Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Iowa. 3,382 people live in this town, settled in 1856.
Story City’s best grade is for schools (A+): its schools rank ahead of 96% of Iowa towns. Its overall grade is A, better than 91% of U.S. towns. The ranking puts it 28th of 140 in Iowa. It also does well on health (A−): it is healthier than nearly four fifths of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $283K, 3.9 years of the Ames metro’s $73K median household income. The town has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Grand Auditorium and Hotel Block and Herschel-Spillman Two-Row Portable Menagerie Carousel. Story City's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 82% of U.S. towns. 44% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in the town, where Iowa’s towns sit at 25% and U.S. towns at 29%.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Story City beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Roland-Story Elementary School | PK–4 | 446 |
| Roland-Story High School | 9–12 | 317 |
| Widest gap | Story City | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.1% | 12% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Story City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 331 in 1880, 3,352 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 2 maps from 1912 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Story 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 Story City.
Story City has schools in the top 5% of Iowa, trades workers with Ames and other neighbors and sees little violent crime.
That grade ranks #4 of the 140 Iowa towns we grade for schools.
The public schools here belong to the Roland-Story Community School District. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Roland-Story High School, with 317 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roland-Story Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 446 | A |
| Roland-Story High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 317 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
37% of adults have high blood pressure in Story City. Of 32 CDC measures, Story City beats the Iowa average on 11 and trails it on 2. Among adults locally, 14% report frequent mental distress and 19% have been diagnosed with depression. Only one of the 140 Iowa towns we compare has a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Story City.
| Story City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 32% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| What stands out | Story City | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.1% | 12% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.7% | 9.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.5% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
Story City’s level of violent crime is 0.6 per 1,000 residents. Its property offense rate is 9.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Story City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.5 per 1,000 residents | 7.2 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 10° and about 32 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Home values are up 4.7% over the year to September 2026. Homes sold in Story City spent a median 39 days on the market. For Story City, the median rent is $999 a month.
| Story City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 79% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $999 a month | $909 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Story City has about as many jobs (1,787) as working residents, but only 319 people both live and work here.
In Story City, about one in five working residents works in town. For Story City, the middle household income is $97,000. The top destinations are Ames (31%), Des Moines (5%) and Nevada (5%). Story City: 13% of residents live below the poverty line.
| Story City | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 31% | 8% |
| Median household income | $97,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The biggest park or preserve is Story City Park, at 54 acres. 6 parks and preserves cover 125 acres here.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Story City Park | — | 54 |
| 2. Jacobsen Park | — | 33 |
| 3. Story City Soccer Field | — | 25 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The FEMA risk score in Story City is 51 of 100. Flood insurance has paid out on 7 claims here since 1990. Expected losses in Story City break down as 49% from inland flooding and 23% from tornadoes. Federal aid has come to Story City households in 4 declared disasters; the latest was in 2020.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Story City. Close and well known come first.
12 mi Stadium & arenaHilton Coliseum37 mi Theme parkAdventureland
12 mi GardenReiman Gardens
17 mi MuseumChamplin Memorial Masonic Temple
22 mi GardenIowa Arboretum
36 mi MuseumGlick-Sower HouseHilton Coliseum: Johannes Cater--Jaretac (talk) 15:14, 17 June 2009 (UTC), Public domain · Reiman Gardens: GardenLover2008 (talk), CC BY 3.0 · Champlin Memorial Masonic Temple: Dan Breyfogle, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Iowa Arboretum: Ashton B Crew, CC BY 3.0 · Glick-Sower House: Daniel Hartwig, CC BY 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Story City
About 0 of every 100 Story City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
3 places in Story City on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Story City.
City in Iowa, United States
Story City is a city in Story County, Iowa. It is located within the Ames, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area which envelops Story County and combined with the Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area makes up the larger Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical Area. The population was 3,352 in the 2020 census, a slight increase from 3,228 in 2000.
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. Story City grades A overall, better than 91% of U.S. towns and #28 of 140 in Iowa. It grades A− for health, B+ for safety and A+ 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−.
3 notable people were born here, including Zach Nunn and Hank Severeid.
