Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,111, settled in 1882. 37% more library visits per person than the typical Iowa town.
Trash & recyclingThe best of Lake Park’s subject grades are an A for cost of living, an A− for schools, and an A+ for civic life. Among 141 Iowa towns, just one has a lower January low than Lake Park. Trappers Bay State Park Picnic Shelter is on the National Register of Historic Places. Lake Park has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Lake Park beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Harris-Lake Park Elementary School | PK–5 | 167 |
| Harris-Lake Park High School | 6–12 | 174 |
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Lake Park is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 541 in 1900, 1,167 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 2 maps from 1970 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lake Park, 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 Lake Park.
Public schools: the Harris-Lake Park Community School District. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harris-Lake Park Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 167 | B− |
| Harris-Lake Park High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 174 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
In Lake Park, 16% of adults say their health is fair or poor. Just over a tenth of Lake Park adults have diabetes, below Iowa’s towns (12%) and close to U.S. towns (12%). Of 32 CDC measures, Lake Park beats the Iowa average on 8 and trails it on 1.
| Lake Park | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Lake Park | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.1% | 12% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.6% | 6.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Only 12% of working residents stay in Lake Park for work; the rest commute out. Since 2013, Lake Park has lost 68 jobs, to 311 in 2023. The average trip to work for Lake Park comes to 21 minutes. The top destinations are Spirit Lake (20%), Milford (8%) and Spencer (6%).
| Lake Park | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 31% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.6% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Summer afternoons peak near 83° in July, and January nights bottom out around 6°; snowfall runs to about 41 inches a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 58% of U.S. communities. Households in Lake Park have drawn federal disaster aid in 6 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Lake Park’s median rent is $872 a month, against $911 a month in Iowa’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. A typical home in the town is worth about $251,000, up 4.5% in a year, 6% above the Iowa typical home.
| Lake Park | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 91% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $872 a month | $911 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The biggest park or preserve is Trappers Bay State Park, at 22 acres. 0.5 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Lake Park’s concentration of trails stands at 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Lake Park | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Trappers Bay State Park | — | 22 |
| 2. Silver Lake Park | — | 20 |
| 3. Silver Lake Complex | — | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Lake Park; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Lake Park residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
Where Lake Park’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Iowa, USA
Lake Park is a city in Dickinson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,167 at the time of the 2020 census. Trappers Bay State Park is located just west of the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
37% more library visits per person than the typical Iowa town.
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.
2 notable people were born here, including Thomas Caywood and Warren Gaer.