Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Manchester gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $232K for a typical one, or 3.1 years of the county’s $75K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 98th of 140 in Iowa. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 82% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 81% of the country. Manchester has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them J. J. Hoag House and Delaware County Courthouse. Only 3 of the 140 Iowa towns we compare have a higher median age than Manchester. The biggest park or preserve is Schram Park, at 32 acres.
Where Manchester beats most towns.
Where Manchester’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Manchester is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,492 in 1870, 5,065 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 3 maps from 1900 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Manchester, 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 Manchester.
Manchester draws workers from Cedar Rapids and beyond and has seen reported crime fall by about half, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Iowa (mostly inland flooding).
3,452 jobs are based in Manchester, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Manchester’s working residents works in town. At 14 minutes, Manchester’s average trip to work is against 19 minutes in Iowa’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Manchester’s median household income is $61,000.
| Manchester | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 37% | 31% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the West Delaware County Community School District. Three of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is West Delaware High School, with 436 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lambert Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 449 | B− |
| West Delaware High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 436 | B+ |
| West Delaware Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 378 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
33% of Manchester adults get no exercise outside work, where Iowa’s towns sit at 26% and U.S. towns at 25%. 41% of adults have high blood pressure in Manchester. Among 140 Iowa towns, just 5 have a lower share of adults who binge drink than Manchester.
| Manchester | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 26% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 35% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Manchester | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.4% | 77.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.2% | 6.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of Iowa towns, with expected losses of about $824 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on. 67 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 15 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1999, 67 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Manchester. Only 2 of the 140 Iowa towns we compare have a higher FEMA risk score than Manchester.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Manchester has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Manchester is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 155 to 44 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
People 65 and older are 26% of residents (18% statewide); children under 18 are 18% of residents (23% statewide). 17% of Manchester residents are under 18. Manchester has grown 5.6% since 2020, to 5,357 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Manchester | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 26% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 17% | 23% | 22% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.5 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Manchester | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.7% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.8% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.1% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.7% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.6% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.3% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.4% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.2% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 13.4% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.7% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 40.3% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 12.5% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.2% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.1% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.3% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
| Manchester | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Schram Park | 0.6 mi | 32 |
| 2. Tirrill Park | — | 7 |
| 3. Manchester Whitewater Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical Manchester home is worth about $232,000, up 3.5% in a year, close to the Iowa typical home.
| Manchester | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $802 a month | $913 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 70% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Manchester. Close and well known come first.
34 mi National MonumentEffigy Mounds National Monument57K visitors a year
17 mi MuseumCedar Rock State Park
37 mi MuseumNational Czech & Slovak Museum & Library15 mi MuseumLenox College
18 mi MuseumNational Farm Toy Museum
37 mi MuseumMuseum of Art Cedar RapidsEffigy Mounds National Monument: National Park Service, Public domain · Cedar Rock State Park: Orange Suede Sofa, CC BY-SA 3.0 · National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library: ArtisticAbode, CC BY-SA 3.0 · National Farm Toy Museum: Madmaxmarchhare of English Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5 · Museum of Art Cedar Rapids: ericjames, CC BY 3.0
None within 15 miles of Manchester; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Manchester residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
3 places in Manchester on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Manchester.
City in Iowa, United States
Manchester is a city in Delaware Township and the county seat of Delaware County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,065 at the time of the 2020 census. Manchester is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 20 and State Highway 13 and is the largest community in Delaware County. It is home to the Delaware County Fair.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Manchester grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #98 of 140 in Iowa. It grades C− for health, C+ for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk 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 A−.
12 notable people were born here, including Robert Gallery and Fran Leeper Buss.
