IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Beacon, IA
Beacon is a tiny town of 425 people in Mahaska County, Iowa. It's about 52 miles from Des Moines, IA and 178 miles from Kansas City, MO, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 86°F and winter highs 31°F, with about 28 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $78k and rent runs about $650 a month.
425people
$78kTypical home
$650/moRent
86° / 31°Summer / winter
28"Snow
237Sunny days
95Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 425
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 547 people per sq mi
- 178 mi to Kansas City, MO
- 52 mi to Des Moines, IA
- 2 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $78k (≈$491/mo)
- Median rent $650/mo
- Median household income $56k
- Property tax about 1.3% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 86°F
- Winter highs around 31°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 63°F)
- 237 sunny days a year (88 totally clear)
- 128 cloudy days a year
- 41 of 90 winter days are gray
- 95 days a year with rain or snow
- 28" of snow a year
- 9 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 35 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (173 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (568 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 53
- 25% of households have kids
- 22% are 65 or older
- 17% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 23 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 54 mi to DSM airport
- 54 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 23 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 71% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1978
- 84% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 732 ft
- 765 mi to the ocean
- 226 mi to a big lake
- 36 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 49 mi to the nearest ski area
- 7 mi to the nearest campground
- 13 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 56 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 11 bars within 25 mi
- 20 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 15 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 33 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 27% of Iowa districts (reading)
- 2 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 1 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 35 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 2 mi to the nearest vet
- 22 mi to the nearest dog park
- 16 congregations per 10k people
- 16 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Mahaska County: R+52 in 2024
- Iowa: R+13 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- High flood risk
- Low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Moderate heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk