There’s no denying it: there are plenty of places in Iowa that are downright beautiful and full of excitement.
Unfortunately, not all towns and cities in Hawkeye State are so lucky.
Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within Iowa’s’ borders. You know the places where everyone has an AARP card and the most exciting thing they do all day is post a picture of their grandchild on Facebook.
Like Eldridge, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of Iowa according to Saturday Night Science. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of Eldridge. There are plenty of other boring, lackluster places in Iowa as well.
Here they are. Try not to jump out of your seat with excitement.
42.7 median age · 39.0% married households · #8 oldest in Iowa
Located in
Scott County, Iowa
Eldridge is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. The population was 6,162 in a 2014 census estimate; Eldridge is a suburb and also part of the Quad Cities metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
49.1 median age · 38.0% married households · #2 oldest in Iowa
Located in
Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
Clear Lake is a city in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,777 at the 2010 census. The city is named for the large lake on which it is located. It is the home of a number of marinas, state parks and tourism-related businesses. Clear Lake is also a major stop on Interstate 35 with many restaurants, hotels and truck stops.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
37.8 median age · 42.0% married households · #42 oldest in Iowa
Located in
Warren County, Iowa
Norwalk is a city in Warren County, with some small portions extending into Polk County, in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 8,945 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Des Moines-West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located just south of the Des Moines International Airport.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
49.1 median age · 44.0% married households · #2 oldest in Iowa
Manchester is a city in Delaware County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,179 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Delaware County. Manchester is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 20 and State Highway 13, and is the largest community in Delaware County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
40.9 median age · 43.0% married households · #20 oldest in Iowa
Located in
Buchanan County, Iowa
Independence is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,966 in the 2010 census, a decline from 6,014 in the 2000 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
43.2 median age · 35.0% married households · #6 oldest in Iowa
Cherokee is a city in Cherokee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,253 at the 2010 Census, down from 5,369 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cherokee County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
43.5 median age · 30.0% married households · #5 oldest in Iowa
Located in
Cass County, Iowa
Atlantic is a city in, and the county seat of, Cass County, Iowa, United States, located along the East Nishnabotna River. The population was 7,112 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 7,257 population in the 2000 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
39.5 median age · 37.0% married households · #33 oldest in Iowa
Located in
Polk County, Iowa
Pleasant Hill is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,785 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Des Moines-West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of July, 2005, Pleasant Hill has been given a US Postal code, 50327.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
41.3 median age · 37.0% married households · #18 oldest in Iowa
Located in
Boone County, Iowa
Boone is a city in Des Moines Township, and county seat of Boone County, Iowa, United States. It is the principal city of the Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Boone County. This micropolitan statistical area, along with the Ames, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area comprise the larger Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical Area. The population of the city was 12,661 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
42.2 median age · 44.0% married households · #14 oldest in Iowa
Located in
Marion County, Iowa
Knoxville is a city in Marion County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,313 at the 2010 census, a decrease from 7,731 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Marion County. Knoxville is home of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum, located next to the famous Knoxville Raceway dirt track.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Iowa’s statewide median.
On the map
Where the quiet settles in Iowa
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the boring cities in the Hawkeye State
You would present the following case to your friends if you were argueing with them at a bar about the most boring place to live in Iowa. And that’s why we call it Saturday Night Science.
Because our data speaks more truth than feelings.
To figure out how boring a place is, we factored in things we generally think make people exciting, and then we figure out which cities have the least number of those exciting people.
We used the U.S. American Community Census data to gather the information presented here. Some of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring include:
- % of Population Over 25 (higher is more boring)
- % of Married Household (higher is more boring)
- Average Age (higher is more boring)
- % of Households With Kids (higher is more boring)
- Population density (lower is more boring)
Then, our algorithm generates a ranking for each place in these categories. After crunching the numbers, all of the cities ranked from most boring to most exciting.
For this ranking, we used every Iowa city with at least 5,000 residents. This keeps us from prejudicing our rankings by including very small pockets of retired people.
Grab your rocker and hold on.
We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the most boring cities in Iowa.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Most Boring Cities In Iowa For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Boring Score | Population | Average Age | % Married | % Kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eldridge | 13.60 | 6,818 | 42.7 | 39.0% | 42.1% |
| 2 | Clear Lake | 19.40 | 7,607 | 49.1 | 38.0% | 17.9% |
| 3 | Norwalk | 19.90 | 14,183 | 37.8 | 42.0% | 38.3% |
| 4 | Manchester | 20.40 | 5,191 | 49.1 | 44.0% | 21.5% |
| 5 | Independence | 20.80 | 6,164 | 40.9 | 43.0% | 27.4% |
| 6 | Cherokee | 21.00 | 5,154 | 43.2 | 35.0% | 24.9% |
| 7 | Atlantic | 25.20 | 6,763 | 43.5 | 30.0% | 24.1% |
| 8 | Pleasant Hill | 25.70 | 11,136 | 39.5 | 37.0% | 33.8% |
| 9 | Boone | 25.70 | 12,424 | 41.3 | 37.0% | 29.1% |
| 10 | Knoxville | 26.90 | 7,473 | 42.2 | 44.0% | 28.3% |
| 11 | Clinton | 26.90 | 24,322 | 44.0 | 28.0% | 24.0% |
| 12 | Windsor Heights | 27.10 | 5,143 | 41.6 | 42.0% | 30.2% |
| 13 | Maquoketa | 27.30 | 6,075 | 42.6 | 36.0% | 25.7% |
| 14 | Oelwein | 27.60 | 5,834 | 42.4 | 35.0% | 26.1% |
| 15 | Osceola | 27.80 | 5,523 | 37.6 | 37.0% | 32.9% |
| 16 | Keokuk | 28.50 | 9,662 | 43.1 | 24.0% | 29.5% |
| 17 | Adel | 29.90 | 6,430 | 36.5 | 45.0% | 39.0% |
| 18 | Marion | 30.00 | 41,896 | 40.6 | 42.0% | 34.0% |
| 19 | Le Mars | 30.90 | 10,640 | 39.0 | 36.0% | 31.6% |
| 20 | Bondurant | 31.60 | 8,560 | 32.4 | 42.0% | 55.1% |
| 21 | Anamosa | 31.90 | 5,629 | 40.9 | 25.0% | 40.5% |
| 22 | Sheldon | 32.20 | 5,474 | 37.6 | 42.0% | 26.5% |
| 23 | Fort Madison | 32.40 | 10,133 | 42.1 | 26.0% | 26.8% |
| 24 | Algona | 32.90 | 5,377 | 40.1 | 35.0% | 24.1% |
| 25 | Asbury | 32.90 | 5,989 | 37.9 | 43.0% | 44.3% |
| 26 | Iowa Falls | 33.00 | 5,038 | 39.4 | 34.0% | 22.8% |
| 27 | Tiffin | 33.10 | 5,737 | 33.0 | 42.0% | 35.9% |
| 28 | Spirit Lake | 33.20 | 5,518 | 40.4 | 33.0% | 25.9% |
| 29 | Red Oak | 33.50 | 5,510 | 40.2 | 33.0% | 29.7% |
| 30 | Grimes | 33.60 | 16,366 | 35.4 | 34.0% | 38.5% |
| 31 | Spencer | 33.70 | 11,400 | 41.4 | 31.0% | 22.3% |
| 32 | Carroll | 34.00 | 10,208 | 43.6 | 36.0% | 21.2% |
| 33 | Newton | 34.50 | 15,700 | 42.6 | 33.0% | 23.1% |
| 34 | Urbandale | 34.50 | 46,595 | 39.2 | 37.0% | 34.7% |
| 35 | Johnston | 34.80 | 24,384 | 37.4 | 34.0% | 38.2% |
| 36 | Burlington | 36.00 | 23,728 | 42.5 | 31.0% | 26.5% |
| 37 | Bettendorf | 36.50 | 39,647 | 40.9 | 25.0% | 35.2% |
| 38 | Clarinda | 37.20 | 5,353 | 40.1 | 23.0% | 22.8% |
| 39 | Nevada | 37.20 | 6,983 | 40.2 | 32.0% | 28.8% |
| 40 | Washington | 37.80 | 7,290 | 42.5 | 28.0% | 24.5% |
| 41 | Waukee | 37.90 | 29,236 | 34.7 | 30.0% | 38.2% |
| 42 | Sergeant Bluff | 38.50 | 5,171 | 36.9 | 38.0% | 41.5% |
| 43 | Mount Pleasant | 39.90 | 8,951 | 37.5 | 24.0% | 29.4% |
| 44 | Centerville | 40.20 | 5,372 | 40.9 | 24.0% | 20.3% |
| 45 | Winterset | 41.50 | 5,416 | 37.5 | 28.0% | 30.8% |
| 46 | Altoona | 41.60 | 21,495 | 36.1 | 34.0% | 33.9% |
| 47 | Estherville | 42.10 | 5,839 | 40.6 | 25.0% | 20.4% |
| 48 | Clive | 42.40 | 19,012 | 37.4 | 32.0% | 37.7% |
| 49 | Ankeny | 43.20 | 72,615 | 33.6 | 36.0% | 37.1% |
| 50 | Glenwood | 44.20 | 5,144 | 39.6 | 21.0% | 29.3% |
| 51 | Waverly | 44.30 | 10,494 | 32.8 | 34.0% | 29.2% |
| 52 | Oskaloosa | 44.80 | 11,504 | 37.6 | 32.0% | 28.9% |
| 53 | Waterloo | 45.50 | 67,008 | 36.7 | 26.0% | 26.2% |
| 54 | Sioux Center | 45.60 | 8,454 | 30.0 | 30.0% | 39.0% |
| 55 | Muscatine | 45.70 | 23,489 | 37.0 | 23.0% | 34.2% |
| 56 | Indianola | 46.10 | 16,044 | 35.9 | 32.0% | 30.6% |
| 57 | Fairfield | 46.80 | 9,456 | 40.0 | 15.0% | 19.5% |
| 58 | Council Bluffs | 47.10 | 62,586 | 38.7 | 22.0% | 27.7% |
| 59 | Ottumwa | 47.90 | 25,430 | 36.7 | 26.0% | 35.0% |
| 60 | Cedar Rapids | 49.10 | 137,264 | 37.3 | 28.0% | 26.7% |
| 61 | West Des Moines | 49.30 | 71,083 | 36.0 | 24.0% | 25.7% |
| 62 | Pella | 49.40 | 10,720 | 35.2 | 36.0% | 24.8% |
| 63 | Denison | 50.00 | 8,260 | 34.3 | 20.0% | 41.4% |
| 64 | Dubuque | 50.20 | 59,174 | 38.1 | 30.0% | 24.2% |
| 65 | Creston | 50.30 | 7,435 | 39.5 | 24.0% | 25.5% |
| 66 | Marshalltown | 52.90 | 27,626 | 35.7 | 22.0% | 33.4% |
| 67 | Perry | 53.20 | 7,985 | 39.0 | 18.0% | 29.3% |
| 68 | Hiawatha | 53.30 | 7,206 | 32.4 | 26.0% | 35.7% |
| 69 | Decorah | 53.70 | 7,535 | 39.5 | 22.0% | 14.7% |
| 70 | Davenport | 53.70 | 100,913 | 37.5 | 22.0% | 24.9% |
| 71 | North Liberty | 55.60 | 21,125 | 31.7 | 26.0% | 33.7% |
| 72 | Coralville | 55.90 | 23,234 | 34.0 | 21.0% | 25.6% |
| 73 | Fort Dodge | 56.80 | 24,827 | 37.6 | 24.0% | 23.0% |
| 74 | Des Moines | 60.80 | 212,421 | 34.6 | 21.0% | 29.2% |
| 75 | Cedar Falls | 61.20 | 40,888 | 29.3 | 30.0% | 21.9% |
| 76 | Storm Lake | 65.80 | 11,428 | 30.9 | 17.0% | 32.7% |
| 77 | Grinnell | 66.20 | 9,505 | 36.5 | 21.0% | 21.9% |
| 78 | Ames | 77.20 | 67,669 | 23.3 | 13.0% | 15.5% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 78 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
On a ranking like this, there are usually no winners, but since Iowa isn’t necessarily the most boring state in the United States, the cities on this ranking can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.
The most boring cities in Iowa are Eldridge, Clear Lake, Norwalk, Manchester, Independence, Cherokee, Atlantic, Pleasant Hill, Boone, and Knoxville.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the most exciting places in Iowa, according to science.
