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IBSSS CampusVinton, #1 on this list · Photo: Torindkflt. · CC BY 3.0
Iowa rankings · History

Most historic towns in Iowa

Vinton ranks first on history among Iowa’s 140 towns of 2,500+; 59 of the 140 grade A− or better on history nationally.

The History grade, a character grade (not part of the overall): the town’s founding era, homes built before 1940 (Census ACS) and its National Register places. How grades work

#1

Vinton

Benton County · 5,004 people
A+

History grade, better than 98% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #48 of 140 in IA

#2

Washington

Washington County · 7,261 people
A+

History grade, better than 98% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #120 of 140 in IA

#3

Fort Madison

Lee County · 9,935 people
A+

History grade, better than 98% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #125 of 140 in IA

All 140 towns

History grade, best first (the letter is national). Towns with the same score share a rank; the overall grade and state rank are beside each.

140 towns ranked. Not here? See why a town may be missing.

#TownGradeOverall
1VintonBenton County · 5,004 peopleA+better than 98% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #48 of 140
2WashingtonWashington County · 7,261 peopleA+better than 98% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #120 of 140
3Fort MadisonLee County · 9,935 peopleA+better than 98% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #125 of 140
4CentervilleAppanoose County · 5,327 peopleA+better than 97% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #123 of 140
5BurlingtonDes Moines County · 23,336 peopleA+better than 97% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #118 of 140
6MuscatineMuscatine County · 23,164 peopleA+better than 97% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #117 of 140
7CharitonLucas County · 4,347 peopleA+better than 97% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #101 of 140
8AlbiaMonroe County · 3,599 peopleA+better than 96% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #69 of 140
9DubuqueDubuque County · 59,148 peopleA+better than 96% of U.S. towns·Overall C+ · #96 of 140
10Mount VernonLinn County · 4,514 peopleA+better than 96% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #6 of 140
11KeokukLee County · 9,510 peopleA+better than 96% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #138 of 140
12DecorahWinneshiek County · 7,417 peopleA+better than 96% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #9 of 140
13OskaloosaMahaska County · 11,493 peopleA+better than 96% of U.S. towns·Overall B− · #80 of 140
14BloomfieldDavis County · 2,785 peopleAbetter than 95% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #79 of 140
15OttumwaWapello County · 25,319 peopleAbetter than 94% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #139 of 140
16MaquoketaJackson County · 6,027 peopleAbetter than 94% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #124 of 140
17DavenportScott County · 100,358 peopleAbetter than 94% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #135 of 140
18WintersetMadison County · 5,520 peopleAbetter than 94% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #33 of 140
19ClintonClinton County · 24,049 peopleAbetter than 93% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #121 of 140
20FairfieldJefferson County · 9,220 peopleAbetter than 92% of U.S. towns·Overall C+ · #99 of 140
21TiptonCedar County · 3,060 peopleAbetter than 92% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #38 of 140
22Le ClaireScott County · 4,741 peopleAbetter than 92% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #57 of 140
23West LibertyMuscatine County · 3,717 peopleAbetter than 91% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #103 of 140
24NewtonJasper County · 15,741 peopleAbetter than 91% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #105 of 140
25WaterlooBlack Hawk County · 66,919 peopleAbetter than 91% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #137 of 140
26Mount PleasantHenry County · 8,500 peopleAbetter than 90% of U.S. towns·Overall B− · #83 of 140
27IndependenceBuchanan County · 6,312 peopleAbetter than 89% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #52 of 140
28KnoxvilleMarion County · 7,469 peopleAbetter than 88% of U.S. towns·Overall C+ · #95 of 140
29AnamosaJones County · 5,901 peopleAbetter than 88% of U.S. towns·Overall C+ · #97 of 140
30Cedar RapidsLinn County · 137,935 peopleAbetter than 87% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #104 of 140
31MitchellvillePolk County · 2,671 peopleAbetter than 86% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #3 of 140
32Iowa CityJohnson County · 76,229 peopleAbetter than 85% of U.S. towns·Overall C+ · #92 of 140
33OsceolaClarke County · 5,679 peopleAbetter than 85% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #136 of 140
34GrinnellPoweshiek County · 9,430 peopleA−better than 84% of U.S. towns·Overall B− · #81 of 140
35MadridBoone County · 2,820 peopleA−better than 84% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #56 of 140
36AdelDallas County · 7,098 peopleA−better than 84% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #19 of 140
37EldoraHardin County · 2,593 peopleA−better than 84% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #112 of 140
38EmmetsburgPalo Alto County · 3,684 peopleA−better than 84% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #32 of 140
39Mason CityCerro Gordo County · 26,853 peopleA−better than 84% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #110 of 140
40PellaMarion County · 10,992 peopleA−better than 84% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #7 of 140
41HarlanShelby County · 4,859 peopleA−better than 83% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #60 of 140
42Des MoinesPolk County · 212,086 peopleA−better than 82% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #134 of 140
43Council BluffsPottawattamie County · 62,680 peopleA−better than 82% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #127 of 140
44Red OakMontgomery County · 5,388 peopleA−better than 82% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #133 of 140
45PerryDallas County · 8,208 peopleA−better than 81% of U.S. towns·Overall C+ · #93 of 140
46HamptonFranklin County · 4,264 peopleA−better than 81% of U.S. towns·Overall B− · #87 of 140
47OsageMitchell County · 3,552 peopleA−better than 81% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #16 of 140
48Fort DodgeWebster County · 24,837 peopleA−better than 81% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #132 of 140
49MonticelloJones County · 4,104 peopleA−better than 81% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #27 of 140
50Sioux CityWoodbury County · 86,356 peopleA−better than 80% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #129 of 140
51Cedar FallsBlack Hawk County · 41,240 peopleA−better than 79% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #46 of 140
52MarshalltownMarshall County · 27,536 peopleA−better than 79% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #113 of 140
53NevadaStory County · 6,974 peopleA−better than 77% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #43 of 140
54MarionLinn County · 42,732 peopleA−better than 77% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #31 of 140
55Charles CityFloyd County · 7,013 peopleA−better than 77% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #111 of 140
56ClarindaPage County · 5,273 peopleA−better than 76% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #109 of 140
57BooneBoone County · 12,471 peopleA−better than 76% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #65 of 140
58WaverlyBremer County · 10,561 peopleA−better than 76% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #59 of 140
59SpencerClay County · 11,218 peopleA−better than 75% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #76 of 140
60CherokeeCherokee County · 5,122 peopleB+better than 75% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #70 of 140
61Iowa FallsHardin County · 5,013 peopleB+better than 73% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #100 of 140
62AtlanticCass County · 6,676 peopleB+better than 73% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #115 of 140
63DeWittClinton County · 5,704 peopleB+better than 73% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #64 of 140
64CrescoHoward County · 3,925 peopleB+better than 72% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #22 of 140
65WaukonAllamakee County · 3,849 peopleB+better than 71% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #13 of 140
66OnawaMonona County · 2,821 peopleB+better than 71% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #114 of 140
67Le MarsPlymouth County · 10,760 peopleB+better than 71% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #41 of 140
68JeffersonGreene County · 4,150 peopleB+better than 71% of U.S. towns·Overall C+ · #94 of 140
69OelweinFayette County · 5,757 peopleB+better than 70% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #128 of 140
70CrestonUnion County · 7,335 peopleB+better than 70% of U.S. towns·Overall B− · #84 of 140
71ManchesterDelaware County · 5,357 peopleB+better than 70% of U.S. towns·Overall C+ · #98 of 140
72West BranchCedar County · 2,956 peopleB+better than 69% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #35 of 140
73Story CityStory County · 3,382 peopleB+better than 69% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #28 of 140
74Webster CityHamilton County · 7,815 peopleB+better than 69% of U.S. towns·Overall B− · #91 of 140
75HawardenSioux County · 2,665 peopleB+better than 68% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #71 of 140
76ShenandoahPage County · 4,808 peopleB+better than 67% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #102 of 140
77IndianolaWarren County · 16,829 peopleB+better than 67% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #62 of 140
78TamaTama County · 3,011 peopleB+better than 66% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #131 of 140
79Eagle GroveWright County · 3,653 peopleBbetter than 65% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #122 of 140
80CamancheClinton County · 4,557 peopleBbetter than 64% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #75 of 140
81New HamptonChickasaw County · 3,420 peopleBbetter than 64% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #55 of 140
82HumboldtHumboldt County · 4,675 peopleBbetter than 63% of U.S. towns·Overall B− · #86 of 140
83AlgonaKossuth County · 5,309 peopleBbetter than 63% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #51 of 140
84Grundy CenterGrundy County · 2,814 peopleBbetter than 62% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #4 of 140
85GlenwoodMills County · 5,287 peopleBbetter than 62% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #42 of 140
86SolonJohnson County · 3,345 peopleBbetter than 61% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #11 of 140
87CarrollCarroll County · 10,085 peopleBbetter than 61% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #40 of 140
88SibleyOsceola County · 2,762 peopleBbetter than 61% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #106 of 140
89Rock RapidsLyon County · 2,733 peopleBbetter than 61% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #20 of 140
90Storm LakeBuena Vista County · 11,590 peopleBbetter than 60% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #108 of 140
91ClarionWright County · 2,758 peopleBbetter than 60% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #67 of 140
92AmesStory County · 68,220 peopleBbetter than 59% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #72 of 140
93DenisonCrawford County · 8,214 peopleBbetter than 59% of U.S. towns·Overall B− · #90 of 140
94WiltonMuscatine County · 2,892 peopleBbetter than 59% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #63 of 140
95GarnerHancock County · 3,029 peopleBbetter than 58% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #34 of 140
96Forest CityWinnebago County · 4,143 peopleBbetter than 56% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #14 of 140
97Clear LakeCerro Gordo County · 7,601 peopleB−better than 54% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #66 of 140
98Missouri ValleyHarrison County · 2,616 peopleB−better than 54% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #73 of 140
99Center PointLinn County · 2,572 peopleB−better than 54% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #5 of 140
100Spirit LakeDickinson County · 5,525 peopleB−better than 52% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #68 of 140
101DyersvilleDubuque County · 4,574 peopleB−better than 51% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #21 of 140
102Orange CitySioux County · 6,468 peopleB−better than 50% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #1 of 140
103Polk CityPolk County · 6,630 peopleB−better than 48% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #8 of 140
104WilliamsburgIowa County · 3,408 peopleB−better than 48% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #37 of 140
105EsthervilleEmmet County · 5,807 peopleB−better than 46% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #78 of 140
106West Des MoinesPolk County · 74,224 peopleC+better than 42% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #58 of 140
107SheldonO'Brien County · 5,575 peopleC+better than 40% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #77 of 140
108West BurlingtonDes Moines County · 3,358 peopleC+better than 35% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #130 of 140
109MilfordDickinson County · 3,209 peopleCbetter than 35% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #50 of 140
110KalonaWashington County · 2,811 peopleCbetter than 34% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #53 of 140
111HudsonBlack Hawk County · 3,028 peopleCbetter than 29% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #12 of 140
112Rock ValleySioux County · 4,188 peopleCbetter than 28% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #17 of 140
113Sioux CenterSioux County · 8,864 peopleCbetter than 27% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #29 of 140
114Saylorvilleunincorporated, Polk County · 3,366 peopleCbetter than 27% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #39 of 140
115CoralvilleJohnson County · 23,960 peopleCbetter than 26% of U.S. towns·Overall B− · #88 of 140
116JesupBuchanan County · 2,557 peopleCbetter than 26% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #54 of 140
117North LibertyJohnson County · 21,976 peopleCbetter than 26% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #47 of 140
118Windsor HeightsPolk County · 5,059 peopleCbetter than 25% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #119 of 140
119HuxleyStory County · 4,715 peopleC−better than 24% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #26 of 140
120FairfaxLinn County · 2,925 peopleC−better than 24% of U.S. towns·Overall B− · #82 of 140
121Sergeant BluffWoodbury County · 5,324 peopleC−better than 24% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #18 of 140
122WaukeeDallas County · 34,890 peopleC−better than 23% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #36 of 140
123Carter LakePottawattamie County · 3,670 peopleC−better than 22% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #126 of 140
124JohnstonPolk County · 25,065 peopleC−better than 21% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #25 of 140
125CarlisleWarren County · 4,532 peopleC−better than 21% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #24 of 140
126BondurantPolk County · 9,647 peopleC−better than 20% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #45 of 140
127BettendorfScott County · 40,710 peopleC−better than 20% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #44 of 140
128ClivePolk County · 19,861 peopleC−better than 20% of U.S. towns·Overall A− · #49 of 140
129NorwalkWarren County · 15,004 peopleC−better than 19% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #2 of 140
130EldridgeScott County · 6,954 peopleC−better than 19% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #10 of 140
131AltoonaPolk County · 22,796 peopleC−better than 17% of U.S. towns·Overall B− · #85 of 140
132GrimesPolk County · 17,405 peopleC−better than 16% of U.S. towns·Overall A+ · #15 of 140
133UrbandalePolk County · 48,570 peopleC−better than 15% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #23 of 140
134RobinsLinn County · 3,366 peopleDbetter than 15% of U.S. towns·Overall B− · #89 of 140
135AnkenyPolk County · 77,833 peopleDbetter than 14% of U.S. towns·Overall A · #30 of 140
136TiffinJohnson County · 7,156 peopleDbetter than 14% of U.S. towns·Overall B · #74 of 140
137AsburyDubuque County · 6,035 peopleDbetter than 12% of U.S. towns·Overall B+ · #61 of 140
138HiawathaLinn County · 7,432 peopleDbetter than 9% of U.S. towns·Overall C · #107 of 140
139EvansdaleBlack Hawk County · 4,463 peopleDbetter than 8% of U.S. towns·Overall D · #140 of 140
140Pleasant HillPolk County · 11,239 peopleD−better than 2% of U.S. towns·Overall C− · #116 of 140
Quick answers

Questions people ask

What is the most historic town in Iowa?

Vinton (Benton County) ranks first on history among 140 towns, with an A+; Washington and Fort Madison follow.

How are these towns ranked?

The History grade, a character grade (not part of the overall): the town’s founding era, homes built before 1940 (Census ACS) and its National Register places. Towns are sorted on the grade’s score; the letter and rank are the same as on each town’s page. How grades work.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

The list covers towns of 2,500+ residents with a history grade (140 in Iowa). Smaller towns have the grade on their page but no rank. Every town is on the Iowa page.

Go deeper

More Iowa lists

Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.

All Iowa rankings →
Best places to live140 towns · #1 Orange CityBest small towns99 towns · #1 Orange CityMost affordable towns140 towns · #1 EmmetsburgSafest towns105 towns · #1 Rock ValleyTowns with the best schools140 towns · #1 Grundy CenterHealthiest towns140 towns · #1 SolonBest towns for jobs & income140 towns · #1 EldridgeMost walkable towns140 towns · #1 Iowa CityTowns with the lowest natural-hazard risk140 towns · #1 SaylorvilleBest towns for the outdoors140 towns · #1 Polk CityTowns with the most civic life138 towns · #1 AtlanticTowns with the least snow140 towns · #1 Fort MadisonDescribed, no lettersSnowiest towns140 towns · #1 Clear LakeDescribed, no lettersTowns with the mildest winters142 towns · #1 KeokukDescribed, no lettersTowns with the hottest summers142 towns · #1 Council BluffsDescribed, no lettersTowns with the coolest summers142 towns · #1 Postville and WaukonDescribed, no lettersTowns with the highest incomes140 towns · #1 Polk CityDescribed, no lettersTowns with the lowest property taxes140 towns · #1 Fort MadisonDescribed, no lettersFastest-growing towns139 towns · #1 TiffinDescribed, no lettersTowns with the most-used libraries51 towns · #1 CoralvilleDescribed, no letters
Other states

Most historic towns in other states

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