Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Waterloo earns a D, ranked 137th of 140 in Iowa, mostly because of schools and safety. Its public schools trail 96% of Iowa towns on state tests and graduation. It reports more crime per resident than 87% of U.S. towns, including 317 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. What it does well: it has 44 miles of trail. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 30 places on the National Register. 53% of working residents work locally in Waterloo, above both the Iowa town median (31%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Campbell Baking Company and Waterloo Public Library (West Branch). Only 8 of Iowa’s 271 towns score lower on civic life.
Where Waterloo beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Snowden House
Lou Henry Hoover| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Kittrell Elementary School | PK–5 | 576 |
| Lowell Elementary School | PK–5 | 538 |
| Orange Elementary School | PK–5 | 518 |
Census counts: 4,337 in 1870, 67,314 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1868 and 2 maps from 1963 on.
30 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far Waterloo is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Waterloo, 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 Waterloo.
Waterloo draws workers from Cedar Falls and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
Its public schools are run by the Waterloo Community School District. Two of its 22 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoover Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 848 | B |
| West High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,696 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
44,272 jobs are based in Waterloo, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Waterloo’s average trip to work is 16 minutes. Since 2013, Waterloo has lost 4,636 jobs, to 44,272 in 2023. 17% of residents live below the poverty line in Waterloo.
| Waterloo | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.6% | 8.5% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
George Wyth Memorial State Park, at 851 acres with 11.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. The trail density in Waterloo is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Waterloo | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.3% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. George Wyth Memorial State Park | 11.1 mi | 851 |
| 2. Black Hawk Creek Greenbelt | 7.3 mi | 577 |
| 3. Hartman Reserve Nature Center | 6.6 mi | 341 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Property crime runs at 25.4 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Iowa rate, most of it theft.
Only 7 of the 115 Iowa towns we compare have a higher violent crime rate than Waterloo. Waterloo reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 87% report less. Only 8 of the 115 Iowa towns we compare have a higher property crime rate than Waterloo.
| Waterloo | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 25.4 per 1,000 residents | 7.2 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 2.1 years of the Waterloo metro’s $71K median household income, the typical home (about $146K) costs less against local pay than in 87% of Iowa towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
The typical Waterloo home is worth about $146,000, about the same as a year ago, 38% below the Iowa typical home. 62% of Waterloo households own their home.
| Waterloo | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $923 a month | $909 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 45% | 42% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 8,165 U.S. towns with household incomes like Waterloo’s, it is less healthy than 55%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Waterloo beats the Iowa average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. Only 5 of the 140 Iowa towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have obesity than Waterloo.
| Waterloo | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 12% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Waterloo | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.8% | 8.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 9.7% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
233 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 28 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 69% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 233 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Waterloo.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Waterloo has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 9° and about 39 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Iowa average. 22% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Iowa.
| Waterloo | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 36.7 years | 38.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 25% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 25% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 19% | 18% |
51.0% women, 49.0% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.2, men 36.4.
| Waterloo | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.3% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.2% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.1% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.9% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.2% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.9% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.3% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.1% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.9% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.4% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.5% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.1% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.1% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.8% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Waterloo. Close and well known come first.
30 mi MuseumCedar Rock State Park
in town GardenCedar Valley Arboretum & Botanic Gardens
6 mi MuseumCedar Falls Ice HouseCedar Rock State Park: Orange Suede Sofa, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cedar Valley Arboretum & Botanic Gardens: Cedarvalleyarboretum, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cedar Falls Ice House: RifeIdeas, CC BY-SA 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Waterloo
About 3 of every 100 Waterloo residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
2 colleges in town.
30 places in Waterloo on the National Register of Historic Places.
61 notable people were born in Waterloo.
City in Iowa, US
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. It is the eighth-most populous city in Iowa, with a population of 67,314 at the 2020 census. Waterloo comprises a twin conurbation with neighboring municipality Cedar Falls, and is the larger of the two cities. The Waterloo – Cedar Falls metropolitan area has an estimated 170,000 residents. Waterloo is bisected into eastern and western halves by the Cedar River flowing southeastward. Waterloo is a major manufacturing, commercial, and cultural center in Northeast Iowa. John Deere, a brand renowned for its tractors, engines, and other agricultural machinery, has been manufacturing its products in the city for…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Waterloo.
| Town | IA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo | #137 | D | B | D | D− | C |
| Evansdale | #140 | D | B | C+ | D− | D |
| Cedar Falls | #46 | A− | C− | — | A− | A− |
Cedar Falls reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Waterloo with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Waterloo grades D overall, better than 9% of U.S. towns and #137 of 140 in Iowa. It grades C for health, D for safety and D− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 2.1 years of the area's median household income ($70,811 across the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, 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.
61 notable people were born here, including Lou Henry Hoover and Michele Bachmann.
