SaylorvilleIA
The town was settled in 1850 and has 3,366 residents today.
Is Saylorville a good place to live?
Plenty in its favour, and one clear drawback. Schools are where it shines: its public schools beat just over four fifths of Iowa towns on state tests and graduation. Add incomes to its strengths: the median household earns $118K. Homes run about $314K for a typical one, 3.7 times the Des Moines metro’s $86K median household income. The trade-off is walkability. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than just over four fifths of U.S. towns. All told, that adds up to an A− overall and a rank of 39th of 140 in Iowa. It comes out better than 83% of U.S. towns.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow.
What makes Saylorville stand out
Where Saylorville beats most towns.
Jobs vs. working residents
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Cottontail Creek Montessori School | PK–K | 89 |
Every workday, about 3,412 people come to Saylorville for work
Where Saylorville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Saylorville grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Saylorville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Saylorville: who provides what
Saylorville is unincorporated, so Polk County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Saylorville.
Saylorville carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Iowa (mostly inland flooding), draws workers from Des Moines and beyond and owes part of its health edge to its incomes.
Compared with most of Iowa and the rest of the country, fewer of Saylorville’s working residents work locally
3,443 jobs are based in Saylorville, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 2,321 in 2013 to 3,443.
In Saylorville, 3.7% of residents live below the poverty line. Employers in Saylorville added 1,122 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 3,443. Also worth knowing: only 8 of the 140 Iowa towns we compare have a higher median household income than Saylorville. The town’s typical journey to work comes in at 18 minutes.
| Saylorville | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 1.9% | 31% | 8% |
| Median household income | $118,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.7% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cottontail Creek Montessori School PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades PK–K | Grades PK–K | 89 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
In Saylorville, the FEMA risk score runs lower than in the typical Iowa or U.S. town
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 100% of Iowa towns; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Of the losses FEMA expects in Saylorville, 36% come from inland flooding and 31% from tornadoes.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Young adults are less common in Saylorville than in Iowa
The median household earns $117,821, against $75,059 across Iowa, one input to its B+ for jobs and income.
The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 29%, against 31% across Iowa. Adults 18 to 34 are nearly one in ten residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 50% of residents (37% statewide). Among 140 Iowa towns, just one has a higher age of the median resident than Saylorville. For residents locally, the share who are under 18 is 20%.
| Saylorville | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 50.5 years | 38.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 20% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 29% | 25% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.3 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women. Among residents 75 and older, 65% are men (IA 42%).
| Saylorville | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.1% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.1% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.2% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 4.5% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17.4% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.4% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.4% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.9% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.1% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 22% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 17.6% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.3% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.1% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,400, single groups can be off by several points
Saylorville ranks healthier than 69% of the country’s towns
Against the 6,045 U.S. towns with household incomes like Saylorville’s, it is less healthy than 64%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Among adults in Saylorville, 15% report frequent mental distress. Of 32 CDC measures, Saylorville beats the Iowa average on 10 and trails it on 3. A fifth of adults in Saylorville binge drink; 31% feel lonely.
| Saylorville | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Saylorville | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.1% | 11.6% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.2% | 7.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Saylorville, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
In July, afternoons reach 85°; in January, nights fall to 13°, and about 25 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Saylorville keeps 2.3% of its land conserved
Count the trails in 3 parks and preserves and they come to 2.2 miles. The biggest park or preserve is Margo Frankel Woods State Park, at 30 acres. In Saylorville, the trail network density is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Saylorville | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.3% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Margo Frankel Woods State Park | — | 30 |
| 2. Lee Acres | — | 6 |
| 3. Carney Marsh | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median home in Saylorville sells for about $376K
The share of households in Saylorville who are owner-occupiers: 94%.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Casey's Center and 16 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Saylorville. Close and well known come first.
6 mi Stadium & arenaCasey's Center
6 mi MuseumIowa State Capitol7 mi Theme parkAdventureland
7 mi MuseumDes Moines Art Center
5 mi Stadium & arenaDrake Stadium
11 mi Zoo & aquariumBlank Park ZooPhoto credits
Casey's Center: Iowahwyman at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Iowa State Capitol: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Des Moines Art Center: Nhandler at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Drake Stadium: U.S. Navy photo by James Woods, Public domain · Blank Park Zoo: Lawrence Lansing, CC BY-SA 4.0
Everything we know about Saylorville
Colleges nearby
6 within 15 miles of the center of Saylorville
About 1 of every 100 Saylorville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
About Saylorville
CDP in Iowa, United States
Saylorville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Saylor and Crocker townships, Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,584 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Saydel Community School District is located in this area, as is the unincorporated community of Marquisville.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 7.0 sq mi
- Elevation
- 889 ft
- Area code
- 515
Saylorville’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Saylorville.
| Town | IA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saylorville | #39 | A− | B | — | A− | B+ |
| Ankeny | #30 | A | C | B− | A | A |
Saylorville reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Saylorville with a neighbor →
Questions about Saylorville
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Saylorville, IA a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Saylorville grades A− overall, better than 83% of U.S. towns and #39 of 140 in Iowa. It grades B+ for health and A− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Saylorville, IA expensive?
The typical home is worth about $314,000, 33% above the Iowa typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.