Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Clarinda gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $132K, 2.3 years of the county’s $58K median household income. It grades C overall, ranked 109th of 140 in Iowa. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $46K, and 12% of residents live below the poverty line, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 79% of the country. 52% of working residents work locally in Clarinda, against 31% in Iowa’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Clarinda has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Col. William Peters Hepburn House and Goldenrod Schoolhouse. Only 2 of the 137 Iowa towns we compare have a lower median rent than Clarinda.
Where Clarinda beats most towns.
Where Clarinda’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Clarinda is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Col. William Peters Hepburn House is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 427 in 1860, 5,369 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 2 maps from 1981 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Clarinda, 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 Clarinda.
Clarinda draws workers from Shenandoah and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
2,911 jobs are based in Clarinda, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Of the 140 Iowa towns we compare, none has a lower median household income than Clarinda. The average trip to work in Clarinda is 16 minutes. The top destinations are Shenandoah (4%), Des Moines (3%) and Omaha (3%).
| Clarinda | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $46,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Clarinda Community School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Clarinda High School, with 511 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garfield Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 573 | C+ |
| Clarinda High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 511 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
At 2.3 years of the county’s $58K median household income, the typical home (about $132K) costs less against local pay than in 81% of Iowa towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living.
The typical Clarinda home is worth about $132,000, up 4.2% in a year, 44% below the Iowa typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 4,457 U.S. towns with household incomes like Clarinda’s, it is healthier than 59%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
20% of Clarinda adults smoke cigarettes. Clarinda beats the Iowa average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 44% of Clarinda adults have obesity.
| Clarinda | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| What stands out | Clarinda | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 16.4% | 12% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.7% | 6.4% |
| More smokers | 19.5% | 14.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 14°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 89% of Iowa places with climate records; July afternoons average 86.1°.
Clarinda has cold winters and warm summers. Among 140 Iowa towns, just 5 have a higher July high than Clarinda. Clarinda’s January low is 14°F.
| Clarinda | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 14°F | 12°F | 22°F |
| July high | 86°F | 84°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Clarinda since 2008.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1.3 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Clarinda City Park, 26 acres with 1.1 miles of trail.
| Clarinda | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Clarinda City Park | 1.1 mi | 26 |
| 2. Kiwanis Park | — | 4 |
| 3. Landers Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Clarinda; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Clarinda residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
5 places in Clarinda on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Clarinda.
City in Iowa, United States
Clarinda is a city in and the county seat of Page County, Iowa, United States. It is located in Nodaway Township. The population was 5,369 at the time of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Clarinda grades C overall, better than 28% of U.S. towns and #109 of 140 in Iowa. It grades C− for health, B− for safety and C+ for schools. Jobs & income 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−.
9 notable people were born here, including Glenn Miller and Marilyn Maxwell.
