Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Creston gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $155K for a typical one, or 2.7 years of the county’s $58K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 84th of 140 in Iowa. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $53K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns. 41% of working residents work locally in Creston, against 31% in Iowa’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Creston is home to Southwestern Community College. Only 7 of the 137 Iowa towns we compare have a lower median rent than Creston.
Where Creston beats most towns.
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad-Creston StationEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Creston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 411 in 1870, 7,536 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 2 maps from 1980 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Creston, 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 Creston.
Creston is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has commutes shorter than most of Iowa.
The typical Creston home is worth about $155,000, up 3% in a year, 35% below the Iowa typical home. 64% of Creston households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Creston Community School District. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Creston High School, with 486 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creston Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 1–5 | Grades 1–5 | 416 | C− |
| Creston High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 486 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 70% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Creston.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Creston has cold winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 13° and about 26 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 3,126 working residents takes 12.3 minutes, against 19.8 across Iowa.
The average trip to work in Creston is 12 minutes. Since 2013, Creston has lost 652 jobs, to 3,828 in 2023. Only 10 of the 140 Iowa towns we compare have a lower median household income than Creston.
| Creston | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 12 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Creston’s violent crime rate is 4.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Creston | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.2 per 1,000 residents | 7.2 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 6,678 U.S. towns with household incomes like Creston’s, it is healthier than 77%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Creston beats the Iowa average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 19% of adults binge drink in Creston.
| Creston | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 21% | 23% |
| What stands out | Creston | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.3% | 6.9% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 3.8% | 3.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Iowa average. Creston has lost 2.7% of its people since 2020, down to 7,335 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Iowa.
| Creston | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 21% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 25% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 19% | 18% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.1 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women. Median age: women 41.0, men 36.5.
| Creston | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.4% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.8% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 12.9% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.5% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.4% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.6% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.6% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.7% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.8% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.1% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.8% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.4% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.1% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.8% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
0.3 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is McKinley Park, at 125 acres.
| Creston | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.5% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. McKinley Park | 0.3 mi | 125 |
| 2. Veterans of Foreign Wars Ballfield | — | 6 |
| 3. Taylor Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Creston
About 7 of every 100 Creston residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Iowa.
4 places in Creston on the National Register of Historic Places.
20 notable people were born in Creston.
City in Iowa, US
Creston is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Iowa. The population was 7,536 at the time of the 2020 Census. Creston is a regional hub for southwest Iowa and is home to Southwestern Community College.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Creston grades B− overall, better than 52% of U.S. towns and #84 of 140 in Iowa. It grades C+ for health, C+ for safety and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
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 B+.
20 notable people were born here, including Marcia Wallace Peams and Walter Cunningham.
