Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,122, settled in 1859.
Cherokee gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $149K, 2.1 years of the county’s $71K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 70th of 140 in Iowa. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 86% of the country. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 75% of U.S. towns. Cherokee has 8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Illinois Central Railroad Yard-Cherokee and Mill Creek Bridge. Cherokee's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 92% of U.S. towns. Cherokee is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 77% of U.S. towns.
Where Cherokee beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Cherokee is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 438 in 1870, a peak of 7,724 in 1960, 5,199 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and a map from 1985 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cherokee, 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 Cherokee.
Cherokee has homes that are cheap against local pay and has commutes shorter than most of Iowa, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
34% of adults get no exercise outside work in Cherokee, above both Iowa’s towns (26%) and U.S. towns (25%). 19% of Cherokee adults smoke cigarettes. Of the 140 Iowa towns we compare, none has a lower share of adults who binge drink than Cherokee.
| Cherokee | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 26% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Cherokee | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 16.9% | 20.5% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82% | 77.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21.6% | 11.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Cherokee Community School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Washington High School, with 366 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherokee Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 468 | C− |
| Washington High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 366 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
At 2.1 years of the county’s $71K median household income, the typical home (about $149K) costs less against local pay than in 87% of Iowa towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living.
Cherokee’s median rent is $728 a month, below both the Iowa town median ($913 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). The typical Cherokee home is worth about $149,000, up 1.6% in a year, 37% below the Iowa typical home.
| Cherokee | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $728 a month | $913 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Only 9 of the 115 Iowa towns we compare have a lower property crime rate than Cherokee.
| Cherokee | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.1 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
2.6 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Spring Lake Park, at 45 acres.
| Cherokee | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 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. Gillette Park | 0.6 mi | 7 |
| 2. Spring Lake Park | 0.1 mi | 45 |
| 3. Wescott Park | — | 24 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Cherokee has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 8° and about 38 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,398 working residents takes 12.4 minutes, against 19.8 across Iowa.
About one in 3 of Cherokee’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Cherokee is 12 minutes. Jobs based in Cherokee fell to 2,866 in 2023, 593 fewer than in 2013.
| Cherokee | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 12 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 38% | 31% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (23% statewide); people 65 and older are 23% of residents (18% statewide). Cherokee’s median age is 43.2 years. 25% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Iowa.
| Cherokee | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 43.2 years | 38.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 25% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.6 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Cherokee | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.2% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.2% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.7% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.6% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.1% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.8% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.4% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.7% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.3% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.7% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 38% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.9% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.9% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.9% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.7% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
126 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 27 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 126 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cherokee.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Cherokee; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Cherokee residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
8 places in Cherokee on the National Register of Historic Places.
24 notable people were born in Cherokee.
City in Iowa, USA
Cherokee is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,199 at the 2020 Census, down from 5,369 in 2000.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Cherokee grades B overall, better than 65% of U.S. towns and #70 of 140 in Iowa. It grades D for health, A− for safety and B− for schools. Health 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 A.
24 notable people were born here, including Edward Lindberg and Guy Gillette.
