Homes in Ridgeway are typically worth about $330,000, up 6.5% in a year, 39% above the Iowa typical home. The rent at the middle of the market for Ridgeway comes to $650 a month, below both Iowa’s towns ($911 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).

$330KZillow home value

	Ridgeway	Iowa towns	U.S. towns
Households that own their home	50%	70%	73%
Median rent	$650 a month	$911 a month	$1,185 a month

Typical home value

Ridgeway$330K

Iowa$237K

+6.5%

value change, 1 year

Full pageRidgeway’s housing & cost-of-living pageOpen the page

Prices over the yearsUp 6.5% in a year Years of income to buyA typical home costs 5.4 years of income Rents$650 a month · Median rent

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Work & commute

A smaller share of working residents work locally in Ridgeway than in most of Iowa or the rest of the country

The top destinations are Decorah (27%), Cresco (12%) and Ossian (2%). Jobs in Ridgeway fell by 176 from 2013 to 2023, to 73. 4.8% of residents live below the poverty line in the town, below both the Iowa town median (11%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). For Ridgeway, the mean commuting time is 20 minutes.

1%work in town

	Ridgeway	Iowa towns	U.S. towns
Working residents who work in town	1.4%	31%	8%
Below the poverty line	4.8%	11%	9.6%
Average trip to work	20 minutes	19 minutes	25 minutes
Median household income	$62,000	$69,000	$80,000

Where working residents work

In Ridgeway1%

Decorah27%

Cresco12%

Ossian2%

Mason City2%

12 mi

median commute distance

jobs based in Ridgeway

A commuter town

jobs vs. working residents

Full pageRidgeway’s work & commute pageOpen the page

The jobs here73 jobs based here · A commuter town Where people work1% work in Ridgeway Commute times20 minutes · The average commute How far they goHalf commute less than 12 miles

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

Expect snowy winters and pleasant summers in Ridgeway

Among 141 Iowa towns, just 3 have a lower midsummer high than Ridgeway. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 7° and about 40 inches of snow falls in a winter.

40″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter11–28°

Spring34–56°

Summer58–80°

Fall37–58°

Oct 1

typical first frost

May 8

typical last frost

+1.3°

vs. the 20th-century average

Full pageRidgeway’s climate pageOpen the page

A year of weatherJuly highs 81°, January lows 7°Rain & snow40″ of snow a winter · 38 inches of rain and snow a year Heating & coolingMostly a heating bill Then and now+1.3° vs. the 20th century · Warmer than the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Health

How healthy Ridgeway is

12% of adults report frequent physical distress in Ridgeway. Among adults in the town, 29% sleep under 7 hours and 9.2% have diabetes.

	Ridgeway	Iowa towns	U.S. towns
Binge drink (CDC PLACES)	22%	20%	16%
Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES)	29%	32%	36%
Diabetes (CDC PLACES)	9.2%	12%	12%
High blood pressure (CDC PLACES)	31%	35%	35%

32 measures vs. Iowa

3 better29 too close to call0 worse

What stands out	Ridgeway	IA
Fewer adults facing food insecurity	9.4%	12%
Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off	5.1%	6.4%

Regional Health Services of Howard County

8.6 mi away · emergency room

1 of 3

care shortages: mental health

Full pageRidgeway’s health reportOpen the page

Everyday habitsFewer adults sleeping under 7 hours Hospitals & doctors nearby8.6 miles to an ER · Regional Health Services of Howard County How adults are doingFewer adults in fair or poor health Every CDC estimateBetter than IA on 3 of 32

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Natural hazards

The biggest natural risk in Ridgeway is inland flooding, at a moderate overall level

FEMA puts nearly half of Ridgeway’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 13% to tornadoes. For Ridgeway, the FEMA risk score is 53 of 100. Federal aid has come to Ridgeway households in 2 declared disasters; the latest was in 2008.

53risk score of 100

FEMA risk score

Inland floodingTornadoesHail

federal disasters paid out here

Full pageRidgeway’s hazards pageOpen the page

What it facesModerate risk Flood claims0 paid flood claims · No paid flood claims on record Past disasters2 federal disasters · Paid out in Ridgeway Get ready1.5 events a year, on average · Ready for inland flooding

FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Nearby attractions

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum and 3 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ridgeway. Close and well known come first.

All 13 attractions →

10 mi MuseumVesterheim Norwegian-American Museum

7 mi MuseumBily Clock Museum

26 mi AttractionPreston Overlook

13 mi MuseumBurr Oak House/Masters Hotel

Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons

Photo credits

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bily Clock Museum: Jonathunder, GFDL 1.2 · Preston Overlook: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Burr Oak House/Masters Hotel: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Ridgeway

16pages on Ridgeway

The big questions

HealthBetter than IA on 3 of 32 CDC measures Cost of living$330K typical home · up 6.5% in a year Work & commute$62K median household income · 73 jobs here Natural hazardsFEMA risk higher than 53% of U.S. communities · inland flooding

Out and about

PlacesAttractions13 nearby · Bily Clock Museum 7 mi LibrarySpillville Public Library CollegesLuther College is 9.6 mi away

The story

HistorySettled 1867 Town Hall & politicsOne full-time town employee per 134 residents Climate81° summer highs · 40″ of snow

Day to day

NewsWeatherHandbookZIP code 52165 Town SquareNeighbors

After high school

Colleges nearby

2 within 15 miles of the center of Ridgeway

Luther CollegeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Decorah9.6 mi$52,120 tuition Northeast Iowa Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Calmar10.5 mi$6,780 in-state tuition

About 4 of every 100 Ridgeway residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.

Prices by family income, graduation and earnings →

A commuter town

99% of working residents leave Ridgeway for work

Where Ridgeway’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

73jobs based in Ridgeway

1%of working residents work in town

12 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

About Ridgeway

City in Iowa, United States

Ridgeway is a city in Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 275 at the time of the 2020 census. Ridgeway's post office was established in 1867.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area: 0.8 sq mi
Elevation: 1,198 ft
ZIP code: 52165

Questions about Ridgeway

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Ridgeway, IA a good place to live?

Ridgeway has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.

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Is Ridgeway a good place to live?

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159 years in pictures

Moving to Ridgeway: who provides what

The data

Ridgeway stands out in Iowa and nationally, with fewer of its households who own their home