Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 11,590, settled in 1869.
Storm Lake gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $176K for a typical one, or 2.5 years of the Storm Lake area’s $72K median household income. It grades C overall, 108th of 140 graded towns in Iowa. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its schools rank among the lowest in Iowa on tests and graduation. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 70% of working residents work locally in Storm Lake, above both Iowa’s towns (31%) and U.S. towns (8%). Only 26 of Iowa’s 276 towns score higher on walkability. Storm Lake is home to Buena Vista University.
Where Storm Lake beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Storm Lake Elementary | 2–5 | 822 |
| Storm Lake Early Elementary School | K–1 | 437 |
| Von Der Becke Academy Corp | 1–5 | 3 |
Where Storm Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Storm Lake is from typical.
Its grades run from A for hazard risk (better than 86% of comparable towns) to D− for schools (better than 1%), so the C overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,034 in 1880, 11,269 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and 2 maps from 1979 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Storm Lake, 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 Storm Lake.
Its public schools are run by the Storm Lake Community School District. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Storm Lake High School, with 851 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storm Lake ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 822 | D |
| Storm Lake High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 851 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
8,908 jobs are based in Storm Lake, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 10.1 minutes, against 19.8 across Iowa.
The average trip to work in Storm Lake is 10 minutes. Since 2013, Storm Lake has added 1,460 jobs, to 8,908 in 2023. 4.3% of Storm Lake workers work from home.
| Storm Lake | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 10 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 4.3% | 8.5% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
17% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Storm Lake. Among 140 Iowa towns, just 6 have a lower share of adults who had a checkup this year than Storm Lake. 38% of adults feel lonely in Storm Lake.
| Storm Lake | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 7% | 8.1% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 32% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 12% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 26% | 25% |
| What stands out | Storm Lake | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.8% | 8.7% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 21.7% | 27% |
| More uninsured adults | 17.3% | 7.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Storm Lake home is worth about $176,000, down 0.5% in a year, 25% below the Iowa typical home. Storm Lake’s median rent is $898 a month.
| Storm Lake | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 66% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $898 a month | $913 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Storm Lake has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 9° and about 31 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.1 miles of trail in 14 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Sunrise Park, at 28 acres.
| Storm Lake | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. AWAYSIS Park | 0.4 mi | 8 |
| 2. Sunrise Park | — | 28 |
| 3. Frank Starr Park | 0.2 mi | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Storm Lake
About 7 of every 100 Storm Lake residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Iowa.
5 places in Storm Lake on the National Register of Historic Places.
13 notable people were born in Storm Lake.
City in Iowa, United States
Storm Lake is a city in and the county seat of Buena Vista County, Iowa, United States. The population was 11,269 in the 2020 census, an increase from 10,076 in the 2000 census. It has one of the only cities in Iowa with a non-white majority population. Located along the northern shore of Storm Lake, the city is home to King's Pointe Waterpark Resort, the Living Heritage Tree Museum, the Santa's Castle holiday attraction, and Buena Vista University, a private university. Housing a large Tyson Foods meatpacking plant, the town is responsible for some 3.5% of pork production in the United States.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Storm Lake.
| Town | IA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storm Lake | #108 | C | A− | C | D− | C |
| Lakeside | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Lakeside isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Storm Lake with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Storm Lake grades C overall, better than 28% of U.S. towns and #108 of 140 in Iowa. It grades C for health, C for safety and D− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D−.
The public schools Storm Lake children attend trail 100% of Iowa districts on state tests and graduation, a D− School Grade.
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−.
13 notable people were born here, including Steve King and Janet Dailey.
