IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Country around Elma, IA
Country around Elma is a rural area of about 1,423 people in Howard County, Iowa, named for the post office its ZIP code uses. It's about 51 miles from Rochester, MN and 125 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 82°F and winter highs 24°F, with about 38 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $154k and rent runs about $672 a month.
1,423people
$154kTypical home
$672/moRent
82° / 24°Summer / winter
38"Snow
230Sunny days
91Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Rural — about 1,423 people spread over the area
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 13 people per sq mi
- 125 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 51 mi to Rochester, MN
- 38 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $154k (≈$968/mo)
- Median rent $672/mo
- Median household income $69k
- Property tax about 1.2% of value
- 1.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 82°F
- Winter highs around 24°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 61°F)
- 230 sunny days a year (77 totally clear)
- 135 cloudy days a year
- 41 of 90 winter days are gray
- 91 days a year with rain or snow
- 38" of snow a year
- 14 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 48 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- Low violent crime (222 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (307 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 39
- 34% of households have kids
- 21% are 65 or older
- 15% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 26 min
- 4% walk or take transit to work
- 44 mi to RST airport
- 118 mi to MSP (major hub)
- 121 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 91% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1967
- 77% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 1,260 ft
- 756 mi to the ocean
- 125 mi to a big lake
- 41 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 67 mi to the nearest ski area
- 10 mi to the nearest campground
- 11 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 20 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 4 bars within 25 mi
- Few or no coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 10 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 28 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 44% of Iowa districts (reading)
- 15 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 13 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 47 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 20 mi to the nearest vet
- 22 mi to the nearest dog park
- 16 congregations per 10k people
- 38 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Howard County: R+32 in 2024
- Iowa: R+13 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very 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