Living in Spirit Lake, IA
Spirit Lake is a big small town of 5,518 people in Dickinson County, Iowa. It's about 77 miles from Mankato, MN and 141 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 83°F and winter highs 24°F, with about 41 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $215k and rent runs about $911 a month.
5,518people
$215kTypical home
$911/moRent
83° / 24°Summer / winter
41"Snow
240Sunny days
80Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Big small town of 5,518
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 1,221 people per sq mi
- 141 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 77 mi to Mankato, MN
- 19 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $215k (≈$1,356/mo)
- Median rent $911/mo
- Median household income $66k
- Property tax about 1.1% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 83°F
- Winter highs around 24°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 60°F)
- 240 sunny days a year (85 totally clear)
- 125 cloudy days a year
- 38 of 90 winter days are gray
- 80 days a year with rain or snow
- 41" of snow a year
- 14 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 47 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- Very low violent crime (141 per 100k)
- Low property crime (966 per 100k)
People
- Median age 40
- 26% of households have kids
- 23% are 65 or older
- 27% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 1% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 15 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 76 mi to FOD airport
- 138 mi to MSP (major hub)
- 146 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 74% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1978
- 89% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 1,467 ft
- 843 mi to the ocean
- 174 mi to a big lake
- 71 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 73 mi to the nearest ski area
- 2 mi to the nearest campground
- 14 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 59 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 9 bars within 25 mi
- 15 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 13 museums within 25 mi
- 2 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 45 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 21% of Iowa districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 2 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 18 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 17 mi to the nearest vet
- 18 mi to the nearest dog park
- 13 congregations per 10k people
- 4 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Dickinson County: R+40 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