What is the #1 best cities for families in iowa?

#	City	Population	Family Score
1	Iowa City	75,264	85.20
2	Spirit Lake	5,469	84.10
3	Des Moines	212,464	82.10
4	Dubuque	59,271	76.70
5	Fort Dodge	24,788	75.40
6	West Des Moines	69,893	74.50
7	Cedar Falls	40,662	74.30
8	Davenport	101,083	73.90
9	Winterset	5,384	73.40
10	Ames	66,112	73.20
11	Coralville	22,846	71.00
12	Waterloo	66,947	67.80
13	Williamsburg	3,347	67.80
14	Council Bluffs	62,564	67.50
15	Albia	3,688	67.30
16	Hiawatha	7,178	67.10
17	Clear Lake	7,603	66.90
18	Cedar Rapids	136,859	65.40
19	Sioux City	85,651	65.10
20	Grinnell	9,527	64.30
21	Perry	7,928	63.80
22	Shenandoah	4,913	63.80
23	Webster City	7,769	63.60
24	Indianola	15,918	63.00
25	Greenfield	1,826	63.00
26	Sac City	1,782	63.00
27	Newton	15,696	62.50
28	Audubon	2,069	62.50
29	Atlantic	6,773	62.10
30	Emmetsburg	3,651	61.40
31	Burlington	23,800	61.40
32	Charles City	7,321	61.20
33	Belle Plaine	2,412	60.80
34	Sheldon	5,386	60.30
35	Independence	6,149	60.10
36	Windsor Heights	5,171	60.10
37	Carter Lake	3,773	60.10
38	Decorah	7,597	58.80
39	Missouri Valley	2,685	58.60
40	Knoxville	7,493	58.40
41	Estherville	5,865	58.40
42	Toledo	2,079	58.40
43	Clive	18,776	57.70
44	Storm Lake	11,275	57.70
45	Ankeny	70,542	57.70
46	West Branch	2,526	57.30
47	Mason City	27,135	55.30
48	Waukee	26,974	55.30
49	Clinton	24,425	55.30
50	Marshalltown	27,491	55.10
51	Wilton	2,943	54.90
52	Fairfield	9,438	54.90
53	Walcott	1,895	54.70
54	Waverly	10,446	54.70
55	Washington	7,314	54.50
56	Altoona	20,592	54.50
57	DeWitt	5,535	54.50
58	Fort Madison	10,221	54.20
59	Eldora	2,622	54.20
60	Iowa Falls	5,062	54.20
61	Le Claire	4,718	54.00
62	Boone	12,445	54.00
63	Evansdale	4,530	53.60
64	Pella	10,624	53.60
65	Creston	7,466	53.60
66	Onawa	2,862	53.20
67	Vinton	4,948	52.90
68	Sergeant Bluff	5,090	52.70
69	Monroe	2,074	52.50
70	Ottumwa	25,352	52.30
71	Mount Vernon	4,551	51.00
72	Cherokee	5,157	50.80
73	Clarinda	5,366	50.80
74	Forest City	4,280	50.80
75	North Liberty	20,782	50.50
76	West Liberty	3,795	50.50
77	Muscatine	23,567	50.10
78	Keokuk	9,748	49.90
79	Pleasant Hill	10,796	49.70
80	Marion	41,690	49.70
81	Bettendorf	39,297	49.50
82	Clarion	2,775	49.20
83	Osage	3,578	48.80
84	Oelwein	5,878	47.90
85	Algona	5,414	47.90
86	Camanche	4,562	47.50
87	Buffalo	1,090	47.30
88	Johnston	24,196	46.80
89	Spencer	11,393	46.60
90	Norwalk	13,610	46.60
91	Story City	3,363	46.40
92	Maquoketa	6,105	46.00
93	Monticello	4,055	45.80
94	Adel	6,259	45.80
95	Glenwood	5,118	45.80
96	Tama	3,079	45.30
97	Carlisle	4,187	45.30
98	Asbury	5,949	45.10
99	Jefferson	4,164	44.90
100	Centerville	5,377	44.70
101	Lisbon	1,782	44.20
102	Nevada	6,952	44.00
103	Urbandale	46,026	43.60
104	Tipton	3,111	42.90
105	Osceola	5,495	42.90
106	Oskaloosa	11,492	42.70
107	Waukon	3,796	42.50
108	Durant	1,904	42.30
109	New Hampton	3,462	42.00
110	Le Mars	10,597	41.80
111	Colfax	2,089	41.60
112	Red Oak	5,542	41.40
113	West Burlington	3,184	41.20
114	Ogden	1,902	41.00
115	Carroll	10,261	40.50
116	Eldridge	6,743	40.50
117	Bloomfield	2,723	40.30
118	State Center	1,548	39.90
119	Grundy Center	2,794	39.20
120	Harlan	4,896	38.80
121	Manchester	5,144	38.80
122	Marengo	2,823	38.80
123	Orange City	6,312	38.30
124	Mitchellville	2,557	38.30
125	Polk City	5,833	38.10
126	Dyersville	4,357	38.10
127	Huxley	4,440	37.90
128	West Union	2,393	36.40
129	Sioux Center	8,335	36.40
130	Panora	1,520	35.90
131	Humboldt	4,761	35.70
132	Sumner	2,159	35.10
133	Dysart	1,575	34.60
134	Rock Valley	4,061	34.40
135	Anamosa	5,553	34.20
136	Postville	2,787	33.80
137	Robins	3,349	32.70
138	Blue Grass	1,867	32.70
139	Prairie City	1,649	32.50
140	Mount Pleasant	9,093	32.50
141	Cresco	3,901	31.40
142	Garner	3,062	31.20
143	New Sharon	1,147	31.20
144	Sigourney	1,866	30.90
145	Leon	1,795	30.30
146	Hampton	4,311	30.10
147	Denison	8,247	29.40
148	Parkersburg	1,747	29.00
149	Lake City	1,652	24.80
150	Lansing	1,111	24.40
151	Chariton	4,235	21.80
152	Hawarden	2,674	19.40
153	Eagle Grove	3,588	18.10
154	Belmond	2,678	12.20

Methodology

Cities in Iowa are ranked by family score. Only cities with populations above 1,000 are included. Data sourced from Multiple Sources. Last updated 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the #1 best cities for families in iowa?: Iowa City ranks #1 with 85.20 (family score).
What are the top 5 best cities for families in iowa?: 1. Iowa City (85.20), 2. Spirit Lake (84.10), 3. Des Moines (82.10), 4. Dubuque (76.70), 5. Fort Dodge (75.40)
How many cities in Iowa are ranked?: This ranking includes 154 cities in Iowa with available data.

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