Living in Badger, IA
Badger is a tiny town of 433 people in Webster County, Iowa. It's about 49 miles from Ames, IA and 168 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 83°F and winter highs 25°F, with about 39 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $143k and rent runs about $750 a month.
433people
$143kTypical home
$750/moRent
83° / 25°Summer / winter
39"Snow
237Sunny days
106Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 433
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 385 people per sq mi
- 168 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 49 mi to Ames, IA
- 7 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $143k (≈$900/mo)
- Median rent $750/mo
- Median household income $73k
- Property tax about 1.4% of value
- 4.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 83°F
- Winter highs around 25°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 61°F)
- 237 sunny days a year (84 totally clear)
- 128 cloudy days a year
- 40 of 90 winter days are gray
- 106 days a year with rain or snow
- 39" of snow a year
- 16 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 47 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- High violent crime (721 per 100k), county-wide
- About average property crime (2,020 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 43
- 23% of households have kids
- 21% are 65 or older
- 24% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 5% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 21 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 5 mi to FOD airport
- 79 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 108 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 87% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1966
- 86% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 1,152 ft
- 849 mi to the ocean
- 225 mi to a big lake
- 60 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 42 mi to the nearest ski area
- 10 mi to the nearest campground
- 12 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 41 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 10 bars within 25 mi
- 8 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 1 music venue or club within 25 mi
- 9 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 84 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 4% of Iowa districts (reading)
- 7 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 8 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 49 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 31 mi to the nearest vet
- 36 mi to the nearest dog park
- 10 congregations per 10k people
- 42 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Webster County: R+31 in 2024
- Iowa: R+13 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- High flood risk
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk