Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,468, settled in 1870. 76% more library visits per person than the typical Iowa town.
Trash day: look up yoursFew places in the country grade higher. Orange City earns an A+, 1st among Iowa's 140 graded towns. Its schools outperform 87% of the state's, CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 87% of the country, and homes are within reach, about $318K for a typical one, or 3.7 years of the county’s $86K median household income. Its lowest mark, a B, is in incomes. 48% of working residents work locally in Orange City, above both Iowa’s towns (31%) and U.S. towns (8%). On walkability, just 11 of Iowa’s 276 towns do better. Orange City is home to Northwestern College.
Where Orange City beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Orange City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 320 in 1880, 6,267 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1964 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Orange City, 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 Orange City.
Orange City pairs an A for schools with modest home prices, has less tooth loss than most of Iowa and has commutes shorter than most of Iowa.
Its widest gap with Iowa is tooth loss: 7.2% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.6% statewide.
26% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Orange City. Orange City beats the Iowa average on 15 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 22% of adults binge drink in Orange City.
| Orange City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 32% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 20% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.7% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Orange City | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.2% | 11.6% |
| Fewer smokers | 11% | 14.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A for schools comes with an A− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $318K.
Its public schools are run by the MOC-Floyd Valley Community School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is MOC-Floyd Valley High School, with 486 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| MOC-Floyd Valley Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 672 | A+ |
| MOC-Floyd Valley High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 486 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Orange City’s median rent is $789 a month. The typical Orange City home is worth about $318,000, up 2.1% in a year, 34% above the Iowa typical home.
| Orange City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $789 a month | $913 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1.9 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves.
| Orange City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 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. Veterans Memorial Park | 0.1 mi | 19 |
| 2. East Park | — | 11 |
| 3. Woudstra Family Park | 0.2 mi | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Orange City has cold winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 8° and about 27 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,930 working residents takes 10.2 minutes, against 19.8 across Iowa.
The average trip to work in Orange City is 10 minutes. Since 2013, Orange City has added 529 jobs, to 4,258 in 2023. 16% of Orange City workers work from home.
| Orange City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 10 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 16% | 8.5% | 11% |
| Median household income | $82,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Orange City's reported crime rate is well below Iowa's. Only 4 of the 115 Iowa towns we compare have a lower property crime rate than Orange City. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Orange City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
2 within 15 miles of the center of Orange City
College town 19 of every 100 Orange City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
2 places in Orange City on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Orange City.
City in Iowa, United States
Orange City is a city in, and the county seat of, Sioux County, Iowa, United States. Its population was 6,267 in the 2020 census, an increase from 5,582 in 2000. Named after William of Orange, the community maintains its Dutch settler traditions visibly, with Dutch storefront architecture and an annual Tulip Festival.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Orange City.
| Town | IA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange City | #1 | A+ | A− | — | A | A |
| Alton | — | — | A | — | A | A− |
Alton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Orange City and Alton report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Orange City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Orange City grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #1 of 140 in Iowa. It grades A for health and A 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 A−.
12 notable people were born here, including Nick Collison and Dennis Muilenburg.
