Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,217, platted in 1881.
Laurens’ best subject grade is an A+ for cost of living; its weakest is a D for incomes. 42% of working residents work locally in Laurens, above both Iowa’s towns (31%) and U.S. towns (8%). On incomes, just 4 of Iowa’s 276 towns do worse. Laurens’ trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile, against 0.3 in Iowa’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Laurens Carnegie Free Library is on the National Register of Historic Places. Laurens has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Laurens beats most towns.
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 Laurens is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 318 in 1890, a peak of 1,799 in 1960, 1,264 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1971 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Laurens, 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 Laurens.
The typical Laurens home is worth about $74,000, down 20.3% in a year, 69% below the Iowa typical home. Laurens’ median rent is $805 a month.
| Laurens | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $805 a month | $911 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 77% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Laurens-Marathon Community School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurens-Marathon Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 147 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests
The median household income in Laurens is $49,000. Jobs based in Laurens fell to 947 in 2023, 88 fewer than in 2013. 15% of Laurens residents live below the poverty line.
| Laurens | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $49,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Laurens beats the Iowa average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 18% of adults smoke cigarettes in Laurens.
| Laurens | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Laurens | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.7% | 11.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.4% | 6.9% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4.4% | 3.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Laurens has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 8° and about 35 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0.9 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Northwest Recreational Park, at 27 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Northwest Recreational Park | 0.7 mi | 27 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Laurens; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Laurens residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
Where Laurens’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 notable people were born in Laurens.
City in Iowa, United States
Laurens is a city in Pocahontas County, Iowa, United States. Its population was 1,264 at the 2020 census.
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+.
Laurens was platted in 1881 and has 1 place on the National Register of Historic Places. 4 notable people were born here, including Adrian Lynch and Byron G. Allen.
