Goose LakeIowaPopPlot, 2021
Goose Lake’s story
155 years in pictures
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2004.
- 1871Goose Lake is settled
Goose LakeIA
With 249 residents, this town was settled in 1871.
Population
249
2025 Census estimate · +0% since 2020
Typical home
$295K
+8% in a year
Household income
$77K
median
Median age
32.4
years
Jobs based here
168
A job hub
Is Goose Lake a good place to live?
No town among the 141 in Iowa we compare has a higher home-ownership rate than Goose Lake. Goose Lake has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Small town
249 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Goose Lake: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Goose Lake, and how to reach them.
PowerInterstate Power and Light17.8¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterGoose Lake Muni Water SystemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet3 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Goose Lake’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Iowa you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereClinton County AuditorClinton County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Nov 2025
ZIP code5275052750 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Goose Lake.
Work & commute
Goose Lake stands out in Iowa and nationally, with fewer of its working residents who work locally
Half of commuters travel less than 13 miles. Jobs based in Goose Lake grew to 168 in 2023, 55 more than in 2013. 21% of Goose Lake residents live below the poverty line, against 11% in Iowa’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Its mean commuting time is 25 minutes.
2%work in town
| Goose Lake | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 31% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Goose Lake2%
Clinton31%
Davenport14%
DeWitt6%
Camanche6%
13 mi
median commute distance
168
jobs based in Goose Lake
A job hub
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Schools
The schools Goose Lake’s kids attend
Its two schools are below. The public schools here belong to the Northeast Community School District. The largest public high school is Northeast Middle-High School, with 452 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 394 | B+ |
| Northeast Middle-High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 452 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts
Who lives here
More children than Iowa overall
25% never finished high school. For Goose Lake, the median age is 32.4 years. Children under 18 are just over a third of residents (23% statewide); people 65 and older are 11% of residents (18% statewide). Iowa has 31% of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 24%.
32.4median age · IA 38.6
| Goose Lake | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 32.4 years | 38.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 25% | 29% |
Goose LakeIowaUnited States
Ages · share of residents
23%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma25%
High school13%
Some college23%
Associate’s16%
Bachelor’s20%
Graduate4%
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 12% and 82% women
The Census survey reached too few of Goose Lake’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±35.3 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Goose Lake | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.7% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 19.1% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.3% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 23% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 4.9% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.8% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.2% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.9% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 25% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 12.7% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.7% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.9% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.5% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 4.1% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 200, single groups can be off by several points
Housing
Homes in Goose Lake are worth about $295K, by Zillow’s estimate
In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 8%.
$295KZillow home value
Typical home value
Goose Lake$295K
Iowa$237K
+8%
value change, 1 year
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Climate
Goose Lake: four seasons and pleasant summers
July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 13° and about 32 inches of snow falls in a winter.
32″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter16–32°
Spring39–60°
Summer61–82°
Fall41–62°
Oct 26
typical first frost
Apr 13
typical last frost
+0.9°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazards
Goose Lake has a high natural-hazard risk, chiefly from inland flooding
Households in Goose Lake have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2020. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in nearly two thirds of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 45% come from inland flooding and 21% from drought.
65risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingDroughtStrong wind
2
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Health
How healthy Goose Lake is
The share of adults in Goose Lake who have diabetes: 11%. Just over a fifth of Goose Lake adults binge drink, above both Iowa’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (16%). In Goose Lake, 17% of adults smoke cigarettes, and 18% report frequent mental distress.
| Goose Lake | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 20% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 78% | 79% |
32 measures vs. Iowa
0 better30 too close to call2 worse
| What stands out | Goose Lake | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.4% | 11.6% |
| Fewer adults screened for colon cancer | 61.1% | 66.6% |
Mercyone Clinton Medical Center
12.4 mi away · emergency room
2 of 3
care shortages: primary care, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Outdoors
Conservation land takes up 0.5% of Goose Lake
Among 140 Iowa towns, just 4 have a lower share of conserved land than Goose Lake. One park or preserve covers 1 acres locally.
0.5%conserved
0.5%
conserved · 1 of 210 acres
0.0 mi
of trails · 0 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Goose Lake Wildlife Management Area | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Goose Lake
18pages on Goose Lake
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Goose Lake; the nearest are
Morrison Institute of TechnologyCommunity college · Private nonprofit · Morrison, IL24.4 mi$20,355 tuitionEastern Iowa Community College DistrictCommunity college · Public · Davenport32.3 mi$4,848 in-state tuitionUniversity of Wisconsin-PlattevilleUniversity or college · Public · Platteville, WI53.2 mi$8,644 in-state tuition
About 2 of every 100 Goose Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
A job hub
Every workday, about 166 people come to Goose Lake for work
Where Goose Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
168jobs based in Goose Lake
2%of working residents work in town
13 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Goose Lake
City in Iowa, United States
Goose Lake is a city in Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 239 at the time of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 0.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 689 ft
- ZIP code
- 52750
Questions about Goose Lake
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Goose Lake, IA a good place to live?
Goose Lake has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.