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Ely is a small town of 2,186 people in Linn County, Iowa. It's about 8 miles from Cedar Rapids, IA and 201 miles from Chicago, IL, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 84°F and winter highs 29°F, with about 30 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $312k and rent runs about $936 a month.
2,186people
$312kTypical home
$936/moRent
84° / 29°Summer / winter
30"Snow
233Sunny days
104Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 2,186
- Part of a metro area
- About 1,297 people per sq mi
- 201 mi to Chicago, IL
- 8 mi to Cedar Rapids, IA
- 8 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $312k (≈$1,967/mo)
- Median rent $936/mo
- Median household income $106k
- Property tax about 1.5% of value
- 2.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 84°F
- Winter highs around 29°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 63°F)
- 233 sunny days a year (86 totally clear)
- 132 cloudy days a year
- 41 of 90 winter days are gray
- 104 days a year with rain or snow
- 30" of snow a year
- 10 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 34 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Low violent crime (202 per 100k), county-wide
- Low property crime (1,460 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 38
- 36% of households have kids
- 14% are 65 or older
- 37% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 3% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 6 mi to CID airport
- 109 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 63 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 85% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 2000
- 94% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 794 ft
- 787 mi to the ocean
- 160 mi to a big lake
- 9 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 54 mi to the nearest ski area
- 4 mi to the nearest campground
- 26 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 363 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 61 bars within 25 mi
- 97 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 31 museums within 25 mi
- 2 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 7 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 33% of Iowa districts (reading)
- 7 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 6 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 6 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 7 mi to the nearest vet
- 5 mi to the nearest dog park
- 6 congregations per 10k people
- 9 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Linn 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
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Moderate heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk