Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ida Grove’s best subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and civic life. On cost of living, just 4 of Iowa’s 276 towns do better. Ida Grove is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 69% of U.S. towns. Among 138 Iowa towns, just 6 have a lower median rent than Ida Grove. Ida Grove has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Ida County Courthouse and Moorehead Stagecoach Inn. Ida Grove has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Ida Grove beats most towns.
Ida County CourthouseEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Ida Grove is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 30 in 1870, 2,051 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1863 and 2 maps from 1967 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ida Grove, 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 Ida Grove.
The typical Ida Grove home is worth about $170,000, up 4.3% in a year, 28% below the Iowa typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Odebolt Arthur Battle Creek Ida Grove Community School District. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Odebolt Arthur Battle Creek Ida Grove High School, with 326 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Odebolt Elementary-Ida GroveLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 308 | B |
| Odebolt Arthur Battle Creek Ida Grove High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 326 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Ida Grove has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 9° and about 36 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 4 of Ida Grove’s working residents works in town. At 13 minutes, Ida Grove’s average trip to work is below both Iowa’s towns (19 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Since 2013, Ida Grove has lost 93 jobs, to 1,181 in 2023.
| Ida Grove | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 28% | 31% | 8% |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.3% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 2007, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ida Grove.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1.1 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Moorehead Pioneer Park, at 41 acres.
| Ida Grove | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.1% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Moorehead Pioneer Park | 0.7 mi | 41 |
| 2. Cobb Memorial Park | 0.4 mi | 13 |
| 3. Badger Creek Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Ida Grove beats the Iowa average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 40% of adults have obesity in Ida Grove, above both the Iowa town median (38%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%). 20% of adults binge drink in Ida Grove.
| Ida Grove | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Ida Grove | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81% | 77.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.6% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Ida Grove; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Ida Grove residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
3 places in Ida Grove on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Ida Grove.
City in Iowa, United States
Ida Grove is a city in Ida County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,051 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ida County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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+.
7 notable people were born here, including Harold Hughes and George Pipgras.
