Living in Council Bluffs, IA
Council Bluffs is a mid-size city of 62,586 people in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. It's about 11 miles from Omaha, NE and 161 miles from Kansas City, MO, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 87°F and winter highs 33°F, with about 27 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $172k and rent runs about $1k a month.
62,586people
$172kTypical home
$1,030/moRent
87° / 33°Summer / winter
27"Snow
244Sunny days
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Size & setting
- Mid-size city of 62,586
- Part of a metro area
- About 1,457 people per sq mi
- 161 mi to Kansas City, MO
- 11 mi to Omaha, NE
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $172k (≈$1,083/mo)
- Median rent $1,030/mo
- Median household income $65k
- Property tax about 1.8% of value
- 4.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 87°F
- Winter highs around 33°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 63°F)
- 244 sunny days a year (89 totally clear)
- 121 cloudy days a year
- 36 of 90 winter days are gray
- 27" of snow a year
- 9 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- 1 day a year over 100°F
- 27 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- Above-average violent crime (521 per 100k)
- Above-average property crime (2,195 per 100k)
People
- Median age 39
- 28% of households have kids
- 18% are 65 or older
- 22% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 6% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 19 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 5 mi to OMA airport
- 5 mi to OMA (major hub)
- 4 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 72% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1965
- 85% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 978 ft
- 785 mi to the ocean
- 187 mi to a big lake
- 7 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 11 mi to the nearest ski area
- 4 mi to the nearest campground
- 58 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 620 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 226 bars within 25 mi
- 192 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 9 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 34 museums within 25 mi
- 6 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 2 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 13% of Iowa districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 4 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 4 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 6 mi to the nearest vet
- 4 mi to the nearest dog park
- 6 congregations per 10k people
- 5 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Pottawattamie County: R+20 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
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Moderate heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk