Guthrie County IA Courthouse, 2015
Guthrie Center’s story
170 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2004.
- 1856Guthrie Center is settled
Photo: Nst101 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
1,583
2025 Census estimate · −0.3% since 2020
Typical home
$205K
+11.7% in a year
Household income
$71K
median
Median age
35.0
years
Jobs based here
864
Balanced
Is Guthrie Center a good place to live?
Guthrie Center’s best subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and civic life and an A− for walkability; its weakest is a C− for incomes. On cost of living, just 6 of Iowa’s 276 towns do better. 16% of working residents work locally in Guthrie Center, where Iowa’s towns sit at 31% and U.S. towns at 8%. On civic life, just 20 of Iowa’s 271 towns do better. Guthrie Center has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Guthrie Center stand out
Where Guthrie Center beats most towns.
Typical home value
Guthrie Center$205K
Iowa$237K
Cost of livingA+
2.4 years of income buys a home
More affordable than 99% of U.S. towns
Zillow Home Value Index; area median household income, Census ACS.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
Guthrie Center10.1
Typical U.S. town3.7
Typical IA town7.5
Civic lifeA+
34% more nonprofits per person
than the typical Iowa town
Charities, civic groups and human services; churches not counted.
WalkabilityA−
More walkable than 80% of U.S. towns
4.5% of workers walk, bike or ride transit
EPA National Walkability Index; Census ACS.
How Guthrie Center grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Guthrie Center is from typical.
Cost of livingA+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 8.3 of 20; 7.1% of households have no carA−Open →Jobs & income$71K median household incomeC−Open →HealthGuthrie County Hospital 0.4 miles awayBOpen →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listB−Open →SchoolsB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
OutdoorsC−Open →History7 notable people born hereB−Open →Civic life10.1 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsA+Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
Climate–Open →Housing market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 35.0; 20% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Guthrie Center: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Guthrie Center, and how to reach them.
PowerInterstate Power and Light17.8¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterGuthrie Center Muni Water WorkNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpR & S WasteTrash haulerTown site
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 hereGuthrie County AuditorGuthrie County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2023
ZIP code5011550115 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 Guthrie Center.
Climate
Guthrie Center has four seasons and pleasant summers
Guthrie Center has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 11° and about 32 inches of snow falls in a winter.
32″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter14–33°
Spring38–60°
Summer61–83°
Fall39–62°
Oct 3
typical first frost
May 2
typical last frost
+0.5°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
SchoolsB−
Guthrie Center’s schools rank behind 53% of Iowa districts
Its public schools are run by the Guthrie Center Community School District. Its two schools are below.
47%of IA districts it outscoresB−School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guthrie Center Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 253 | B+ |
| Guthrie Center High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 198 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
Guthrie Center has 1.3 jobs for every working resident, and 763 people commute in
15% of Guthrie Center residents live below the poverty line, above both the Iowa town median (11%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Jobs based in Guthrie Center grew to 864 in 2023, 100 more than in 2013. Guthrie Center’s average trip to work is 21 minutes.
16%work in town
| Guthrie Center | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 11% | 8.5% | 11% |
Where working residents work
In Guthrie Center16%
Stuart9%
West Des Moines8%
Panora4%
Johnston4%
24 mi
median commute distance
864
jobs based in Guthrie Center
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
A−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HousingCost of living grade A+
Homes in Guthrie Center are worth about $205K, by Zillow’s estimate
The typical Guthrie Center home is worth about $205,000, up 11.7% in a year, 13% below the Iowa typical home. The median rent in Guthrie Center is $868 a month.
$205KZillow home value
| Guthrie Center | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 77% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $868 a month | $911 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Guthrie Center$205K
Iowa$237K
+11.7%
value change, 1 year
3
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
HealthB
Guthrie Center is healthier than 58% of U.S. towns
Guthrie Center beats the Iowa average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 19% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Guthrie Center.
58%healthier than U.S. townsBHealth Grade
| Guthrie Center | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
32 measures vs. Iowa
1 better29 too close to call2 worse
| What stands out | Guthrie Center | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.9% | 77.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11% | 8.7% |
Guthrie County Hospital
0.4 mi away · emergency room
2 of 3
care shortages: dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
OutdoorsC−
Guthrie Center has set aside 0% of its land for conservation
0.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
0%conserved
0%
conserved · 0 of 1,516 acres
0.0 mi
of trails · 0 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mitchell Park | — | 13 |
| 2. Roadside Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B−
Inland flooding leads a moderate hazard risk in Guthrie Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 50% of U.S. communities. Since 1998, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Guthrie Center.
50risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingTornadoesDrought
4
paid flood claims since 1998
7
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Guthrie Center
19pages on Guthrie Center
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Guthrie Center; the nearest are
Des Moines University-Osteopathic Medical CenterUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · West Des Moines36.5 miSouthwestern Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Creston42.2 mi$8,064 in-state tuitionIowa State UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Ames50 mi$10,787 in-state tuition
About 5 of every 100 Guthrie Center residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Iowa.
Famous people from Guthrie Center
7 notable people were born in Guthrie Center.
About Guthrie Center
City in Iowa, United States
Guthrie Center is a city in Guthrie County, Iowa, United States, along the South Raccoon River. The population was 1,593 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Guthrie County. Guthrie Center is part of the Des Moines metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1856
- Area
- 2.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,109 ft
- ZIP code
- 50115
- Area code
- 641
Questions about Guthrie Center
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Guthrie Center, IA expensive?
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+.
What is Guthrie Center, IA known for?
7 notable people were born here, including James Ellison and Bridget Flanery.