Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Sheldon gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $227K, 3.3 years of the county’s $68K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 77th of 140 in Iowa. 40% of working residents work locally in Sheldon, against 31% in Iowa’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Sheldon is home to Northwest Iowa Community College. Only 16 of Iowa’s 271 towns score lower on civic life.
Where Sheldon beats most towns.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Northwest Iowa Community College | 1,107 |
Carnegie LibraryEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Sheldon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 730 in 1880, 5,512 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 2 maps from 1964 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sheldon, 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 Sheldon.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 72% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Sheldon since 2010.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Sheldon Community School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Sheldon High School, with 356 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 468 | A |
| Sheldon High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 356 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Sheldon has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 7° and about 41 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Sheldon’s average trip to work is 17 minutes. The top destinations are Sioux Center (6%), Orange City (5%) and Sioux City (3%). 15% of residents live below the poverty line in Sheldon.
| Sheldon | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The violent crime rate in Sheldon is 3.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Sheldon | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.4 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 9,456 U.S. towns with household incomes like Sheldon’s, it is healthier than 69%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Sheldon beats the Iowa average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 20% of Sheldon adults binge drink.
| Sheldon | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 78% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 32% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| What stands out | Sheldon | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 9.4% | 7.3% |
| Fewer adults seeing a dentist | 62.1% | 66.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Typical home values rose 7.6% in the year to September 2026.
| Sheldon | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 67% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $930 a month | $909 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
0.4 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves.
| Sheldon | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sheldon City Park | 0.3 mi | 12 |
| 2. Hills Park | — | 15 |
| 3. Sunrise Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Sheldon
About 6 of every 100 Sheldon residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Iowa.
7 notable people were born in Sheldon.
City in Iowa, USA
Sheldon is a city in O'Brien and Sioux counties in the U.S. state of Iowa, along the Floyd River. The population was 5,512 at the time of the 2020 census; it is the largest city in O'Brien County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Sheldon grades B overall, better than 59% of U.S. towns and #77 of 140 in Iowa. It grades B− for health, C+ for safety and B+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
7 notable people were born here, including Dennis Marion Schnurr and A. G. Kruger.