Living in Ottumwa, IA
Ottumwa is a small city of 25,430 people in Wapello County, Iowa. It's about 64 miles from Iowa City, IA and 173 miles from Kansas City, MO, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 86°F and winter highs 33°F, with about 24 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $106k and rent runs about $921 a month.
25,430people
$106kTypical home
$921/moRent
86° / 33°Summer / winter
24"Snow
237Sunny days
109Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small city of 25,430
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 1,583 people per sq mi
- 173 mi to Kansas City, MO
- 64 mi to Iowa City, IA
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $106k (≈$670/mo)
- Median rent $921/mo
- Median household income $61k
- Property tax about 1.7% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 86°F
- Winter highs around 33°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 64°F)
- 237 sunny days a year (88 totally clear)
- 128 cloudy days a year
- 41 of 90 winter days are gray
- 109 days a year with rain or snow
- 24" of snow a year
- 8 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 28 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Low violent crime (272 per 100k)
- Above-average property crime (2,162 per 100k)
People
- Median age 37
- 35% of households have kids
- 16% are 65 or older
- 21% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 19 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 64 mi to IRK airport
- 73 mi to DSM (major hub)
- Amtrak station in town
- 75% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1955
- 86% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 640 ft
- 745 mi to the ocean
- 233 mi to a big lake
- 39 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 60 mi to the nearest ski area
- Campground in town
- 10 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 40 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 3 bars within 25 mi
- 18 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 9 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 52 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 4% of Iowa districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 2 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 57 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 2 mi to the nearest vet
- Dog park in town
- 8 congregations per 10k people
- 2 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Wapello County: R+32 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
- Low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Moderate heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk