Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 805, platted in 1855.
James C. Fellows House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Riceville has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Where Riceville beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Census counts: 804 in 1900, 806 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1972 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Riceville, 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 Riceville.
Riceville has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 7° and about 40 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The public schools here belong to the Riceville Community School District. Its two schools are below. Public school enrollment here: 431 students across 2 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riceville Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 226 | C− |
| Riceville High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 205 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts
The top destinations are Osage (13%), Charles City (4%) and Mason City (4%). No town among the 141 in Iowa we compare has a lower median household income than Riceville. The share of working residents in Riceville who work locally is 8.2%, where Iowa’s towns sit at 31% and U.S. towns at 8%. For half of commuters, work is under 22 miles away.
| Riceville | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $45,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 8.2% | 31% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
18% of Riceville adults binge drink. The town beats the Iowa average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. Also worth knowing: among 141 Iowa towns, just 10 have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Riceville. Two figures for adults here: 18% smoke cigarettes, 30% get no exercise outside work.
| Riceville | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Riceville | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.2% | 77.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.7% | 6.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Households in Riceville have drawn federal disaster aid in 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2016. FEMA expects more storm and flood damage in the town than in 59% of U.S. communities. Just over half of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by drought at 17%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The biggest park or preserve is Lake Hendricks Park, at 27 acres. Trails total 0.4 miles in 1 park or preserve.
| Riceville | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 4% | 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. Lake Hendricks Park | — | 27 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 6%. The share of households in Riceville who own their home: 68%.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Riceville; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Riceville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
City in Iowa, United States
Riceville is a city in Howard and Mitchell counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 806 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.
Riceville has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Riceville was platted in 1855 and has 1 place on the National Register of Historic Places. 2 notable people were born here, including Jane Elliott and Romaine Fielding.
