Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,773, settled in 1855. 26% more nonprofits per person than the typical Iowa town.
The best of Leon’s subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and civic life and an A− for walkability; the weakest is a D for incomes. On incomes, just 23 of Iowa’s 276 towns do worse. Only 4 of Iowa’s 271 towns score higher on civic life. Decatur County Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. Leon has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Leon beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Leon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 820 in 1870, 1,822 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1939 and 3 maps from 1954 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Leon, 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 Leon.
52% of households own their home in Leon, where Iowa’s towns sit at 70% and U.S. towns at 73%. The median rent in Leon is $577 a month. Typical home values rose 6.9% in the year to September 2026.
| Leon | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 52% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $577 a month | $911 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Central Decatur Community School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 173 | – |
| Central Decatur MS/HS High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 291 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Leon beats the Iowa average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 18% of adults smoke cigarettes in Leon, above both Iowa’s towns (15%) and U.S. towns (14%). 41% of Leon adults have obesity.
| Leon | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| What stands out | Leon | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.2% | 6.9% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4.3% | 3.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15% | 11.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Leon has cold winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 14° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Leon’s average trip to work is 27 minutes. About one in 5 of Leon’s working residents works in town. Leon’s median household income is $54,000.
| Leon | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 31% | 8% |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1.8 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Little River County Park, at 37 acres.
| Leon | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.9% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Little River County Park | — | 37 |
| 2. Decatur County Fairgrounds | — | 14 |
| 3. Noel Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Leon
About 6 of every 100 Leon residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Iowa.
5 notable people were born in Leon.
City in Iowa, United States
Leon is a city in and the county seat of Decatur County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,822 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is located near the Little River Lake Recreation Area. Leon is home to a major rodeo that has been Rodeo of the Year in Iowa for many years.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
26% more nonprofits 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+.
5 notable people were born here, including John Clinton Porter and Wilmatte Porter Cockerell.