Living in West Branch, IA
West Branch is a small town of 2,594 people in Cedar County, Iowa. It's about 10 miles from Iowa City, IA and 189 miles from Chicago, IL, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 85°F and winter highs 30°F, with about 28 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $216k and rent runs about $1k a month.
2,594people
$216kTypical home
$1,053/moRent
85° / 30°Summer / winter
28"Snow
233Sunny days
108Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 2,594
- Part of a metro area
- About 1,009 people per sq mi
- 189 mi to Chicago, IL
- 10 mi to Iowa City, IA
- 10 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $216k (≈$1,363/mo)
- Median rent $1,053/mo
- Median household income $92k
- Property tax about 1.4% of value
- 1.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 85°F
- Winter highs around 30°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 63°F)
- 233 sunny days a year (86 totally clear)
- 132 cloudy days a year
- 41 of 90 winter days are gray
- 108 days a year with rain or snow
- 28" of snow a year
- 10 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 31 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (171 per 100k)
- Very low property crime (498 per 100k)
People
- Median age 37
- 31% of households have kids
- 17% are 65 or older
- 31% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 2% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 26 min
- 1% walk or take transit to work
- 24 mi to CID airport
- 120 mi to DSM (major hub)
- 49 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 74% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1993
- 93% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 742 ft
- 772 mi to the ocean
- 167 mi to a big lake
- 13 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 35 mi to the nearest ski area
- 10 mi to the nearest campground
- 20 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 211 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 34 bars within 25 mi
- 60 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 12 museums within 25 mi
- 3 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 10 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 33% of Iowa districts (reading)
- 8 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 9 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 9 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- Vet in town
- Dog park in town
- 11 congregations per 10k people
- 10 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Cedar County: R+22 in 2024
- Iowa: R+13 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Moderate heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk