Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,679.
Osceola grades D overall, 136th of 140 graded towns in Iowa, mostly because of schools and health. Its schools rank behind 94% of the state's. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 90% of the country. One bright spot: 5% of its land is conserved. 44% of working residents work locally in Osceola, above both Iowa’s towns (31%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Dickinson Webster House and J. V. Banta House. Among 140 Iowa towns, just 7 have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Osceola.
Where Osceola beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Dickinson Webster House| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Clarke Community Elementary School | PK–5 | 652 |
| Clarke Community Middle School | 6–8 | 289 |
| Clarke Community High School | 9–12 | 421 |
Where Osceola’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 Osceola is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,298 in 1870, 5,415 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and 2 maps from 1951 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Osceola, 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 Osceola.
Osceola trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, draws workers from Des Moines and beyond and has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Iowa.
Its public schools are run by the Clarke Community School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Clarke Community High School, with 421 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clarke Community Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 652 | D |
| Clarke Community High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 421 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
3,788 jobs are based in Osceola, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
6.4% of Osceola residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Osceola has added 327 jobs, to 3,788 in 2023. The average trip to work in Osceola is 21 minutes.
| Osceola | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 6.4% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $68,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
35% of adults get no exercise outside work in Osceola. Only 5 of the 140 Iowa towns we compare have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Osceola. 18% of adults binge drink in Osceola.
| Osceola | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 26% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 18% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 7% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Osceola | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 14.9% | 7.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21.5% | 11.6% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 21.6% | 12% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 70% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 13.3°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 79% of Iowa places with climate records; July afternoons average 85.2°.
Osceola has cold winters and warm summers. Osceola’s January low is 13°F. About 28 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Osceola | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 13°F | 12°F | 22°F |
| July high | 85°F | 84°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Homes are within reach (about $193K for the typical one, B for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 24 miles.
The typical Osceola home is worth about $193,000, up 2.3% in a year, 19% below the Iowa typical home.
| Osceola | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $943 a month | $909 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2.2 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is West Lake Park, at 720 acres.
| Osceola | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.7% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Lake Park | — | 720 |
| 2. Q-Pond Park | — | 130 |
| 3. Clarke County Recreation Complex | — | 69 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Osceola; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Osceola residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
7 places in Osceola on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Osceola.
City in Iowa, United States
Osceola is a city in and the county seat of Clarke County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,415 at the time of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Osceola grades D overall, better than 9% of U.S. towns and #136 of 140 in Iowa. It grades D for health, C+ for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 2.7 years of the area's median household income ($71,641 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
5 notable people were born here, including Lloyd Thurston and Edgar Howard.
