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Small town

Living in Central City, IA

Central City is a small town of 1,356 people in Linn County, Iowa. It's about 18 miles from Cedar Rapids, IA and 190 miles from Milwaukee, WI, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 84°F and winter highs 27°F, with about 34 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $180k and rent runs about $782 a month.

1,356people
$180kTypical home
$782/moRent
84° / 27°Summer / winter
34"Snow
228Sunny days
118Rain/snow days

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Size & setting

  • Small town of 1,356
  • Part of a metro area
  • About 1,263 people per sq mi
  • 190 mi to Milwaukee, WI
  • 18 mi to Cedar Rapids, IA
  • 11 mi to the nearest town of 10k+

Money

  • Typical home $180k (≈$1,133/mo)
  • Median rent $782/mo
  • Median household income $85k
  • Property tax about 1.6% of value
  • 4.0% unemployment

Weather

  • Summer highs around 84°F
  • Winter highs around 27°F
  • Somewhat humid summers (dew point 63°F)
  • 228 sunny days a year (80 totally clear)
  • 137 cloudy days a year
  • 44 of 90 winter days are gray
  • 118 days a year with rain or snow
  • 34" of snow a year
  • 11 days a year with 1"+ of snow
  • Rarely hits 100°F
  • 42 nights a year below 10°F
  • Breezy

Safety

  • Low violent crime (202 per 100k), county-wide
  • Low property crime (1,460 per 100k), county-wide

People

  • Median age 37
  • 33% of households have kids
  • 18% are 65 or older
  • 23% have a college degree
  • Not very diverse
  • 4% of residents are college students

Getting around & homes

  • Average commute 26 min
  • 2% walk or take transit to work
  • 24 mi to CID airport
  • 119 mi to DSM (major hub)
  • 85 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
  • 79% single-family homes
  • Typical home built around 1959
  • 87% of homes have broadband

Outdoors

  • Flat, open land
  • Elevation 840 ft
  • 787 mi to the ocean
  • 139 mi to a big lake
  • 13 mi to the nearest trailhead
  • 42 mi to the nearest ski area
  • Campground in town
  • 22 golf courses within 25 mi

Things to do

  • 224 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
  • 39 bars within 25 mi
  • 51 coffee shops within 25 mi
  • No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
  • 16 museums within 25 mi
  • 1 brewery or distillery within 25 mi
  • 17 mi to the nearest farmers market

Everyday

  • Schools in the bottom 25% of Iowa districts (reading)
  • Grocery store in town
  • 13 mi to the nearest ER hospital
  • 14 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
  • 13 mi to the nearest vet
  • 13 mi to the nearest dog park
  • 6 congregations per 10k people
  • 16 mi to the nearest college

Politics

  • Linn County: D+10 in 2024
  • Iowa: R+13 in 2024

Natural hazards

  • Very low hurricane risk
  • High tornado risk
  • Very low wildfire risk
  • Very low earthquake risk
  • Moderate flood risk
  • Low drought risk
  • High winter storm risk
  • Moderate heat wave risk
  • Very low volcano risk

Places near Central City

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