Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,935, established in 1808.
Fort Madison earns a D, 125th among Iowa's 140 graded towns, mostly because of schools and incomes. Its schools rank behind 90% of the state's. The median household income is $51K, and 15% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, homes are within reach, about $114K for a typical one, or 1.8 years of the Fort Madison area’s $62K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 16 places on the National Register. 31% of the land in Fort Madison is conserved, above both Iowa’s towns (3.1%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Only 9 of Iowa’s 276 towns score lower on hazard risk. Its National Register listings include Walter A. Sheaffer House and Lee County Courthouse.
Where Fort Madison beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Lee County Courthouse| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Madison Elementary School | PK–6 | 932 |
| Fort Madison Junior/Senior High School | 7–12 | 852 |
| Holy Trinity Catholic Schools | 7–12 | 112 |
Its founding year, 1808, is the earliest of any Iowa town we grade.
Census counts: 1,509 in 1850, a peak of 15,247 in 1960, 10,270 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1844 and 3 maps from 1936 on.
16 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Fort Madison is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fort Madison, 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 Fort Madison.
Fort Madison keeps more of its land conserved than most of Iowa and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Iowa (mostly inland flooding).
Its public schools are run by the Fort Madison Community School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Fort Madison Junior/Senior High School, with 852 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Madison Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 932 | – |
| Fort Madison Junior/Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 852 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
At 1.8 years of the Fort Madison area’s $62K median household income, the typical home (about $115K) costs less against local pay than in 96% of Iowa towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,420, against $2,897 across Iowa, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Fort Madison’s median rent is $826 a month, where Iowa’s towns sit at $913 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. The typical Fort Madison home is worth about $115,000, up 2.3% in a year, 52% below the Iowa typical home.
| Fort Madison | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $826 a month | $913 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its 2,578 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 99% of Iowa towns.
4.8 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is North Winds Conservation Area, at 230 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rodeo Park | 1.7 mi | 178 |
| 2. Riverview Park | 0.9 mi | 28 |
| 3. North Winds Conservation Area | — | 230 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Fort Madison’s property crime rate is 17.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Fort Madison | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.4 per 1,000 residents | 7.2 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of Iowa towns, with expected losses of about $560 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Fort Madison is 76 of 100. Since 1979, 50 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fort Madison.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Fort Madison has chilly winters and warm summers. Among 140 Iowa towns, just 4 have a higher July high than Fort Madison.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 6,041 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fort Madison’s, it is healthier than 74%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Fort Madison beats the Iowa average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 17% of adults smoke cigarettes in Fort Madison.
| Fort Madison | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 20% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 23% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| What stands out | Fort Madison | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.5% | 6.9% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4% | 3.3% |
| More smokers | 17.4% | 14.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
About one in 3 of Fort Madison’s working residents works in town. Only 8 of the 140 Iowa towns we compare have a lower median household income than Fort Madison. The top destinations are Burlington (10%), West Burlington (6%) and Keokuk (4%).
| Fort Madison | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 37% | 31% | 8% |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.6% | 8.5% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fort Madison. Close and well known come first.
Carthage Jail: Nyttend, Public domain · Nauvoo House: Jake from Utah, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Crapo Park: Ian Poellet, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Fort Madison; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Fort Madison residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
30.5% of the town is conserved land, across 10 parks and preserves.
16 places in Fort Madison on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in Fort Madison.
City in Iowa, United States
Fort Madison is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 as of the 2020 census, and was estimated at 9,935 in 2025. Located along the Mississippi River in the state's southeast corner, it lies between small bluffs along one of the widest portions of the river. Fort Madison is also the home of the Iowa State Penitentiary.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Fort Madison.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fort Madison grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #125 of 140 in Iowa. It grades C+ for health, C for safety and D for schools. Schools 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−.
16 notable people were born here, including Dennis O'Keefe and Ryan Bowen.
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