Living in Elgin, IA
Elgin is a tiny town of 735 people in Fayette County, Iowa. It's about 48 miles from Waterloo, IA and 161 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 83°F and winter highs 26°F, with about 40 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $99k and rent runs about $710 a month.
735people
$99kTypical home
$710/moRent
83° / 26°Summer / winter
40"Snow
228Sunny days
105Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 735
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,084 people per sq mi
- 161 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 48 mi to Waterloo, IA
- 45 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $99k (≈$623/mo)
- Median rent $710/mo
- Median household income $55k
- Property tax about 1.7% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 83°F
- Winter highs around 26°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 62°F)
- 228 sunny days a year (80 totally clear)
- 137 cloudy days a year
- 44 of 90 winter days are gray
- 105 days a year with rain or snow
- 40" of snow a year
- 13 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 49 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (156 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (270 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 52
- 18% of households have kids
- 28% are 65 or older
- 20% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 2% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 21 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 48 mi to ALO airport
- 143 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 104 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 82% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1973
- 85% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 810 ft
- 748 mi to the ocean
- 104 mi to a big lake
- 24 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 51 mi to the nearest ski area
- Campground in town
- 12 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 35 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- Few or no coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 17 museums within 25 mi
- 2 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 9 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 37% of Iowa districts (reading)
- 9 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 10 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 48 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 25 mi to the nearest vet
- 25 mi to the nearest dog park
- 13 congregations per 10k people
- 12 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Fayette County: R+31 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
Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.