The 10 Best Cities For Singles In Iowa For 2024


The best cities for singles in Iowa are Storm Lake and Ames for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Are you looking for love in Iowa?

Or are you just hoping to hook up with a hot Iowan?

Either way, we’ve got you covered here.

If you live in Iowa, there’s a pretty good chance there are a lot of singles in your area. The Hawkeye State has plenty of people over 18 who aren’t married or in a serious relationship.

That’s great news for people who are single and looking to mingle.

So, where are the best cities for singles in Iowa? We used Saturday Night Science to find out.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


Best Cities For Singles In Iowa Map

So, what was the best city for singles in Iowa? Storm Lake ranks as the best place for singles in Iowa if you care about things singles care about, like nightlife, affordable housing, and other singles.

Read below to see how we crunched the numbers and how each city ranked. If you live in or are close to one of these cities and are single, you should probably get out more often.

Just saying.

For more Iowa reading, check out:

The 10 Best Cities For Singles In Iowa For 2024

Storm Lake, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Scott A. Miller | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 11,194
Median Age: 31.0
Married households: 17.0%
Households with kids: 29.1%
More on Storm Lake: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Ames, IA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 66,265
Median Age: 23.0
Married households: 13.0%
Households with kids: 16.1%
More on Ames: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Des Moines, IA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 213,164
Median Age: 34.4
Married households: 21.0%
Households with kids: 29.6%
More on Des Moines: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Coralville, IA

Source: Wikipedia User American007 (talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 22,494
Median Age: 32.6
Married households: 18.0%
Households with kids: 27.2%
More on Coralville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

West Des Moines, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Iowahwyman | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 68,744
Median Age: 36.2
Married households: 25.0%
Households with kids: 26.1%
More on West Des Moines: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Davenport, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Ctjf83 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 101,448
Median Age: 37.4
Married households: 23.0%
Households with kids: 25.9%
More on Davenport: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Review Of Davenport by HomeSnacks User

The crime rate has been on the increase. I’ve noticed more and more terrible drivers; running red lights, texting while driving, etc.

Terrible drivers, rude employees, employees that sit on their phones rather than helping out customers.

Cedar Rapids, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Davumaya | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 136,929
Median Age: 37.0
Married households: 28.0%
Households with kids: 27.6%
More on Cedar Rapids: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Cedar Falls, IA

Source: Wikipedia User RifeIdeas | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 40,686
Median Age: 28.0
Married households: 27.0%
Households with kids: 23.0%
More on Cedar Falls: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Dubuque, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Dirk | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 59,315
Median Age: 37.9
Married households: 30.0%
Households with kids: 23.8%
More on Dubuque: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Review Of Dubuque by HomeSnacks User

Dubuque is an all around perfect weather town. It is right on the Mississippi river and you can access 2 other states within miles of each other.

The river has so many things to do while there and the restaurants are amazing.

Council Bluffs, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Jared Winkler | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 62,670
Median Age: 38.4
Married households: 21.0%
Households with kids: 27.3%
More on Council Bluffs: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Methodology: How do you determine which city is best for singles in Iowa anyways?

To give you the places in Iowa which are best for singles to find one another, we used Saturday Night Science to look at a handful of metrics. Of course, we want to measure the type of people who live in each city and make some assumptions about what single people like.

So we researched the internet for a database that contains all that information.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the 2018-2022 American Community Survey Census data produced for the state of Iowa, we looked at every single city in the state. We paid particular attention to:

  • Population density
  • % of population that’s male vs. female (closer to a 50-50 ratio is better)
  • % of households with kids
  • Median age
  • Number of unmarried people in each city

We then gave each city a “Singles Score.”

The higher the score, the better the city is for singles to find one another. We also limited our results to cities with over 10,000 people. For Iowa, that meant a total of 39 cities.

We updated this article for 2024. This is our tenth time ranking the best cities for singles in Iowa.

Read on to see why Storm Lake is the talk of the town while Pleasant Hill is probably a bit on the bland side.

Summary: The Best Cities for Singles in Iowa for 2024

If you’re looking for a breakdown of cities in Iowa ranked by criteria that most agree make a place a great spot for finding a single person (and potentially love), this is an accurate list.

The best cities for singles in Iowa are Storm Lake, Ames, Des Moines, Coralville, West Des Moines, Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls, Dubuque, and Council Bluffs.

Here’s a look at the most boring cities in Iowa according to the data:

  1. Pleasant Hill
  2. Norwalk
  3. Grimes

For more Iowa reading, check out:

Best Cities For Singles In Iowa

Rank City Population Median Age % Married Households % Households /w Kids
1 Storm Lake, IA 11,194 31.0 17.0% 29.1%
2 Ames, IA 66,265 23.0 13.0% 16.1%
3 Des Moines, IA 213,164 34.4 21.0% 29.6%
4 Coralville, IA 22,494 32.6 18.0% 27.2%
5 West Des Moines, IA 68,744 36.2 25.0% 26.1%
6 Davenport, IA 101,448 37.4 23.0% 25.9%
7 Cedar Rapids, IA 136,929 37.0 28.0% 27.6%
8 Cedar Falls, IA 40,686 28.0 27.0% 23.0%
9 Dubuque, IA 59,315 37.9 30.0% 23.8%
10 Council Bluffs, IA 62,670 38.4 21.0% 27.3%
11 Waterloo, IA 67,256 36.7 27.0% 27.6%
12 Fort Dodge, IA 24,850 37.2 24.0% 24.4%
13 Ottumwa, IA 25,359 36.7 26.0% 34.2%
14 Oskaloosa, IA 11,492 36.5 31.0% 30.5%
15 Muscatine, IA 23,671 35.9 26.0% 36.6%
16 Marshalltown, IA 27,511 35.5 23.0% 36.7%
17 North Liberty, IA 20,393 31.9 28.0% 39.7%
18 Ankeny, IA 68,392 33.3 37.0% 35.6%
19 Clive, IA 18,576 37.6 33.0% 34.2%
20 Burlington, IA 23,976 42.9 29.0% 26.6%
21 Boone, IA 12,482 38.5 36.0% 29.6%
22 Clinton, IA 24,524 42.8 28.0% 23.8%
23 Bettendorf, IA 38,997 39.2 25.0% 35.2%
24 Urbandale, IA 45,591 38.9 36.0% 36.9%
25 Indianola, IA 15,845 34.7 32.0% 34.1%
26 Pella, IA 10,556 35.5 34.0% 29.3%
27 Waukee, IA 25,045 34.3 33.0% 42.3%
28 Altoona, IA 20,017 36.1 38.0% 35.0%
29 Carroll, IA 10,270 43.7 37.0% 23.8%
30 Fort Madison, IA 10,293 43.0 29.0% 25.1%
31 Newton, IA 15,692 42.1 34.0% 28.3%
32 Marion, IA 41,401 39.2 40.0% 32.7%
33 Waverly, IA 10,399 33.5 37.0% 29.2%
34 Le Mars, IA 10,549 39.3 39.0% 33.9%
35 Spencer, IA 11,351 41.4 32.0% 25.4%
36 Johnston, IA 23,856 37.0 35.0% 37.5%
37 Grimes, IA 15,402 35.2 36.0% 41.8%
38 Norwalk, IA 13,057 36.6 43.0% 37.1%
39 Pleasant Hill, IA 10,456 40.5 38.0% 36.6%
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.