Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Manning’s best subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and an A for schools and history. No town in Iowa scores higher than Manning on cost of living. Manning has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Manning Commercial Historic District and Manning Water Tower. Manning has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Manning beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| IKM-Manning Middle School | 4–8 | 297 |
| IKM-Manning High School | 9–12 | 185 |
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 Manning is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,233 in 1890, 1,455 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1978 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Manning, 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 Manning.
Its public schools are run by the IKM-Manning Community School District. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| IKM-Manning Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–8 | Grades 4–8 | 297 | A |
| IKM-Manning High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 185 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
The typical Manning home is worth about $151,000, up 8.8% in a year, 36% below the Iowa typical home. 85% of households own their home in Manning, above both the Iowa town median (70%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%). The median rent in Manning is $719 a month.
| Manning | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $719 a month | $911 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Manning has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 10° and about 35 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Manning beats the Iowa average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 29% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Manning, below both Iowa’s towns (32%) and U.S. towns (36%). 19% of Manning adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Manning | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Manning | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.1% | 12% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.9% | 6.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.1% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
About one in 4 of Manning’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Manning has lost 109 jobs, to 695 in 2023. Manning’s average trip to work is 20 minutes.
| Manning | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 31% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.4% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
22% of residents are 65 or older in Manning. Manning has lost 5.4% of its people since 2020, down to 1,375 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 25% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Iowa.
| Manning | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 22% | 23% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.2 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women. Among residents 35 to 44, 63% are men (IA 51%).
| Manning | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.6% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.9% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.2% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.2% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.7% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.6% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.8% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 14% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.6% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.3% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.6% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 18.3% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.6% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.6% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,400, single groups can be off by several points
| Manning | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hausborn/Heritage Park | — | 11 |
| 2. Willow Creek Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1993, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Manning.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Manning; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Manning residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
4 notable people were born in Manning.
City in Iowa, USA
Manning is a city in Carroll County, Iowa, United States, along Iowa Highway 141. The population was 1,455 at the time of the 2020 census. It is named for Orlando Harrison Manning, a Lieutenant Governor of Iowa.
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+.
4 notable people were born here, including John R. Hansen and Tom Knudson.
