Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Marengo’s subject grades are an A for cost of living and an A− for schools and history; the weakest is a C for health. Only 3 of the 141 Iowa towns we compare have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Marengo. Marengo is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns. Only 7 of the 138 Iowa towns we compare have a lower median rent than Marengo. Iowa County Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. Marengo has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Marengo beats most towns.
Iowa County CourthouseWhere Marengo’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 Marengo is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 50 in 1850, 2,435 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1868 and 2 maps from 1965 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Marengo, 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 Marengo.
Its public schools are run by the Iowa Valley Community School District. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa Valley Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 314 | B |
| Iowa Valley Jr-Sr High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 229 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Marengo for work: only 16% work in town. Jobs based in Marengo fell to 880 in 2023, 191 fewer than in 2013. Marengo’s median household income is $58,000, where Iowa’s towns sit at $69,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000.
| Marengo | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 31% | 8% |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
44% of Marengo adults have obesity, against 38% in Iowa’s towns and 35% across U.S. towns. 30% of Marengo adults sleep under 7 hours. Marengo beats the Iowa average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4.
| Marengo | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Marengo | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.5% | 6.9% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4% | 3.3% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.7% | 6.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Marengo has cold winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 11° and about 28 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Marengo home is worth about $194,000, up 4% in a year, 18% below the Iowa typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1.3 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Gateway Park, at 98 acres.
| Marengo | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.4% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gateway Park | — | 98 |
| 2. Lion's Club Park | — | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Marengo’s violent crime rate is 2.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Marengo | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.1 per 1,000 residents | 7.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Marengo.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Marengo; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Marengo residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
5 notable people were born in Marengo.
City in Iowa, United States
Marengo is a city in and the county seat of Iowa County, Iowa, United States. It has served as the county seat since August 1845, even though it was not incorporated until July 1859. The population was 2,435 in the 2020 census, a decline from 2,535 in 2000.
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.
5 notable people were born here, including Mona Guerrant and Clarence Whitehill.
