Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,814, incorporated in 1877. Public schools that outperform most of Iowa.
Trash day: ThursdayFew places in the country grade higher. Grundy Center earns an A+, ranked 4th of 140 in Iowa. Its schools rank ahead of 98% of Iowa towns, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 95% of U.S. towns, and natural-hazard risk is low. Its lowest mark, a B, is in health. Grundy Center has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Grundy County Courthouse and Grundy Center High School. Only 6 of the 115 Iowa towns we compare have a lower property crime rate than Grundy Center. Grundy Center's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 81% of U.S. towns.
Where Grundy Center beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Grundy Center Elementary School | K–4 | 283 |
| Grundy Center Middle School | 5–8 | 219 |
| Grundy Center High School | 9–12 | 241 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Grundy Center is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 950 in 1880, 2,796 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 2 maps from 1979 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Grundy Center, 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 Grundy Center.
Grundy Center pairs an A+ overall with homes cheaper than the Iowa norm, pairs an A+ for schools with modest home prices and trades workers with Waterloo and other neighbors.
Its A+ for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $197K. Its A+ ranks #1 of the 140 Iowa towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Grundy Center Community School District. Its three schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grundy Center Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 283 | A |
| Grundy Center High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 241 | A |
| Grundy Center Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 219 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
Grundy Center’s violent crime rate is 0.4 per 1,000 residents, below both Iowa’s towns (1.5) and U.S. towns (1.6).
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 76% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Grundy Center has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Grundy Center’s July high is 83°F, against 84°F in Iowa’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Grundy Center has about as many jobs (1,298) as working residents, but only 297 people both live and work here.
27% of working residents work locally in Grundy Center. Since 2013, Grundy Center has added 139 jobs, to 1,298 in 2023. The average trip to work in Grundy Center is 26 minutes.
| Grundy Center | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 27% | 31% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $80,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Grundy Center grades A+ overall with a typical home of about $197K, below the Iowa typical value; only 10 of the 55 Iowa towns graded A− or better can say that. Homes are within reach (about $197K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 20 miles.
The typical Grundy Center home is worth about $197,000, about the same as a year ago, 17% below the Iowa typical home. 80% of Grundy Center households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (23% statewide); people 65 and older are 22% of residents (18% statewide). 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Iowa.
| Grundy Center | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 41.8 years | 38.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 25% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
About 87 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.2 points). Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Grundy Center | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.3% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.2% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.6% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.9% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.6% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.3% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.8% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12.4% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.5% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.2% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.2% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.6% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.7% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.7% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,800, single groups can be off by several points
Its widest gap with Iowa is tooth loss: 6.8% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.6% statewide.
Grundy Center beats the Iowa average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Grundy Center | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Grundy Center | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.8% | 11.6% |
| More adults seeing a dentist | 73.3% | 66.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.8% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Grundy Center | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.2% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Orion Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Grundy Center; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Grundy Center residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
City in Iowa, United States
Grundy Center is a city in Palermo Township, Grundy County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,796 at the time of the 2020 census, a 7.7% increase from 2,596 at the 2000 census. Grundy Center is also the county seat of Grundy County. Grundy Center is part of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Grundy Center grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #4 of 140 in Iowa. It grades B for health, A+ for safety and A+ for schools.
Not for the area. That is 2.8 years of the area's median household income ($70,811 across the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, 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+.