The 10 Worst Small Towns In Iowa For 2022


Using science and data, we can tell you which teeny specks in IA are the pits.

Nick Johnson, RoadSnacks
April 7, 2022 - 71,131 views
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Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the worst small places to live in Iowa.

Most Americans have never been to Iowa. However, as the people who live there know, Iowa is an awesome state.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Iowa has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Hawkeye State. Don't shoot the messenger, this is all using data.

After analyzing more than 204 of Iowa's smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Iowa where you'd never want to live:

These are the worst small towns in Iowa for 2022:

  1. Villisca
  2. Tama
  3. Sac City
  4. Postville
  5. Montezuma
  6. Clarion
  7. Onawa
  8. Toledo
  9. Columbus Junction
  10. Lamoni

So what is the worst small town to call home in Iowa for 2022? According to the most recent census data, Villisca is the worst small town to live in Iowa.

Of course, many of these cities would rank highly if they were in other states, since Iowa has its stuff figured out.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Iowa or the worst places to live in Iowa.

If you're looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Iowa For 2022

1. Villisca

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,162
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $64,300 (worst)
Unemployment Rate: 5.2% (36th worst)
More on Villisca:  Data

2. Tama

Tama, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Billwhittaker at English | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,757
Rank Last Year: 18 (Up 16)
Median Home Value: $87,300 (33rd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 6.1% (2worst)
More on Tama:  Data | Photos

3. Sac City

Sac City, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Bill Whittaker (talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,864
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 5)
Median Home Value: $78,400 (13th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 3.3% (89th worst)
More on Sac City:  Data | Photos

4. Postville

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,528
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 11)
Median Home Value: $94,800 (50th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 4.6% (50th worst)
More on Postville:  Data

5. Montezuma

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,490
Rank Last Year: 36 (Up 31)
Median Home Value: $114,500 (96th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 5.2% (34th worst)
More on Montezuma:  Data

6. Clarion

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,726
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 3)
Median Home Value: $77,800 (12th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 3.1% (94th worst)
More on Clarion:  Data

7. Onawa

Onawa, IA

Source: Wikipedia User IowaPolitics.com | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,788
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 3)
Median Home Value: $82,100 (20th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 3.6% (77th worst)
More on Onawa:  Data | Photos

8. Toledo

Toledo, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Billwhittaker at English | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,185
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 2)
Median Home Value: $98,200 (64th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 4.7% (48th worst)
More on Toledo:  Data | Photos

9. Columbus Junction

Columbus Junction, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Bill Whittaker (talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,260
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 5)
Median Home Value: $89,800 (40th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 4.1% (66th worst)
More on Columbus Junction:  Data | Photos

10. Lamoni

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,339
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 3)
Median Home Value: $90,400 (43rd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 5.3% (32nd worst)
More on Lamoni:  Data

How do you decide if a place is lousy or not?

In order to rank the worst small towns to live in Iowa, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. It isn't a stretch to assume that people like low crime, solid education, things to do and a stable economy.

So we scraped the internet for those criteria, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.

How we determined the worst small towns to live in Iowa for 2022

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using FBI crime data and the Census's 2016-2020 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (The lower the worse)
  • Highest Unemployment Rates
  • Low housing costs (meaning there's no demand)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
  • Education (Number of high school dropouts)
  • High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which, there were a lot - 204 to be exact.

Additional note: We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets its crime numbers from the cities themselves. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

This list is a scientific analysis based on real data and is completely unbiased.

There You Have It - The Worst Small Towns In Iowa

If you're analyzing teeny places in the Hawkeye State with the worst economic situations, where there's high crime and there's not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

If you're curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Iowa, according to science:

  1. Atkins (Pop. 2,069)
  2. Huxley (Pop. 3,912)
  3. Earlham (Pop. 1,382)

For more Iowa reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In Iowa

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 Villisca 1,162 5.2% $64,300
2 Tama 2,757 6.1% $87,300
3 Sac City 1,864 3.3% $78,400
4 Postville 2,528 4.6% $94,800
5 Montezuma 1,490 5.2% $114,500
6 Clarion 2,726 3.1% $77,800
7 Onawa 2,788 3.6% $82,100
8 Toledo 2,185 4.7% $98,200
9 Columbus Junction 2,260 4.1% $89,800
10 Lamoni 2,339 5.3% $90,400
11 Laurens 1,196 4.8% $64,400
12 Hamburg 1,300 11.3% $68,400
13 Hampton 4,212 1.8% $81,000
14 Hawarden 3,057 9.5% $97,600
15 Rockwell City 2,166 2.2% $67,500
16 Fayette 1,141 4.6% $87,600
17 Lenox 1,446 2.5% $95,800
18 Chariton 4,127 3.3% $81,000
19 Greene 1,182 3.6% $101,200
20 West Burlington 2,909 2.8% $122,400
21 Eddyville 1,142 9.7% $86,500
22 Cherokee 4,883 3.0% $95,600
23 Mapleton 1,173 2.2% $96,700
24 Evansdale 4,767 10.0% $106,700
25 Guthrie Center 1,558 4.5% $87,100
26 Oakland 1,665 5.0% $113,800
27 Shenandoah 4,859 5.1% $90,200
28 Bedford 1,493 5.6% $69,400
29 Ackley 1,788 2.0% $80,900
30 West Union 2,630 5.1% $108,700
31 Dunlap 1,214 10.3% $79,500
32 Missouri Valley 2,610 2.8% $95,700
33 Carter Lake 3,799 5.8% $111,900
34 Allison 1,134 2.7% $88,200
35 Stuart 1,623 4.9% $99,500
36 Eldora 2,620 2.1% $84,100
37 Leon 1,883 3.0% $73,800
38 Winfield 1,035 6.2% $92,300
39 Eagle Grove 3,410 5.1% $86,200
40 Coon Rapids 1,244 3.3% $89,200
41 Audubon 2,054 1.2% $71,900
42 George 1,011 2.4% $83,900
43 Sidney 1,007 3.2% $98,500
44 Hartley 1,583 1.6% $80,700
45 Primghar 1,030 2.9% $83,700
46 Brooklyn 1,677 4.0% $101,100
47 Sibley 2,599 5.0% $94,100
48 Harlan 4,813 5.4% $110,900
49 Albia 3,732 4.9% $98,200
50 Melcher-Dallas 1,313 7.7% $71,200
51 Greenfield 1,736 3.9% $95,200
52 Strawberry Point 1,411 4.8% $100,700
53 Belle Plaine 2,419 3.0% $88,500
54 Lake City 1,751 1.1% $82,800
55 Walcott 1,802 3.7% $134,000
56 Griswold 1,179 6.5% $78,600
57 Manly 1,480 5.5% $82,900
58 Mount Ayr 1,988 3.7% $100,700
59 Panora 1,501 6.6% $129,300
60 Nashua 1,448 1.2% $94,800
61 New Hampton 3,413 4.3% $112,200
62 Britt 1,761 3.5% $85,700
63 Holstein 1,370 2.0% $109,700
64 Woodward 1,235 5.4% $151,200
65 Alta 1,978 8.8% $100,000
66 Belmond 2,419 1.9% $84,300
67 New London 2,433 6.2% $97,300
68 Wayland 1,149 8.4% $92,400
69 Forest City 4,117 4.3% $91,500
70 Clarksville 1,345 7.7% $102,300
71 Humboldt 4,568 3.0% $124,100
72 Blue Grass 2,058 6.4% $168,300
73 Manson 1,760 5.2% $98,900
74 Corning 1,671 3.6% $68,500
75 Northwood 2,182 4.5% $97,200
76 Merrill 1,016 3.0% $125,500
77 Corydon 1,659 1.7% $77,500
78 Ida Grove 1,929 3.5% $92,600
79 Akron 1,478 1.8% $112,800
80 Marcus 1,295 3.3% $113,300
81 Jefferson 4,121 2.4% $89,400
82 Bloomfield 2,681 5.5% $101,200
83 Pocahontas 1,420 1.3% $86,400
84 Guttenberg 1,689 1.7% $166,900
85 Sanborn 1,359 1.1% $97,800
86 Ogden 1,767 8.0% $122,500
87 Waukon 3,663 4.6% $115,200
88 Cascade 2,104 1.8% $152,600
89 Monticello 3,843 1.9% $118,600
90 Sigourney 1,909 0.8% $94,200
91 Pleasantville 2,147 2.3% $152,100
92 Lake Mills 2,108 1.8% $104,000
93 Wellman 1,428 0.8% $131,800
94 Dysart 1,416 7.3% $127,900
95 Glidden 1,027 2.6% $112,500
96 Avoca 1,368 2.5% $134,600
97 Rock Valley 3,858 3.5% $178,700
98 Cresco 3,751 2.1% $84,900
99 Graettinger 1,044 0.9% $73,200
100 Sumner 2,224 2.8% $87,500
Download The Entire Iowa Ranking Data

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About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

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