Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Its National Register listings include Chris Larsen House and Andrew P. Hansen Farmstead. Elk Horn has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Where Elk Horn beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Census counts: 589 in 1920, 601 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 2 maps from 1978 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Elk Horn, 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 Elk Horn.
In Elk Horn, 84% of households live in a home they own. The typical Elk Horn home is worth about $186,000, down 1.6% in a year, 21% below the Iowa typical home.
| Elk Horn | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 84% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $668 a month | $911 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its one school is below. Elk Horn’s only public school teaches 184 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| ExiraElk Horn-Kimballton High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 184 | B |
NCES · EDFacts
Households in Elk Horn have drawn federal disaster aid in 5 declared disasters, most recently in 2019. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in just over two thirds of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 31% come from inland flooding and 20% from tornadoes.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In July, afternoons reach 84°; in January, nights fall to 11°, and about 27 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Since 2020, Elk Horn has grown 3.2%, to 619 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 25% of residents are 65 or older locally, above both the Iowa town median (19%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). In addition, for Elk Horn, the median age is 46.4 years. College graduates make up 31% of adults 25 and older, against 31% across Iowa.
| Elk Horn | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 15% | 23% | 22% |
| Median age | 46.4 years | 38.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 31% | 25% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.7 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Elk Horn | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.1% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.2% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 14.8% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.8% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.9% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.9% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.3% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.2% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 15.7% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.1% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 40.9% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.8% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.1% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.6% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.5% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 600, single groups can be off by several points
Most working residents leave Elk Horn for work: only 6% work in town. For Elk Horn, the mean commuting time is 20 minutes. The top destinations are Harlan (22%), Omaha (5%) and Manning (3%). Half commute less than 18 miles.
| Elk Horn | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 5.8% | 31% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Elk Horn does better than the Iowa average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 6. No town among the 141 in Iowa we compare has a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Elk Horn. The share of adults in Elk Horn who sleep under 7 hours: 27%. Among 141 Iowa towns, just 2 have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Elk Horn.
| Elk Horn | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 32% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 21% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Elk Horn | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.1% | 11.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.3% | 9.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.1% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Elk Horn City Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Elk Horn; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Elk Horn residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
City in Iowa, United States
Elk Horn is a city in Shelby County, Iowa, United States. The population was 601 at the time of the 2020 census. Elk Horn is known as an enclave of Danish ethnicity and is home to the Museum of Danish America.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Elk Horn has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real. Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.