| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Black Hawk Elementary School | K–4 | 305 |
| Sunnyside Elementary School | K–4 | 298 |
| North Hill Elementary School | K–4 | 268 |
Its founding year, 1833, comes before those of 97% of the Iowa towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 4,082 in 1850, a peak of 32,430 in 1960, 23,982 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1840 and 3 maps from 1934 on.
29 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Burlington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Burlington, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Burlington.
Burlington is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Its public schools are run by the Burlington Community School District. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Stone Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 452 | D |
| Burlington Community High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,016 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
13 miles of trail in 12 parks and preserves. The trail density in Burlington is 0.8 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Crapo Park, 75 acres with 1.8 miles of trail.
| Burlington | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.2% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Crapo Park | 1.8 mi | 75 |
| 2. Dankwardt Memorial Park | 1.4 mi | 67 |
| 3. Riverside Park | — | 24 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 2 years of the Burlington area’s $63K median household income, the typical home (about $126K) costs less against local pay than in 91% of Iowa towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
The typical Burlington home is worth about $126,000, up 0.9% in a year, 47% below the Iowa typical home.
| Burlington | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $924 a month | $909 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 70% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 662 to 364 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Burlington reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 78% report less. Burlington’s violent crime rate is 2.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Burlington | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.9 per 1,000 residents | 7.2 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Burlington has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 16° and about 22 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based in Burlington fell to 10,227 in 2023, 2,058 fewer than in 2013. 5.1% of Burlington workers work from home. The top destinations are West Burlington (16%), Fort Madison (4%) and Mount Pleasant (3%).
| Burlington | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 5.1% | 8.5% | 11% |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 8,674 U.S. towns with household incomes like Burlington’s, it is healthier than 64%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Burlington beats the Iowa average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 17% of adults smoke cigarettes in Burlington. Among 140 Iowa towns, just 9 have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Burlington.
| Burlington | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 32% | 36% |
| What stands out | Burlington | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.8% | 11.6% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 14.7% | 12% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.7% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Iowa average. Burlington has lost 2.8% of its people since 2020, down to 23,336 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 23% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Iowa.
| Burlington | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 42.5 years | 38.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 25% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.3 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women. Median age: women 42.4, men 42.5.
| Burlington | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.8% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.5% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.6% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.5% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.6% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.2% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.3% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.1% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.5% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.4% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.8% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.3% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.6% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.9% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
170 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 170 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Burlington.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Burlington
About 2 of every 100 Burlington residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
29 places in Burlington on the National Register of Historic Places.
49 notable people were born in Burlington.
City in Iowa, United States
Burlington is a city in and the county seat of Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area, which includes West Burlington and Middletown, Iowa, and Gulfport, Illinois. Burlington is the home of Snake Alley, the crookedest street on earth.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Burlington.
| Town | IA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | #118 | C− | B+ | C− | D− | C+ |
| West Burlington | #130 | D | B | D− | D− | C+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Burlington grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #118 of 140 in Iowa. It grades C+ for health, C− for safety and D− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
49 notable people were born here, including Robert Noyce and Wallace Carothers.
