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Melcher-Dallas is a small town of 1,176 people in Marion County, Iowa. It's about 31 miles from Des Moines, IA and 161 miles from Kansas City, MO, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 84°F and winter highs 30°F, with about 27 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $100k and rent runs about $789 a month.
1,176people
$100kTypical home
$789/moRent
84° / 30°Summer / winter
27"Snow
237Sunny days
102Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 1,176
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,131 people per sq mi
- 161 mi to Kansas City, MO
- 31 mi to Des Moines, IA
- 19 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $100k (≈$629/mo)
- Median rent $789/mo
- Median household income $59k
- Property tax about 1.5% of value
- 4.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 84°F
- Winter highs around 30°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 64°F)
- 237 sunny days a year (89 totally clear)
- 128 cloudy days a year
- 40 of 90 winter days are gray
- 102 days a year with rain or snow
- 27" of snow a year
- 10 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 33 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Low violent crime (214 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (407 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 34
- 38% of households have kids
- 17% are 65 or older
- 25% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 27 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 30 mi to DSM airport
- 30 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 45 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 89% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1942
- 90% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 935 ft
- 768 mi to the ocean
- 247 mi to a big lake
- 56 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 29 mi to the nearest ski area
- 9 mi to the nearest campground
- 9 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 35 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 14 bars within 25 mi
- 15 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 16 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 30 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 35% of Iowa districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 9 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 35 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 18 mi to the nearest vet
- 28 mi to the nearest dog park
- 13 congregations per 10k people
- 20 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Marion County: R+38 in 2024
- Iowa: R+13 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- High flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Moderate heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk