Living in Garrison, IA
Garrison is a tiny town of 286 people in Benton County, Iowa. It's about 26 miles from Waterloo, IA and 203 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 82°F and winter highs 26°F, with about 33 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $73k and rent runs about $775 a month.
286people
$73kTypical home
$775/moRent
82° / 26°Summer / winter
33"Snow
233Sunny days
103Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 286
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 929 people per sq mi
- 203 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 26 mi to Waterloo, IA
- 26 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $73k (≈$460/mo)
- Median rent $775/mo
- Median household income $60k
- Property tax about 1.3% of value
- 4.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 82°F
- Winter highs around 26°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 63°F)
- 233 sunny days a year (82 totally clear)
- 132 cloudy days a year
- 42 of 90 winter days are gray
- 103 days a year with rain or snow
- 33" of snow a year
- 12 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 36 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (136 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (311 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 41
- 31% of households have kids
- 21% are 65 or older
- 19% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 3% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 29 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 29 mi to CID airport
- 89 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 79 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 90% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1938
- 89% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 879 ft
- 809 mi to the ocean
- 162 mi to a big lake
- 31 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 72 mi to the nearest ski area
- 12 mi to the nearest campground
- 12 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 71 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 21 bars within 25 mi
- 8 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 11 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 25 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 16% of Iowa districts (reading)
- 6 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 7 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 24 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 19 mi to the nearest vet
- 25 mi to the nearest dog park
- 11 congregations per 10k people
- 26 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Benton County: R+33 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
- Moderate heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk