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Elkader is a small town of 1,293 people in Clayton County, Iowa. It's about 43 miles from Dubuque, IA and 173 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 82°F and winter highs 26°F, with about 36 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $143k and rent runs about $859 a month.
1,293people
$143kTypical home
$859/moRent
82° / 26°Summer / winter
36"Snow
228Sunny days
112Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 1,293
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 946 people per sq mi
- 173 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 43 mi to Dubuque, IA
- 43 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $143k (≈$903/mo)
- Median rent $859/mo
- Median household income $63k
- Property tax about 1.6% of value
- 1.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 82°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
- 112 days a year with rain or snow
- 36" of snow a year
- 13 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 46 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (35 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (82 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 41
- 28% of households have kids
- 27% are 65 or older
- 23% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 20 min
- 8% walk or take transit to work
- 47 mi to DBQ airport
- 147 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 98 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 78% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1953
- 85% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 830 ft
- 747 mi to the ocean
- 100 mi to a big lake
- 15 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 38 mi to the nearest ski area
- Campground in town
- 12 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 45 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 8 bars within 25 mi
- 3 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 19 museums within 25 mi
- 2 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 22 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 37% of Iowa districts (reading)
- 14 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 2 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 54 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 18 mi to the nearest vet
- 19 mi to the nearest dog park
- 15 congregations per 10k people
- 20 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Clayton County: R+35 in 2024
- Iowa: R+13 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- High flood risk
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk