Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Iowa Falls gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $138K for a typical one, or 2.1 years of the county’s $65K median household income. It grades C overall, ranked 100th of 140 in Iowa State. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $50K, and 11% of residents live below the poverty line, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 56% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 79% of U.S. towns. 39% of working residents work locally in Iowa Falls, against 31% in Iowa State’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Carnegie-Ellsworth Public Library and Mills Tower Historic District. Iowa Falls's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 92% of U.S. towns.
Where Iowa Falls beats most towns.
Metropolitan Opera House
Census counts: 955 in 1880, 5,106 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 2 maps from 1979 on.
20 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa State), ordered by how far Iowa Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Iowa Falls, 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 Iowa Falls.
Iowa Falls is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has homes that are cheap against local pay and has seen reported crime fall by about half.
At 2.1 years of the county’s $65K median household income, the typical home (about $138K) costs less against local pay than in 87% of Iowa State towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
61% of households own their home in Iowa Falls. The typical Iowa Falls home is worth about $138,000, up 1.2% in a year, 42% below the Iowa State typical home. The median rent in Iowa Falls is $831 a month.
| Iowa Falls | Iowa State towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $831 a month | $913 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Iowa Falls Community School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Iowa Falls - Alden High School, with 398 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Run ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 292 | B− |
| Iowa Falls - Alden High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 398 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 131 to 58 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Iowa Falls’ violent crime rate is 4 per 1,000 residents.
| Iowa Falls | Iowa State towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.6 per 1,000 residents | 7.2 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Iowa Falls | Iowa State towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.3% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Assembly Park | 0.4 mi | 8 |
| 2. Ira Nichols Outdoor Classroom | — | 17 |
| 3. Sunnyside Park | — | 15 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Iowa Falls has cold winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 9° and about 28 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Iowa Falls’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Iowa Falls fell to 2,882 in 2023, 333 fewer than in 2013. Only 7 of the 140 Iowa State towns we compare have a lower median household income than Iowa Falls.
| Iowa Falls | Iowa State towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.6% | 8.5% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
People 65 and older are 24% of residents (18% statewide); children under 18 are 18% of residents (23% statewide). 23% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Iowa State.
| Iowa Falls | Iowa State towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 23% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 25% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.6 points. Across Iowa State, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Iowa Falls | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.2% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.5% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.9% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.7% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.4% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.2% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.2% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.2% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12.7% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 39.5% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 20% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.6% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.1% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.8% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
One flood insurance claim has been paid in Iowa Falls since 2019.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 5,939 U.S. towns with household incomes like Iowa Falls’s, it is healthier than 89%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Iowa Falls beats the Iowa State average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 29% of Iowa Falls adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Iowa Falls | Iowa State towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Iowa Falls | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.3% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 3.9% | 3.3% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.7% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Iowa Falls
About 8 of every 100 Iowa Falls residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa State.
20 places in Iowa Falls on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Iowa Falls.
City in Iowa, USA
Iowa Falls is a city in Hardin County, Iowa, United States. Iowa Falls is the home of Ellsworth Community College. It is also a regional transportation center, located along U.S. Routes 20 and 65 and the Canadian National and Union Pacific Railroads. The population was 5,106 at the time of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Iowa Falls grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #100 of 140 in Iowa State. It grades B− for health, C for safety and B− for schools. Jobs & income 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 B+.
10 notable people were born here, including John Whitesell and Sean Whitesell.
