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Chelsea is a tiny town of 404 people in Tama County, Iowa. It's about 37 miles from Cedar Rapids, IA and 215 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 84°F and winter highs 28°F, with about 30 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $44k and rent runs about $872 a month.
404people
$44kTypical home
$872/moRent
84° / 28°Summer / winter
30"Snow
237Sunny days
100Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 404
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 399 people per sq mi
- 215 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 37 mi to Cedar Rapids, IA
- 27 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $44k (≈$274/mo)
- Median rent $872/mo
- Median household income $40k
- Property tax about 1.4% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 84°F
- Winter highs around 28°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
- 100 days a year with rain or snow
- 30" of snow a year
- 11 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 39 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (53 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (130 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 32
- 44% of households have kids
- 16% are 65 or older
- 14% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 2% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 30 min
- 1% walk or take transit to work
- 35 mi to CID airport
- 70 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 62 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 94% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1938
- 77% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 797 ft
- 806 mi to the ocean
- 182 mi to a big lake
- 32 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 63 mi to the nearest ski area
- 10 mi to the nearest campground
- 9 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 22 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- 3 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 1 music venue or club within 25 mi
- 9 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 21 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 39% of Iowa districts (reading)
- 6 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 18 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 36 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 21 mi to the nearest vet
- 10 mi to the nearest dog park
- 11 congregations per 10k people
- 37 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Tama County: R+27 in 2024
- Iowa: R+13 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.