Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
36% more nonprofits per person than the typical Iowa town.
Coon Rapids’ best subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and civic life and an A− for history; its weakest is a C− for incomes. 33% of residents are under 18 in Coon Rapids, above both the Iowa town median (23%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). On cost of living, just 9 of Iowa’s 276 towns do better. On civic life, just 9 of Iowa’s 271 towns do better. Coon Rapids has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them John Cretsinger House and Armour Creameries Poultry House. Coon Rapids has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Coon Rapids beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Coon Rapids is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 54 in 1880, 1,300 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1959 and 3 maps from 1971 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Coon Rapids, 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 Coon Rapids.
Its public schools are run by the Coon Rapids-Bayard Community School District. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| CR-B Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 233 | C+ |
| Coon Rapids-Bayard 6-12 Attendance CenterLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 214 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
About one in 5 of Coon Rapids’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Coon Rapids fell to 385 in 2023, 110 fewer than in 2013. 15% of Coon Rapids residents live below the poverty line, against 11% in Iowa’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns.
| Coon Rapids | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 31% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 9.5% | 8.5% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Coon Rapids beats the Iowa average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 40% of adults have high blood pressure in Coon Rapids. Among 141 Iowa towns, just 10 have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Coon Rapids.
| Coon Rapids | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 36% |
| What stands out | Coon Rapids | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.3% | 77.8% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.8% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Coon Rapids home is worth about $182,000, up 5.6% in a year, 23% below the Iowa typical home. The median rent in Coon Rapids is $780 a month.
| Coon Rapids | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $780 a month | $911 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Coon Rapids has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 11° and about 32 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 64% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Riverside Park, at 54 acres.
| Coon Rapids | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.6% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Riverside Park | — | 54 |
| 2. Whiterock Conservancy | — | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Coon Rapids; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Coon Rapids residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
City in Iowa, United States
Coon Rapids is a city in Carroll and Guthrie counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 1,300 at the 2020 census, which is a decrease of 5 from the 2000 census. The small portion of Coon Rapids that lies in Guthrie County is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
36% more nonprofits per person than the typical Iowa town.
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+.