Living in Manson, IA
Manson is a small town of 1,645 people in Calhoun County, Iowa. It's about 58 miles from Ames, IA and 180 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 83°F and winter highs 26°F, with about 35 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $117k and rent runs about $714 a month.
1,645people
$117kTypical home
$714/moRent
83° / 26°Summer / winter
35"Snow
237Sunny days
97Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 1,645
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 507 people per sq mi
- 180 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 58 mi to Ames, IA
- 19 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $117k (≈$737/mo)
- Median rent $714/mo
- Median household income $66k
- Property tax about 1.6% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 83°F
- Winter highs around 26°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 61°F)
- 237 sunny days a year (84 totally clear)
- 128 cloudy days a year
- 40 of 90 winter days are gray
- 97 days a year with rain or snow
- 35" of snow a year
- 14 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 46 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- Low violent crime (183 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (305 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 41
- 26% of households have kids
- 24% are 65 or older
- 26% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 23 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 18 mi to FOD airport
- 82 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 102 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 83% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1968
- 90% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 1,217 ft
- 866 mi to the ocean
- 207 mi to a big lake
- 59 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 46 mi to the nearest ski area
- 21 mi to the nearest campground
- 13 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 37 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 10 bars within 25 mi
- 5 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 1 music venue or club within 25 mi
- 12 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 78 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 13% of Iowa districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 15 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 53 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 52 mi to the nearest vet
- 52 mi to the nearest dog park
- 22 congregations per 10k people
- 35 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Calhoun County: R+47 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
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk