This article, the forty-sixth in a 50-state series, ranks the best places to live in Iowa based on three criteria: (1) median household income (adjusted for cost of living); (2) educational attainment (% of residents 25 years and over who have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher); and (3) property crime rates per 1,000 residents (burglary and automobile thefts). For purposes of these rankings, “places” are incorporated municipalities with populations greater than 2,000.
Among the twenty best places to live in Iowa, twelve are suburbs of Des Moines, two are suburbs of Cedar Rapids, two are suburbs of Davenport, one is a suburb of Ames, one is a suburb of Dubuque, one is a suburb of Iowa City, and one is a suburb of Waterloo.
By county, nine of the best places to live in Iowa are located in or partially in Polk County, five in or partially in Dallas County, two each in Linn and Scott counties, two in or partially in Warren County, and one each in Black Hawk, Dubuque, Johnson, Marion, and Story counties.
Clive, IA (Dallas County and Polk County)
Population: 14,628
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $108,796
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 60.4%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 4.9
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 11 miles E
Ames, IA: 43 miles NNE
Johnston, IA (Polk County)
Population: 14,968
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $96,477
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 49.3%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 2.45
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 10 miles SE
Ames, IA: 32 miles NNE
Robins, IA (Linn County)
Population: 2,700
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $102,421
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 44.4%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 3.06*
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 124 miles SW
Cedar Rapids, IA: 10 miles S
Mount Vernon, IA (Linn County)
Population: 4,145
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $81,169
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 47.0%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 1.19
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 129 miles WSW
Cedar Rapids, IA: 17 miles WNW
West Des Moines, IA (Polk County and Dallas County)
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West Des Moines, IA (Polk County and Dallas County) – image by apartments.com
West Des Moines, IA (Polk County and Dallas County) – image by apartments.comPopulation: 57,912
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $87,372
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 49.6%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 4.18
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 7 miles ENE
Ames, IA: 42 miles N
Asbury, IA (Dubuque County)
Population: 3,738
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $87,209
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 37.9%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 1.29
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 195 miles SW
Dubuque, IA: 5 miles SE
Urbandale, IA (Polk County and Dallas County)
Population: 40,936
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $80,501
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 47.6%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 4.3
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 7 miles ESE
Ames, IA: 39 miles NNE
Ankeny, IA (Polk County)
Population: 41,651
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $72,113
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 47.8%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 2.57
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 12 miles S
Ames, IA: 22 miles N
Polk, IA (Polk County)
Population: 3,086
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $90,121
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 41.2%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 4.22
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 16 miles SSE
Ames, IA: 38 miles N
Waukee, IA (Dallas County)
Population: 11,510
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $81,891
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 50.0%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 8.04
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 15 miles E
Ames, IA: 46 miles NNE
Hudson, IA (Black Hawk County)
Population: 2,347
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $82,789
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 38.8%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 3.5*
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 102 miles SW
Waterloo, IA: 9 miles NE
North Liberty, IA (Johnson County)
Population: 10,796
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $60,942
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 47.0%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 3.02
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 111 miles W
Iowa City, IA: 9 miles SE
Pella, IA (Marion County)
Population: 10,217
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $66,404
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 38.1%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 1.95
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 43 miles NW
Ames, IA: 74 miles NW
Bettendorf, IA (Scott County)
Population: 32,759
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $63,241
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 44.4%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 3.94
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 170 miles W
Davenport, IA: 7 miles SW
Norwalk, IA (Warren County)
Population: 8,466
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $75,913
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 29.2%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 1.55
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 13 miles N
Ames, IA: 51 miles N
Windsor Heights, IA (Polk County)
Population: 4,578
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $65,950
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 43.7%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 6.28
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 7 miles E
Ames, IA: 41 miles N
Eldridge, IA (Scott County)
Population: 4,743
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $71,649
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 37.3%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 5.04
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 168 miles W
Davenport, IA: 10 miles S
Grimes, IA (Dallas County and Polk County)
Population: 7,695
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $82,726
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 34.2%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 6.41
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 16 miles SE
Ames, IA: 37 miles NNE
Huxley, IA (Story County)
Population: 2,702
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $74,841
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 36.5%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 5.74*
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 23 miles S
Ames, IA : 10 miles N
Bondurant, IA (Polk County)
Population: 2,630
Median household income (adjusted for cost of living): $67,778
Bachelor’s degree or higher (25 years and over): 30.8%
Property crime rate per 1,000 residents (burglary and auto thefts): 4.78
Distance to Familiar Cities:
Des Moines, IA: 13 miles SW
Ames, IA: 34 miles NNW
*In some cases, municipalities do not report their crime statistics to the FBI or they contract for services with the state or a county law enforcement agency. For those towns, crime rates are extrapolated from municipal, county, state, or contiguous municipality data.
The sources used in support of this article include the latest 1, 3, and 5-year estimates from the U.S. Census and the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report.
