SlaterIA
A town of 1,617, settled in 1887. Public schools that outperform most of Iowa.
Is Slater a good place to live?
Slater’s best subject grades are an A for incomes, schools, and health. On health, just 13 of Iowa’s 276 towns do better. Slater is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 68% of U.S. towns. On incomes, just 14 of Iowa’s 276 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is High Trestle Trail, at 26 acres. Slater has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Slater stand out
Where Slater beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Ballard West Elementary | PK–2 | 451 |
| Widest gap | Slater | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.7% | 12% |
How Slater grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Slater is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Slater: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Slater, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Slater.
Public schools in Slater beat 90% of Iowa districts
Its public schools are run by the Ballard Community School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballard West ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 451 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
Fewer of Slater’s adults sleep under 7 hours than in the typical Iowa or U.S. town
25% of Slater adults sleep under 7 hours, below both the Iowa town median (32%) and the median of U.S. towns (36%). 24% of adults binge drink in Slater. Slater beats the Iowa average on 18 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Slater | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 20% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 32% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 26% | 25% |
| What stands out | Slater | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.7% | 12% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.1% | 7.3% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 74.6% | 77.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical home in Slater is valued at about $292K
The typical Slater home is worth about $292,000, up 2.9% in a year, 24% above the Iowa typical home. 84% of Slater households own their home, above both Iowa’s towns (70%) and U.S. towns (73%). The median rent in Slater is $895 a month.
| Slater | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 84% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $895 a month | $911 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
In Slater, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Slater has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 12° and about 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
More middle-aged adults than Iowa overall
Adults 35 to 64 are 45% of residents (37% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (23% statewide). 14% of Slater residents are 65 or older. Slater has grown 5.3% since 2020, to 1,617 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Slater | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 25% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 23% | 22% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.4 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women.
| Slater | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.8% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.4% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.6% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17.1% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.6% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.8% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.5% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.4% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 0.8% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.3% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.8% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 18.6% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.4% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,600, single groups can be off by several points
Low risk in Slater, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 67% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Slater since 2018.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents commute out of Slater
Most working residents leave Slater for work: only 4% work in town. Jobs based in Slater grew to 747 in 2023, 354 more than in 2013. Slater’s median household income is $98,000.
| Slater | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3.8% | 31% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.8% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $98,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Slater | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. High Trestle Trail | — | 26 |
| 2. Earl Grim Park | 0.2 mi | 13 |
| 3. Southside Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Casey's Center and 14 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Slater. Close and well known come first.
20 mi Stadium & arenaCasey's Center
21 mi MuseumIowa State Capitol19 mi Theme parkAdventureland
10 mi Stadium & arenaHilton Coliseum
21 mi MuseumDes Moines Art Center
19 mi Stadium & arenaDrake StadiumPhoto credits
Casey's Center: Iowahwyman at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Iowa State Capitol: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Hilton Coliseum: Johannes Cater--Jaretac (talk) 15:14, 17 June 2009 (UTC), 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
Everything we know about Slater
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Slater
About 3 of every 100 Slater residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
About Slater
City in Iowa, United States
Slater is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,543 at the time of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,037 ft
- ZIP code
- 50244
- Area code
- 515
Questions about Slater
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Slater, IA a good place to live?
Public schools that outperform most of Iowa.
Is Slater, IA expensive?
Not for the area. That is 4 years of the area's median household income ($73,127 across the Ames, IA 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+.