Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Cedar Falls grades A− overall, 46th of 140 graded towns in Iowa. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 85% of U.S. towns. Its schools outperform 82% of the state's and residents are healthier than 76% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $266K for a typical one and 3.8 times the Waterloo metro’s $71K median household income. Cedar Falls is home to University of Northern Iowa. Among 140 Iowa towns, just 3 have a lower age of the median resident than Cedar Falls. Cedar Falls has 9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Cedar Falls Ice House and Cotton Theater.
Where Cedar Falls beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Helen A Hansen Elementary School | PK–6 | 569 |
| Southdale Elementary School | PK–6 | 539 |
| Bess Streeter Aldrich Elementary | PK–6 | 472 |
Cedar Falls Ice House
Census counts: 3,070 in 1870, 40,713 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1963 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Cedar Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cedar Falls, 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 Cedar Falls.
Cedar Falls is shaped by its college students and pairs an A− for schools with high home prices, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
That grade comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $266K.
Of its 12 schools, three are listed below, each with the reason. Public schools: the Cedar Falls Community School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helen A Hansen Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 569 | A+ |
| Cedar Falls High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 10–12 | Grades 10–12 | 1,333 | A− |
| Bess Streeter Aldrich ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 472 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
The share of adults in Cedar Falls who binge drink: 22%. In Cedar Falls, 11% of adults report frequent physical distress, against 13% in Iowa’s towns and 14% across U.S. towns. CDC measures, 32 in all: Cedar Falls beats Iowa on 16 and trails on 3.
| Cedar Falls | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 20% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Cedar Falls | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.7% | 11.6% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.6% | 3.3% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 7.9% | 6.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
664 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 76 properties have flooded more than once.
In Cedar Falls, the risk rating from FEMA is 25 of 100, below both Iowa’s towns (40 of 100) and U.S. towns (44 of 100). Since 1979, Cedar Falls has seen 664 flood insurance claims paid out. 43% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 31%.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Walkers can cover 11 miles of trail in 58 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Big Woods, 208 acres with 1.7 miles of trail.
| Cedar Falls | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 4% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Big Woods | 1.7 mi | 208 |
| 2. West George Wyth | 1.4 mi | 81 |
| 3. Prairie Lakes Park | 0.6 mi | 161 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 9° and about 39 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Cedar Falls’ typical journey to work stands at 14 minutes. Jobs in Cedar Falls grew by 2,553 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 22,142. Among working residents here, 36% work locally. The top destinations are Waterloo (33%), Cedar Rapids (3%) and Waverly (2%).
| Cedar Falls | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 36% | 31% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 11% | 8.5% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Cedar Falls's reported crime rate is close to Iowa's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 55 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Cedar Falls | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.1 per 1,000 residents | 7.2 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
57.4% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 43.9% across Iowa.
Homes sold in Cedar Falls spent a median 8 days on the market. Zillow values the typical Cedar Falls home at about $266,000, up 1.6% in a year, 12% above the Iowa typical home. In Cedar Falls, 64% of households own their home.
| Cedar Falls | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,203 a month | $909 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cedar Falls. Close and well known come first.
36 mi MuseumCedar Rock State Park
in town MuseumCedar Falls Ice House
9 mi GardenCedar Valley Arboretum & Botanic Gardens
40 mi MuseumGlick-Sower HouseCedar Rock State Park: Orange Suede Sofa, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cedar Falls Ice House: RifeIdeas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cedar Valley Arboretum & Botanic Gardens: Cedarvalleyarboretum, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Glick-Sower House: Daniel Hartwig, CC BY 2.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Cedar Falls
College town 22 of every 100 Cedar Falls residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
9 places in Cedar Falls on the National Register of Historic Places.
24 notable people were born in Cedar Falls.
City in Iowa, US
Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city population was 40,713. Cedar Falls is home to the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), a public university. Cedar Falls, along with neighboring city Waterloo, Iowa, are the two principal municipalities within the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Cedar River traverses the vicinity to the southeast.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Cedar Falls.
| Town | IA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Falls | #46 | A− | C− | — | A− | A− |
| Waterloo | #137 | D | B | D | D− | C |
| Hudson | #12 | A+ | B | — | A | A− |
Cedar Falls and Hudson report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Cedar Falls with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Cedar Falls grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns and #46 of 140 in Iowa. It grades A− for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
24 notable people were born here, including Marc Andreessen and Gerald Guralnik.
