IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Roland, IA
Roland is a small town of 1,559 people in Story County, Iowa. It's about 11 miles from Ames, IA and 194 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 84°F and winter highs 28°F, with about 31 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $186k and rent runs about $1k a month.
1,559people
$186kTypical home
$1,197/moRent
84° / 28°Summer / winter
31"Snow
233Sunny days
88Rain/snow days
Is Roland right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Small town of 1,559
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,331 people per sq mi
- 194 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 11 mi to Ames, IA
- 11 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $186k (≈$1,172/mo)
- Median rent $1,197/mo
- Median household income $79k
- Property tax about 1.3% of value
- 2.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 84°F
- Winter highs around 28°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 62°F)
- 233 sunny days a year (82 totally clear)
- 132 cloudy days a year
- 40 of 90 winter days are gray
- 88 days a year with rain or snow
- 31" of snow a year
- 12 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 38 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- Very low violent crime (87 per 100k), county-wide
- Low property crime (985 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 39
- 28% of households have kids
- 14% are 65 or older
- 37% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 10% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 24 min
- 4% walk or take transit to work
- 44 mi to FOD airport
- 44 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 89 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 87% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1957
- 92% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 1,037 ft
- 834 mi to the ocean
- 213 mi to a big lake
- 40 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 25 mi to the nearest ski area
- 10 mi to the nearest campground
- 16 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 72 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 19 bars within 25 mi
- 30 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 1 music venue or club within 25 mi
- 14 museums within 25 mi
- 2 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 40 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 6% of Iowa districts (reading)
- 10 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 10 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 10 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 11 mi to the nearest vet
- 11 mi to the nearest dog park
- 7 congregations per 10k people
- 12 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Story County: D+10 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
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Moderate heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.