Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Mapleton’s subject grades are an A for cost of living and an A+ for civic life; the weakest is a C− for incomes. Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church is on the National Register of Historic Places. Mapleton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Mapleton beats most towns.
Trinity Memorial Episcopal ChurchIn 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 Mapleton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1912.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mapleton, 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 Mapleton.
Its two schools are below. The public schools here belong to the Maple Valley-Anthon Oto Community School District. 2 public schools serve Mapleton, with 438 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mapleton Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 182 | C |
| Maple Valley-Anthon Oto High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 256 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Mapleton’s rent at the middle of the market is $846 a month. Among households in the town, 74% own their home, above Iowa’s towns (70%) and close to U.S. towns (73%).
| Mapleton | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $846 a month | $911 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The range runs from 10° on a January night to 85° on a July afternoon, with about 31 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Households in Mapleton have drawn federal disaster aid in 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2024. Compared with 65% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in the town is higher. Expected losses in Mapleton break down as 41% from inland flooding and 21% from tornadoes.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For Mapleton, the income of the median household is $55,000. Most people who work leave Mapleton to do it: just 19% work in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in the town rose by 66, to 475. The typical journey to work for Mapleton comes to 23 minutes, above the Iowa town median (19 minutes) but below the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes).
| Mapleton | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 31% | 8% |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 7.3% | 8.5% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Only 5 of the 141 Iowa towns we compare have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Mapleton. Against the Iowa average, Mapleton comes out ahead on 2 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 6. Among adults in the town, 39% have high blood pressure.
| Mapleton | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 20% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 23% |
| What stands out | Mapleton | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.3% | 6.4% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.1% | 77.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.6% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Mapleton; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Mapleton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
4 notable people were born in Mapleton.
City in Iowa, USA
Mapleton is a city in Monona County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,165 at the time of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
34% 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.
4 notable people were born here, including Garfield Wood and David Bergland.
