Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 264, settled in 1882.
No town among the 141 in Iowa we compare has a lower share of working residents who work in town than Yale. Yale High School Gymnasium is on the National Register of Historic Places. Yale has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Census counts: 273 in 1910, 267 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 3 maps from 1954 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Yale, 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 Yale.
Most working residents leave Yale for work: only 1% work in town. Since 2013, Yale has lost 25 jobs, to 17 in 2023. At 24 minutes, Yale’s average trip to work is where Iowa’s towns sit at 19 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes.
| Yale | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 19 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Yale has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 11° and about 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Yale home is worth about $191,000, up 6.9% in a year, 19% below the Iowa typical home. At $775 a month, Yale’s median rent is close to Iowa’s towns ($911 a month) and below U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). 80% of Yale households own their home.
| Yale | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 80% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $775 a month | $911 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 61% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Yale beats the Iowa average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 20% of adults binge drink in Yale. Among 141 Iowa towns, just 7 have a lower share of adults who feel lonely than Yale.
| Yale | Iowa towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 20% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Yale | IA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults seeing a dentist | 72.2% | 66.8% |
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 86.6% | 84.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Yale; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Yale residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Iowa.
Where Yale’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Iowa, United States
Yale is a city in Guthrie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 267 in the 2020 census, a decline from 287 in 2000. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yale has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.