Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Council Bluffs grades D overall, ranked 127th of 140 in Iowa, mostly because of safety and schools. Its police reported 329 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 87% of U.S. towns. Its schools rank behind 85% of the state's. In its favor, it has 11 miles of trail. Its National Register listings include Pottawattamie County Jail and Sheriff’s Residence and Grenville M. Dodge House. Only 1 of Iowa’s 271 towns score lower on civic life. 10% of the land in Council Bluffs is conserved, where Iowa’s towns sit at 3.1% and U.S. towns at 4.3%.
Where Council Bluffs beats most towns.
Pottawattamie County Jail and Sheriff’s Residence is one of 2 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 2,011 in 1860, 62,799 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1823 and 4 maps from 1956 on.
33 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Council Bluffs is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Council Bluffs. Close and well known come first.
4 mi Zoo & aquariumOmaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
40 mi Park & preserveLoess Hills
5 mi MuseumJoslyn Art Museum
in town MuseumPottawattamie County Jail
4 mi MuseumUSS Hazard
29 mi MuseumStrategic Air and Space MuseumOmaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium: OmahaZoo, Public domain · Loess Hills: Bill Whittaker, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Joslyn Art Museum: akasped, CC BY 2.0 · Pottawattamie County Jail: Smallbones, CC0 · USS Hazard: Dave Aldworth / Oldfarm at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Strategic Air and Space Museum: User Kandykornhead on en.wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Council Bluffs, 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 Council Bluffs.
Council Bluffs sends many workers across the state line to Omaha and has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Iowa; it also reports violent crime at about twice the Iowa rate.
Violent crime runs at 5.3 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Iowa rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D. Reported crimes fell from 2,186 to 1,715 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Council Bluffs’ violent crime rate is 5.3 per 1,000 residents, above both Iowa’s towns (1.5) and U.S. towns (1.6). Council Bluffs’ property crime rate is 22.1 per 1,000 residents. Council Bluffs reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 87% report less.
| Council Bluffs | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.1 per 1,000 residents | 7.2 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Council Bluffs Community School District. Two of its 21 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gerald W Kirn Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 913 | C− |
| Abraham Lincoln High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,333 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
21% of adults binge drink in Council Bluffs. Among 140 Iowa towns, just 7 have a higher share of adults who feel lonely than Council Bluffs. 18% of adults smoke cigarettes in Council Bluffs.
| Council Bluffs | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 32% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Council Bluffs | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 16.7% | 12% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 8.2% | 6.4% |
| More smokers | 18.4% | 14.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 13.5°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 82% of Iowa places with climate records; July afternoons average 86.6°.
Council Bluffs has cold winters and warm summers. Of the 140 Iowa towns we compare, none has a higher July high than Council Bluffs. The January low in Council Bluffs is 14°F.
| Council Bluffs | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 14°F | 12°F | 22°F |
| July high | 87°F | 84°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
436 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 30 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 436 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Council Bluffs.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
38% of working residents cross a state line to work, Omaha among the top destinations.
About one in 3 of Council Bluffs’s working residents works in town. 15% of Council Bluffs residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Council Bluffs has added 1,596 jobs, to 30,709 in 2023.
| Council Bluffs | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 37% | 31% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The biggest place to walk is Lake Manawa State Park, 782 acres with 1 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fairmount Park | 1.6 mi | 104 |
| 2. Lake Manawa State Park | 1 mi | 782 |
| 3. Charles E. Lankin Park | 0.9 mi | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Iowa average. 22% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Iowa.
| Council Bluffs | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 25% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 19% | 18% |
51.3% women, 48.7% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women. Median age: women 39.5, men 38.1.
| Council Bluffs | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.9% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.3% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.7% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.4% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.2% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.5% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.5% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.3% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 21% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.7% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.2% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.3% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical Council Bluffs home is worth about $228,000, up 2.6% in a year, close to the Iowa typical home.
| Council Bluffs | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 63% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,030 a month | $909 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 45% | 42% | 48% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
11 within 15 miles of the center of Council Bluffs
About 6 of every 100 Council Bluffs residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Iowa.
33 places in Council Bluffs on the National Register of Historic Places.
51 notable people were born in Council Bluffs.
City in Pottawatomie County, Iowa, U.S.
Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. A small portion of the city extends into Mills County. Located on the east bank of the Missouri River, it sits across from Omaha, Nebraska. The city had a population of 62,799 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth-most populous city in Iowa and the largest in Southwest Iowa. Council Bluffs is also a principal city in the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Until about 1853, Council Bluffs was known as Kanesville. Kanesville was the historic starting point of the Mormon Trail. Kanesville is also the northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trails because there was a steam-powered boat wh…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Council Bluffs.
| Town | IA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Council Bluffs | #127 | D | B+ | D | C− | C |
| Carter Lake | #126 | D | A− | D | D | C− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Council Bluffs grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #127 of 140 in Iowa. It grades C for health, D for safety and C− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. That is 2.7 years of the area's median household income ($84,829 across the Omaha, NE-IA metro 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+.
51 notable people were born here, including Lee de Forest and Art Farmer.
