Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mount Pleasant gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $196K for a typical one, or 2.9 years of the county’s $67K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 83rd of 140 in Iowa. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 44% of working residents work locally in Mount Pleasant, above both Iowa’s towns (31%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Harlan-Lincoln House and Old Main. Only 5 of the 140 Iowa towns we compare have a higher January low than Mount Pleasant.
Where Mount Pleasant beats most towns.
Old Main
Census counts: 758 in 1850, 9,274 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1883 and a map from 1981 on.
25 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Mount Pleasant is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mount Pleasant, 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 Mount Pleasant.
Mount Pleasant draws workers from Burlington and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Iowa.
6,461 jobs are based in Mount Pleasant, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Mount Pleasant’s average trip to work is 14 minutes. The top destinations are Burlington (5%), Iowa City (3%) and Davenport (2%). 16% of residents live below the poverty line in Mount Pleasant.
| Mount Pleasant | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 7% | 8.5% | 11% |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Mount Pleasant Community School District. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Mount Pleasant High School, with 545 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Pleasant Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 383 | B− |
| Mount Pleasant High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 545 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 14.6°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 94% of Iowa places with climate records; July afternoons average 85°.
Mount Pleasant has cold winters and warm summers. About 25 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Typical home values rose 6.2% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Mount Pleasant is $826 a month.
| Mount Pleasant | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $826 a month | $913 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2.6 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is East Lake Park, at 166 acres.
| Mount Pleasant | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.2% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Central Park | 0.3 mi | 2 |
| 2. East Lake Park | — | 166 |
| 3. McMillan Park | 0.2 mi | 59 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Adults 18 to 34 are 29% of residents (23% statewide); children under 18 are 18% of residents (23% statewide). Mount Pleasant has lost 8.5% of its people since 2020, down to 8,500 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 23% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Iowa.
| Mount Pleasant | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 23% | 22% |
| Median age | 37.5 years | 38.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 25% | 29% |
45% women, 55% men
About 123 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.2 points). Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women. Among residents 25 to 34, 73% are men (IA 51%). Median age: women 42.3, men 35.3.
| Mount Pleasant | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.1% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.6% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 14.6% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.8% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.6% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.8% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.5% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 14.1% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.6% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.8% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.3% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.1% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Reported crimes fell from 142 to 41 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 9,182 U.S. towns with household incomes like Mount Pleasant’s, it is healthier than 75%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Mount Pleasant beats the Iowa average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 21% of Mount Pleasant adults binge drink. Only 5 of the 140 Iowa towns we compare have a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Mount Pleasant.
| Mount Pleasant | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 78% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 32% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 23% |
| What stands out | Mount Pleasant | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults without reliable transportation | 8% | 6.8% |
| Fewer adults getting cholesterol checked | 80.7% | 84.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Mount Pleasant; the nearest are
About 8 of every 100 Mount Pleasant residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
Where Mount Pleasant’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
25 places in Mount Pleasant on the National Register of Historic Places.
22 notable people were born in Mount Pleasant.
City in Iowa, United States
Mount Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Henry County in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 9,274 in the 2020 census, an increase from 8,668 in the 2010 census. It was founded in 1835 by pioneer Presley Saunders.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Mount Pleasant grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #83 of 140 in Iowa. It grades B− for health, B for safety and C for schools.
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 B+.
22 notable people were born here, including James A. Van Allen and Jerry Winholtz.
