Living in Shell Rock, IA
Shell Rock is a small town of 1,625 people in Butler County, Iowa. It's about 19 miles from Waterloo, IA and 159 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 83°F and winter highs 26°F, with about 36 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $163k and rent runs about $931 a month.
1,625people
$163kTypical home
$931/moRent
83° / 26°Summer / winter
36"Snow
233Sunny days
99Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 1,625
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,014 people per sq mi
- 159 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 19 mi to Waterloo, IA
- 6 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $163k (≈$1,029/mo)
- Median rent $931/mo
- Median household income $79k
- Property tax about 1.6% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 83°F
- Winter highs around 26°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 62°F)
- 233 sunny days a year (82 totally clear)
- 132 cloudy days a year
- 42 of 90 winter days are gray
- 99 days a year with rain or snow
- 36" of snow a year
- 12 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 44 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (49 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (168 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 36
- 40% of households have kids
- 19% are 65 or older
- 21% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 3% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 27 min
- 1% walk or take transit to work
- 14 mi to ALO airport
- 98 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 117 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 88% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1957
- 87% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 922 ft
- 791 mi to the ocean
- 153 mi to a big lake
- 9 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 85 mi to the nearest ski area
- Campground in town
- 24 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 87 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 40 bars within 25 mi
- 37 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 3 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 24 museums within 25 mi
- 1 brewery or distillery within 25 mi
- 14 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 16% of Iowa districts (reading)
- 5 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 8 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 22 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 14 mi to the nearest vet
- 6 mi to the nearest dog park
- 19 congregations per 10k people
- 5 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Butler County: R+45 in 2024
- Iowa: R+13 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- High flood risk
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk