Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Sioux City earns a D, 129th of 140 graded towns in Iowa, mostly because of safety and schools. Its police reported 429 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 92% of U.S. towns. Its public schools trail 86% of Iowa towns on state tests and graduation. What it does well: it has 42 miles of trail. 54% of working residents work locally in Sioux City, above both the Iowa town median (31%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Sergeant Floyd Monument and Woodbury County Courthouse. Only 25 of Iowa’s 276 towns score higher on walkability.
Where Sioux City beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Sergeant Floyd Monument| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Western Iowa Tech Community College | 3,352 |
| Morningside University | 1,127 |
| Briar Cliff University | 757 |
Sergeant Floyd Monument is one of 3 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier. Its 49 National Register listings are more than in 95% of Iowa towns with a listing.
Census counts: 3,401 in 1870, 85,797 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1832 and 2 maps from 1955 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Sioux City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sioux City, 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 Sioux City.
Violent crime runs at 4.9 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Iowa rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D. Property crime runs at 28 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Iowa rate, most of it theft.
Sioux City’s property crime rate is 28 per 1,000 residents. Only 6 of the 115 Iowa towns we compare have a higher violent crime rate than Sioux City. Sioux City reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 92% report less.
| Sioux City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 28 per 1,000 residents | 7.2 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Sioux City Community School District. Three of its 29 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,136 | D |
| North High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,529 | C− |
| Sunnyside Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 244 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Stone State Park, at 1,422 acres with 12.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. The trail density in Sioux City is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Sioux City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.5% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stone State Park | 12.8 mi | 1,422 |
| 2. Bacon Creek Park | 7 mi | 232 |
| 3. Sioux City State Prairie Preserve | 1.7 mi | 149 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Sioux City beats the Iowa average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 12% of Sioux City adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Only 7 of the 140 Iowa towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Sioux City.
| Sioux City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 7% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 12% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Sioux City | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.3% | 8.7% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 24.3% | 27% |
| More uninsured adults | 12.3% | 7.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Sioux City has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 10° and about 36 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
15% of residents live below the poverty line in Sioux City. The top destinations are South Sioux City (5%), North Sioux City (4%) and Le Mars (4%).
| Sioux City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 5% | 8.5% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Sioux City home is worth about $201,000, up 2.6% in a year, 15% below the Iowa typical home.
| Sioux City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 65% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $976 a month | $909 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 43% | 42% | 48% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Iowa average. 23% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Iowa.
| Sioux City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 34.9 years | 38.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 26% | 23% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 25% | 29% |
49.7% women, 50.3% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±0.4 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women. Median age: women 36.0, men 33.7.
| Sioux City | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.1% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.9% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.1% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.9% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.7% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.4% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.9% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 14.4% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.5% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.4% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.8% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 152 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sioux City.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
4 within 15 miles of the center of Sioux City
About 5 of every 100 Sioux City residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Iowa.
4 colleges in town.
49 places in Sioux City on the National Register of Historic Places.
48 notable people were born in Sioux City.
City in Iowa, United States
Sioux City ( SOO) is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 86,875 in 2024, making it the fourth-most populous city in Iowa. The county seat of Woodbury County, Sioux City is the primary city of the five-county Sioux City metropolitan area, which had 144,334 residents on the 2020 census. Sioux City and the surrounding areas of northwestern Iowa, northeastern Nebraska and southeastern South Dakota are sometimes referred to collectively as Siouxland. Sioux City is located at the navigational head of the Missouri River. The city is home to several cultural points of interest including the Sioux City…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Sioux City.
| Town | IA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux City | #129 | D | B | D | D | C |
| Sergeant Bluff | #18 | A+ | C+ | — | A | A− |
Sergeant Bluff reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Sioux City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sioux City grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #129 of 140 in Iowa. It grades C for health, D for safety and D for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 2.7 years of the area's median household income ($75,192 across the Sioux City, IA-NE-SD metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
48 notable people were born here, including Alan J. Heeger and W. Edwards Deming.
