Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,358, settled in 1888. A regional job hub with 5,181 jobs.
Trash & recyclingWest Burlington earns a D, ranked 130th of 140 in Iowa, mostly because of safety and schools. Its crime rate is higher than 99% of U.S. towns, with 5 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Its schools rank behind 96% of the state's. In its favor, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 95% of U.S. towns. West Burlington’s property crime rate is 79.4 per 1,000 residents, above both the Iowa town median (7.2) and the median of U.S. towns (9.9). Only 13 of Iowa’s 276 towns score higher on hazard risk. West Burlington is home to Southeastern Community College.
Where West Burlington beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Iowa), ordered by how far West Burlington is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D− for safety (better than 1%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 836 in 1890, 3,197 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1934 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Burlington, 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 West Burlington.
West Burlington draws workers from Burlington and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has poverty well above the Iowa rate.
Property crime runs at 79.4 per 1,000 residents, 7 times the Iowa rate, most of it theft. Reported crimes fell from 368 to 264 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
West Burlington reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 99% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the West Burlington Ind School District. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is West Burlington Arnold Jr./Sr. High School, with 396 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Burlington Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 479 | A− |
| West Burlington Arnold Jr./Sr. High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 396 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state tests and graduation
5,181 jobs are based in West Burlington, 3.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 5 of West Burlington’s working residents works in town. 24% of West Burlington residents live below the poverty line. Among 140 Iowa towns, just 5 have a lower median household income than West Burlington.
| West Burlington | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 24% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 31% | 8% |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 80% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in West Burlington since 2018.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical value, about $173K, is 9% below its December 2022 peak. At about $173K, home values are up 0% in five years, against a rise of 26% across Iowa.
The typical West Burlington home is worth about $173,000, up 2.7% in a year, 27% below the Iowa typical home. West Burlington’s median rent is $800 a month.
| West Burlington | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $800 a month | $913 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
West Burlington has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 16° and about 22 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 5,225 U.S. towns with household incomes like West Burlington’s, it is healthier than 79%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
West Burlington beats the Iowa average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 31% of adults get no exercise outside work in West Burlington. Only 4 of the 140 Iowa towns we compare have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than West Burlington.
| West Burlington | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 26% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 12% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 20% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | West Burlington | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.7% | 77.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 18.8% | 11.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
23.8% of residents live below the poverty line, against 11.1% across Iowa, which weighs on its C for jobs and income.
Adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 33% of residents (37% statewide). West Burlington has grown 4.9% since 2020, to 3,358 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 25% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 31% across Iowa.
| West Burlington | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 20% | 23% | 22% |
| Median age | 38 years | 38.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 25% | 29% |
46% women, 54% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.9 points. Across Iowa, 49.8% of residents are women.
| West Burlington | IA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.6% | 12.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.3% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 16.1% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.8% | 12.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.1% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 5.7% | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.7% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.4% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12.4% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.1% | 6.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 37.2% | 30% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.2% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.5% | 12.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.8% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.2% | 10.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,400, single groups can be off by several points
0.4 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The trail density in West Burlington is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| West Burlington | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 3.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Burlington Community Park | — | 13 |
| 2. Pat Klein Park | 0.2 mi | 3 |
| 3. Luers Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of West Burlington
About 8 of every 100 West Burlington residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
Where West Burlington’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Iowa, USA
West Burlington is a city in Des Moines County, Iowa, United States, adjacent to the Mississippi River city of Burlington. The population was 3,197 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Burlington, IA–IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with West Burlington.
| Town | IA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Burlington | #130 | D | B | D− | D− | C+ |
| Burlington | #118 | C− | B+ | C− | D− | C+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
West Burlington grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #130 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 2.8 years of the area's median household income ($62,811 across the Burlington, IA-IL 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.