Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,733, settled in 1868. 25% more nonprofits per person than the typical Iowa town.
Few places in the country grade higher. Rock Rapids earns an A, 20th among Iowa's 140 graded towns. Its public schools beat 92% of Iowa towns on state tests and graduation, a typical home costs about $261K, 3.4 years of the county’s $77K median household income, and it is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. Its lowest mark, a B−, is in incomes. 38% of working residents work locally in Rock Rapids, above both the Iowa town median (31%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Rock Rapids's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 95% of U.S. towns. Rock Rapids has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Melan Bridge and First Methodist Church.
Where Rock Rapids beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Central Lyon Elementary School | PK–6 | 431 |
| Central Lyon Secondary School | 7–12 | 358 |
| Ignite Christian Academy | K–12 | 2,257 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Rock Rapids is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,394 in 1890, 2,611 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1971 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rock Rapids, 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 Rock Rapids.
Rock Rapids pairs an A for schools with modest home prices, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has home values climbing faster than Iowa’s.
Its A for schools comes with an A for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $261K.
Its public schools are run by the Central Lyon Community School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Central Lyon Secondary School, with 358 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Lyon Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 431 | A |
| Central Lyon Secondary SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 358 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Rock Rapids has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 7° and about 35 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (23% statewide); children under 18 are 28% of residents (23% statewide). Rock Rapids has grown 4.5% since 2020, to 2,733 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 22% of Rock Rapids adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Rock Rapids | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 28% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 25% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 41 years | 38.7 years | 40.5 years |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.7 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Rock Rapids | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.6% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.3% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.9% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.5% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.6% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.1% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.2% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.2% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.7% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 42.5% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.7% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.3% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.1% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 3.6% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,700, single groups can be off by several points
The average commute for its 1,274 working residents takes 12.8 minutes, against 19.8 across Iowa.
About one in 3 of Rock Rapids’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Rock Rapids is 13 minutes. The top destinations are Rock Valley (5%), Sioux Falls (4%) and Sioux Center (4%).
| Rock Rapids | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.5% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Home values rose 43% in five years, to about $261K, against 26% across Iowa.
Typical home values rose 9.6% in the year to September 2026. Rock Rapids’ median rent is $812 a month.
| Rock Rapids | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $812 a month | $913 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
0.2 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Island Park, at 21 acres.
| Rock Rapids | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Island Park | — | 21 |
| 2. Westside Park | — | 10 |
| 3. Kiwanis Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 9,724 U.S. towns with household incomes like Rock Rapids’s, it is healthier than 72%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income. Its widest gap with Iowa is tooth loss: 7.5% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.6% statewide.
Rock Rapids beats the Iowa average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 20% of adults binge drink in Rock Rapids.
| Rock Rapids | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Rock Rapids | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.5% | 11.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Rock Rapids; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Rock Rapids residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
4 places in Rock Rapids on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Rock Rapids.
City in Iowa, United States
Rock Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,611 in the 2020 census, an increase from 2,573 in the 2000 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Rock Rapids grades A overall, better than 94% of U.S. towns and #20 of 140 in Iowa. It grades B− for health and A for schools.
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 Donald Jay Grout and Jack Halloran.
