Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Postville’s subject grades are an A for cost of living and an A− for history; the weakest is a D− for schools. 40% of residents are under 18 in Postville, above both the Iowa town median (23%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). On incomes, just 9 of Iowa’s 276 towns do worse. Postville is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 69% of U.S. towns. Turner Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places. Postville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Postville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Turner Hall| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Cora B Darling Elementary | PK–6 | 363 |
| John R Mott Jr/Hi School | 7–12 | 342 |
| Postville Early Childhood/Ogden St | PK | 18 |
2,227 counted in 2010 and 2,503 in 2020; an estimated 2,402 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Postville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 732 in 1880, 2,503 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1973 and 3 maps from 1906 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Postville, 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 Postville.
Its public schools are run by the Postville Community School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is John R Mott Jr/Hi School, with 342 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cora B Darling ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 363 | D |
| John R Mott Jr/Hi SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 342 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
17% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Postville, against 7% in Iowa’s towns and 8.1% across U.S. towns. 74% of Postville adults had a checkup this year. Postville beats the Iowa average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11.
| Postville | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 7% | 8.1% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 78% | 79% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Postville | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.2% | 8.7% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 24.2% | 27% |
| More uninsured adults | 16.6% | 7.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The July high in Postville is 81°F. Postville has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 4 of Postville’s working residents works in town. 24% of residents live below the poverty line in Postville. Since 2013, Postville has lost 414 jobs, to 1,144 in 2023.
| Postville | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 24% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 31% | 8% |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Postville home is worth about $216,000, up 6.6% in a year, 9% below the Iowa typical home. Among 141 Iowa towns, just 3 have a lower share of households owning their home than Postville. Postville’s median rent is $861 a month.
| Postville | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $861 a month | $911 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lull's Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Postville; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Postville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Iowa.
3 notable people were born in Postville.
City in Iowa, United States
Postville is a city in Allamakee and Clayton counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. It lies near the junction of four counties and at the intersection of U.S. Routes 18 and 52 and Iowa Highway 51, with airport facilities in the neighboring communities of Waukon, Decorah, Monona and Prairie du Chien. The population was 2,503 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 2,273 in 2000. The city is in Allamakee County's southwestern corner and Clayton County's northwestern corner in a quad county, or four-corner region, where four counties intersect. Winneshiek County is just to the west and Fayette County is just to the southwest of Postville.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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.
3 notable people were born here, including Brett Szabo and Mark Zieman.
