Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
51% more library visits per person than the typical Iowa town.
Nevada gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $247K for a typical one, or 3.4 years of the Ames metro’s $73K median household income. It grades A− overall, 43rd of 140 graded towns in Iowa. On the plus side, 3% of its land is conserved. Nevada's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 91% of U.S. towns. 23% of working residents work locally in Nevada, against 31% in Iowa’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Score Park, at 49 acres with 2.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Nevada beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Nevada is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 350 in 1860, 6,925 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1975 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Nevada, 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 Nevada.
| Nevada | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Score Park | 2.1 mi | 49 |
| 2. Harrington Park | — | 33 |
| 3. 4-H Park | — | 15 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Nevada Community School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Nevada High School, with 498 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 632 | B |
| Nevada High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 498 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Nevada beats the Iowa average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 21% of Nevada adults binge drink. Among 140 Iowa towns, just 9 have a lower share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Nevada.
| Nevada | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Nevada | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults screened for colon cancer | 71% | 66.6% |
| More adults seeing a dentist | 70.5% | 66.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Nevada has cold winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 11° and about 27 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Nevada has about as many jobs (3,880) as working residents, but only 764 people both live and work here.
About one in 4 of Nevada’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Nevada is 18 minutes. The top destinations are Ames (33%), Des Moines (6%) and Ankeny (4%).
| Nevada | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 5.7% | 8.5% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Nevada.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Nevada home is worth about $247,000, up 2.2% in a year, close to the Iowa typical home.
| Nevada | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $953 a month | $909 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 70% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
30% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Iowa. 24% of residents are under 18 in Nevada.
| Nevada | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 24% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 30% | 25% | 29% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.9 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Nevada | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.7% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.7% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.3% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.7% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.9% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.2% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.7% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.8% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.1% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.5% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.2% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.6% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.5% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.1% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
1 within 15 miles of the center of Nevada
About 2 of every 100 Nevada residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
3 places in Nevada on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Iowa, USA
Nevada ( niv-AY-də) is a city in and the county seat of Story County, Iowa, United States. The population was 6,925 in the 2020 census, an increase from 6,658 in 2000. Nevada is part of the Ames, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a part of the larger Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical Area. Nevada is the second-most populous city in Story County. The city’s name is pronounced differently from the state of Nevada. Instead of nuh-VAD-uh (using a short "a"), the city’s name is pronounced nuh-VAY-duh.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Nevada.
Nevada reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Nevada with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Nevada grades A− overall, better than 82% of U.S. towns and #43 of 140 in Iowa. It grades B+ for health and B+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
2 notable people were born here, including Neva Patterson and Mary Clem.
