The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Hawkeye State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.
While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.
We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Iowa have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.
A recent study we published found that Iowa is the 14th smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 101.
But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Iowa are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Dumbest Places In Iowa
Don’t freak out.
Some places are just smarter than others, but that says nothing about the character of the people living there. It’s another data point a real estate agent would never tell you.
For this ranking, we only looked at cities with populations greater than 5,000, leaving us 78 cities in Iowa to rank. You can take a look at the data below.
For more Iowa reading, check out:
The 10 Dumbest Places In Iowa For 2025
1. Osceola
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% Adult High School Dropout: 20.0%
% Highly Educated: 12.0%
More on Osceola:
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% Adult High School Dropout: 18.0%
% Highly Educated: 13.0%
More on Estherville: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 29.0%
% Highly Educated: 19.0%
More on Storm Lake: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 18.0%
% Highly Educated: 19.0%
More on Marshalltown: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 10.0%
% Highly Educated: 13.0%
More on Clarinda: Data
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% Adult High School Dropout: 14.0%
% Highly Educated: 20.0%
More on Ottumwa: Data
Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Hawkeye State
We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.
So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.
In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Iowa:
- % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
- % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)
We got the data from the U.S. Census 2019-2023 American Community Survey.
Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Iowa from dumbest to brightest.
For this ranking, we used every Iowa city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2025, and it’s our tenth time ranking the dumbest cities in Iowa.
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
If you’re measuring the locations in Iowa where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.
The dumbest cities in Iowa are Osceola, Estherville, Perry, Storm Lake, Denison, Red Oak, Marshalltown, Clarinda, Anamosa, and Ottumwa.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the smartest places in Iowa, according to science:
- Ames
- Johnston
- Ankeny
For more Iowa reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Iowa
- Cheapest Places To Live In Iowa
- Most Dangerous Cities In Iowa
- Richest Cities In Iowa
- Safest Places In Iowa
- Worst Places To Live In Iowa
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Iowa
Dumbest Cities In Iowa For 2025
| Rank | City | Population | % Adult High School Dropout | % Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Osceola, IA | 5,495 | 20.0% | 12.0% |
| 2 | Estherville, IA | 5,865 | 18.0% | 13.0% |
| 3 | Perry, IA | 7,928 | 14.0% | 14.0% |
| 4 | Storm Lake, IA | 11,275 | 29.0% | 19.0% |
| 5 | Denison, IA | 8,247 | 24.0% | 19.0% |
| 6 | Red Oak, IA | 5,542 | 11.0% | 15.0% |
| 7 | Marshalltown, IA | 27,491 | 18.0% | 19.0% |
| 8 | Clarinda, IA | 5,366 | 10.0% | 13.0% |
| 9 | Anamosa, IA | 5,553 | 11.0% | 17.0% |
| 10 | Ottumwa, IA | 25,352 | 14.0% | 20.0% |
| 11 | Centerville, IA | 5,377 | 10.0% | 17.0% |
| 12 | Keokuk, IA | 9,748 | 10.0% | 17.0% |
| 13 | Sheldon, IA | 5,386 | 13.0% | 21.0% |
| 14 | Oelwein, IA | 5,878 | 9.0% | 16.0% |
| 15 | Cherokee, IA | 5,157 | 8.0% | 18.0% |
| 16 | Muscatine, IA | 23,567 | 11.0% | 21.0% |
| 17 | Council Bluffs, IA | 62,564 | 11.0% | 22.0% |
| 18 | Fort Dodge, IA | 24,788 | 10.0% | 20.0% |
| 19 | Mount Pleasant, IA | 9,093 | 13.0% | 24.0% |
| 20 | Newton, IA | 15,696 | 7.0% | 19.0% |
| 21 | Waterloo, IA | 66,947 | 10.0% | 23.0% |
| 22 | Clinton, IA | 24,425 | 10.0% | 22.0% |
| 23 | Manchester, IA | 5,144 | 10.0% | 23.0% |
| 24 | Fort Madison, IA | 10,221 | 6.0% | 19.0% |
| 25 | Des Moines, IA | 212,464 | 13.0% | 29.0% |
| 26 | Atlantic, IA | 6,773 | 7.0% | 24.0% |
| 27 | Winterset, IA | 5,384 | 5.0% | 20.0% |
| 28 | Oskaloosa, IA | 11,492 | 7.0% | 25.0% |
| 29 | Le Mars, IA | 10,597 | 6.0% | 24.0% |
| 30 | Burlington, IA | 23,800 | 6.0% | 23.0% |
| 31 | Sioux Center, IA | 8,335 | 12.0% | 41.0% |
| 32 | Iowa Falls, IA | 5,062 | 5.0% | 22.0% |
| 33 | Algona, IA | 5,414 | 6.0% | 24.0% |
| 34 | Washington, IA | 7,314 | 5.0% | 22.0% |
| 35 | Nevada, IA | 6,952 | 7.0% | 30.0% |
| 36 | Davenport, IA | 101,083 | 7.0% | 30.0% |
| 37 | Independence, IA | 6,149 | 5.0% | 23.0% |
| 38 | Knoxville, IA | 7,493 | 7.0% | 30.0% |
| 39 | Maquoketa, IA | 6,105 | 3.0% | 17.0% |
| 40 | Creston, IA | 7,466 | 5.0% | 25.0% |
| 41 | Spencer, IA | 11,393 | 6.0% | 28.0% |
| 42 | Cedar Rapids, IA | 136,859 | 6.0% | 33.0% |
| 43 | Dubuque, IA | 59,271 | 6.0% | 34.0% |
| 44 | Glenwood, IA | 5,118 | 4.0% | 26.0% |
| 45 | Carroll, IA | 10,261 | 4.0% | 26.0% |
| 46 | Adel, IA | 6,259 | 6.0% | 44.0% |
| 47 | Spirit Lake, IA | 5,469 | 4.0% | 31.0% |
| 48 | Grinnell, IA | 9,527 | 5.0% | 41.0% |
| 49 | Pleasant Hill, IA | 10,796 | 4.0% | 32.0% |
| 50 | Altoona, IA | 20,592 | 4.0% | 33.0% |
| 51 | Waverly, IA | 10,446 | 5.0% | 44.0% |
| 52 | Boone, IA | 12,445 | 3.0% | 26.0% |
| 53 | Marion, IA | 41,690 | 4.0% | 39.0% |
| 54 | Clear Lake, IA | 7,603 | 3.0% | 30.0% |
| 55 | Urbandale, IA | 46,026 | 5.0% | 52.0% |
| 56 | Hiawatha, IA | 7,178 | 3.0% | 33.0% |
| 57 | Pella, IA | 10,624 | 4.0% | 48.0% |
| 58 | Indianola, IA | 15,918 | 3.0% | 34.0% |
| 59 | Bettendorf, IA | 39,297 | 4.0% | 51.0% |
| 60 | Decorah, IA | 7,597 | 3.0% | 47.0% |
| 61 | Clive, IA | 18,776 | 5.0% | 60.0% |
| 62 | Coralville, IA | 22,846 | 5.0% | 57.0% |
| 63 | Cedar Falls, IA | 40,662 | 3.0% | 49.0% |
| 64 | Sergeant Bluff, IA | 5,090 | 2.0% | 40.0% |
| 65 | Eldridge, IA | 6,743 | 3.0% | 53.0% |
| 66 | Fairfield, IA | 9,438 | 3.0% | 51.0% |
| 67 | Bondurant, IA | 8,061 | 3.0% | 54.0% |
| 68 | Waukee, IA | 26,974 | 4.0% | 57.0% |
| 69 | Norwalk, IA | 13,610 | 0.0% | 41.0% |
| 70 | Grimes, IA | 15,810 | 2.0% | 47.0% |
| 71 | Windsor Heights, IA | 5,171 | 1.0% | 45.0% |
| 72 | Asbury, IA | 5,949 | 2.0% | 51.0% |
| 73 | Tiffin, IA | 5,271 | 3.0% | 60.0% |
| 74 | West Des Moines, IA | 69,893 | 3.0% | 55.0% |
| 75 | North Liberty, IA | 20,782 | 2.0% | 53.0% |
| 76 | Ankeny, IA | 70,542 | 2.0% | 53.0% |
| 77 | Johnston, IA | 24,196 | 2.0% | 58.0% |
| 78 | Ames, IA | 66,112 | 1.0% | 64.0% |
I now know this is bs because likely 1 in 3 adults in Storm Lake is an immigrant. That’s unfortunate, but to equate that with “dumb” is just…stupid.
FYI: Eagle Grove is not NW of Fort Dodge.
Right JJ, it is NE of Fort Dodge in Wright County. Like Ann’s comment above yours, I wanted to point out that a lot of these cities are home to immigrants that moved there looking for work who may have not had much of a formal education. I am from EG and I know many bright and brilliant individuals who call Eagle Grove home. Also, I hope that author of the article notices that I used “there” correctly.
Never seen any posts on Facebook from the average Des Moines resident, have you? Only about 20% know the difference between there, their, and they’re. And driving around these geniuses? Forget it. Rock bottom on the scale of unintelligence since they are too illiterate to read signs.