IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Collins, IA
Collins is a tiny town of 533 people in Story County, Iowa. It's about 18 miles from Ames, IA and 203 miles from Kansas City, MO, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 83°F and winter highs 27°F, with about 30 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $159k and rent runs about $862 a month.
533people
$159kTypical home
$862/moRent
83° / 27°Summer / winter
30"Snow
237Sunny days
96Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 533
- Part of a metro area
- About 1,092 people per sq mi
- 203 mi to Kansas City, MO
- 18 mi to Ames, IA
- 18 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $159k (≈$1,004/mo)
- Median rent $862/mo
- Median household income $68k
- Property tax about 1.4% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 83°F
- Winter highs around 27°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 63°F)
- 237 sunny days a year (89 totally clear)
- 128 cloudy days a year
- 40 of 90 winter days are gray
- 96 days a year with rain or snow
- 30" of snow a year
- 13 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 39 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (87 per 100k), county-wide
- Low property crime (985 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 32
- 28% of households have kids
- 11% are 65 or older
- 35% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 17% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 25 min
- 6% walk or take transit to work
- 31 mi to DSM airport
- 31 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 77 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 70% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1956
- 85% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 991 ft
- 814 mi to the ocean
- 216 mi to a big lake
- 40 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 25 mi to the nearest ski area
- 7 mi to the nearest campground
- 26 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 200 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 54 bars within 25 mi
- 65 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 1 music venue or club within 25 mi
- 24 museums within 25 mi
- 7 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 19 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 38% of Iowa districts (reading)
- 10 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 11 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 17 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 11 mi to the nearest vet
- 17 mi to the nearest dog park
- 7 congregations per 10k people
- 18 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Story 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
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Moderate heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk