Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,074, settled in 1879.
Lamoni’s best subject grades are an A for cost of living and civic life; its weakest is a C− for schools. Lamoni’s median age is 25.5 years, below both Iowa’s towns (38.7 years) and U.S. towns (40.5 years). Among 138 Iowa towns, just 2 have a lower median rent than Lamoni. Lamoni is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns. Lamoni is home to Graceland University-Lamoni. Only 14 of Iowa’s 276 towns score lower on the outdoors. Liberty Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places. Lamoni has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Lamoni beats most towns.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Graceland University-Lamoni | 882 |
2,324 counted in 2010 and 1,969 in 2020; an estimated 2,074 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Lamoni is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,540 in 1900, a peak of 2,705 in 1980, 1,969 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1881 and 2 maps from 1945 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lamoni, 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 Lamoni.
Its public schools are run by the Lamoni Community School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamoni Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 191 | B− |
| Lamoni High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 81 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
The typical Lamoni home is worth about $170,000, up 11.3% in a year, 28% below the Iowa typical home. 57% of households own their home in Lamoni, where Iowa’s towns sit at 70% and U.S. towns at 73%.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Lamoni has cold winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 15° and about 27 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 4 of Lamoni’s working residents works in town. Lamoni’s average trip to work is 13 minutes. Jobs based in Lamoni fell to 722 in 2023, 65 fewer than in 2013.
| Lamoni | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 31% | 8% |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lamoni.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Lamoni beats the Iowa average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 36% of adults feel lonely in Lamoni. Only 6 of the 141 Iowa towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Lamoni.
| Lamoni | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 78% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Lamoni | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.6% | 8.7% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 9.4% | 6.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is George Foreman Park, at 20 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. George Foreman Park | — | 20 |
| 2. Central Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Lamoni
College town 28 of every 100 Lamoni residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
3 notable people were born in Lamoni.
City in Iowa, United States
Lamoni is a city in Decatur County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,969 at the time of the 2020 Census. Lamoni is the home of Graceland University, affiliated with the Community of Christ, a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement. The city was the church's headquarters from 1880 to 1920, after which it moved to Independence, Missouri. The town is host to KNSL, a public radio station which rebroadcasts programming from Iowa Public Radio, National Public Radio, and adult album alternative music to South Central Iowa and North Central Missouri.
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.
3 notable people were born here, including W. Wallace Smith and Eddie Watt.
