Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 27,536, settled in 1853.
Marshalltown gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $177K, 2.4 years of the Marshalltown area’s $73K median household income. It grades C− overall, 113th among Iowa's 140 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its schools rank behind 91% of the state's. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns. 47% of working residents work locally in Marshalltown, where Iowa’s towns sit at 31% and U.S. towns at 8%. Marshalltown is home to Marshalltown Community College. On civic life, just 15 of Iowa’s 271 towns do worse.
Where Marshalltown beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Woodbury Elementary School | PK–4 | 387 |
| Fisher Elementary School | PK–4 | 368 |
| Franklin Elementary School | PK–4 | 358 |
Census counts: 981 in 1860, 27,591 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1868 and 2 maps from 1960 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Marshalltown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Marshalltown, 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 Marshalltown.
Marshalltown has homes that are cheap against local pay and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
Its public schools are run by the Marshalltown Community School District. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| B R Miller Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 736 | D |
| Marshalltown High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,629 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 669 to 428 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Marshalltown’s violent crime rate is 2.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Marshalltown | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.5 per 1,000 residents | 7.2 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
45% of Marshalltown adults have obesity. Among 140 Iowa towns, just 8 have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Marshalltown. 13% of Marshalltown adults have diabetes.
| Marshalltown | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 38% | 35% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 7% | 8.1% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Marshalltown | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 13.6% | 7.3% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 17.9% | 12% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 13.4% | 9.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 2.4 years of the Marshalltown area’s $73K median household income, the typical home (about $177K) costs less against local pay than in 78% of Iowa towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living.
The typical Marshalltown home is worth about $177,000, up 2.6% in a year, 25% below the Iowa typical home. The median rent in Marshalltown is $891 a month.
| Marshalltown | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $891 a month | $913 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7.6 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Riverview Park, at 90 acres.
| Marshalltown | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.1% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Riverview Park | 0.5 mi | 90 |
| 2. Timber Creek Park | 0.5 mi | 14 |
| 3. Nicholson Ford Access | — | 88 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Marshalltown has cold winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 11° and about 25 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based in Marshalltown fell to 13,231 in 2023, 3,085 fewer than in 2013. 14% of residents live below the poverty line in Marshalltown. The top destinations are Des Moines (5%), Ames (3%) and Cedar Rapids (3%).
| Marshalltown | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 5.7% | 8.5% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 64% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Marshalltown.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Marshalltown
About 3 of every 100 Marshalltown residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
8 places in Marshalltown on the National Register of Historic Places.
25 notable people were born in Marshalltown.
City in Iowa, United States
Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,591 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 27,886 in 2024, making it the 17th-most populous city in Iowa. Marshalltown is home to the Iowa Veterans Home and Marshalltown Community College.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Marshalltown grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #113 of 140 in Iowa. It grades C for health, C for safety and D for schools. Schools 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−.
25 notable people were born here, including Jean Seberg and Frank Jack Fletcher.
