Living in Garwin, IA
Garwin is a tiny town of 571 people in Tama County, Iowa. It's about 32 miles from Waterloo, IA and 200 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 83°F and winter highs 27°F, with about 28 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $88k and rent runs about $750 a month.
571people
$88kTypical home
$750/moRent
83° / 27°Summer / winter
28"Snow
233Sunny days
91Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 571
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 567 people per sq mi
- 200 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 32 mi to Waterloo, IA
- 12 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $88k (≈$552/mo)
- Median rent $750/mo
- Median household income $56k
- Property tax about 1.6% of value
- 2.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 83°F
- Winter highs around 27°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
- 91 days a year with rain or snow
- 28" of snow a year
- 13 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 40 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (53 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (130 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 41
- 28% of households have kids
- 20% are 65 or older
- 15% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 5% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 24 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 35 mi to ALO airport
- 63 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 76 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 88% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1950
- 90% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 896 ft
- 820 mi to the ocean
- 184 mi to a big lake
- 42 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 56 mi to the nearest ski area
- 3 mi to the nearest campground
- 15 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 44 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 10 bars within 25 mi
- 3 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 8 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 24 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 29% of Iowa districts (reading)
- 9 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 12 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 32 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 13 mi to the nearest vet
- 11 mi to the nearest dog park
- 11 congregations per 10k people
- 31 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Tama County: R+27 in 2024
- Iowa: R+13 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- 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