Census-designated place · Lee County, Florida

Iona, Florida

Iona is a census-designated place in Lee County, Florida, part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL metro area. It has 13,631 residents. Iona, Florida has a quality-of-life score of 43 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,904 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Florida it ranks #407 of 780 cities and towns. It ranks best on new business applications (high), mammography screening (high) and life expectancy (high). It ranks worst on rent-burdened households (high), income inequality (Gini index) (high) and hot days (high).

43Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,904 of 15,651 cities and towns
Florida: #407 of 780 in FL
Population: 13,631 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 2,056.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 1234012

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety51#7,597/15,637
Economy64#5,633/15,631
Housing2#14,616/14,977
Health77#3,557/15,609
Healthcare31#10,744/15,650
Environment57#6,582/15,453
Education79#3,302/15,649
Infrastructure26#11,508/15,650
Community16#13,145/15,651
Leisure & amenities62#6,000/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Iona, Florida ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lee County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

New business applications · high24.7 /1k
95/100Florida 27.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauLee County value
Mammography screening · high55.0%
91/100Florida 46.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLee County value
Life expectancy · high81.0 yrs
89/100Florida 78.5 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLee County value
High school diploma or higher · high93.4%
89/100Florida 89.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Comfortable days · high31.9%
86/100Florida 32.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLee County value
Distance to an airport · low11 mi
86/100Florida 21 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauLee County value

Weaknesses

Rent-burdened households · high75.9%
1/100Florida 60.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.546
1/100Florida 0.485United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Hot days · high126 days
3/100Florida 102 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLee County value
Rent as share of income · high46.0%
5/100Florida 35.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Natural hazard risk · high95.6
5/100Florida 75.92025Federal Emergency Management AgencyLee County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
5/100Florida 0.2 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesLee County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Child poverty rateImproving
24.8% (2015-2019) → 2.0% (2020-2024)
−23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
63.0% (2015-2019) → 75.9% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
38.5% (2015-2019) → 46.0% (2020-2024)
+7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
81.0% (2015-2019) → 87.1% (2020-2024)
+6.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Average commute timeWorsening
22.1 min (2015-2019) → 25.8 min (2020-2024)
+17%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Median household incomeImproving
$58,075 (2015-2019) → $66,827 (2020-2024)
+15%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Iona, Florida improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Broadband+6.1 points81.0% → 87.1%
Household income+15%$58,075 → $66,827

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Iona, Florida between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.1 min2015-2019	25.8 min2020-2024	+3.8 min	Within the margin of error	15%
Bachelor's degree or higher	38.7%2015-2019	39.4%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Broadband subscriptions	81.0%2015-2019	87.1%2020-2024	+6.1 points	Improved	38%
Effective property tax rate	0.82%2015-2019	0.71%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	39%
High school diploma or higher	93.3%2015-2019	93.4%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Home price to income ratio	4.2×2015-2019	4.8×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	42%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5252015-2019	0.5462020-2024	+0.021	Within the margin of error	33%
Median household income	$58,0752015-2019	$66,8272020-2024	+15%	Improved	24%
Poverty rate	9.2%2015-2019	8.2%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Rent as share of income	38.5%2015-2019	46.0%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Rent-burdened households	63.0%2015-2019	75.9%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	16.8%2015-2019	18.3%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	29%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Iona, Florida five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Iona, Florida in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Iona, Florida itself moved −7.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

13,631 residents (±976)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

7,262 households (±578)

Iona, Florida
Florida share

Under $25k15%1,101
$25k–50k25%1,795
$50k–75k18%1,286

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

7,262 households (±578)

Iona, Florida
Florida share

Own72%5,227
Rent28%2,035

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

3,966 workers (±605)

Iona, Florida
Florida share

Drive alone68%2,694
Carpool2.6%†102
Public transit0.2%†8

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Lee County, the county holding most of Iona's residents.

Lee County has 22,756 employer establishments, 269 for every 10,000 residents (1.08× the US rate of 248; 0.96× Florida's), with 264,855 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,417. The Census Bureau also counts 114,704 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 22,756; 114,704 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 269; US 248 · Florida 282
Paid employees: 264,855
Average annual pay: $55,417; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Lee County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	2,697	31.9	2.06×More than typical	25,169	$57,963	10,087
Lessors of real estate	1,861	22	1.79×More than typical	5,822	$56,311	12,361
Ambulatory health care services	1,770	20.9	1.00×About typical	20,352	$74,372	6,551
Restaurants and other eating places	1,317	15.6	0.85×About typical	28,185	$24,141	634
Services to buildings and dwellings	1,254	14.8	2.20×More than typical	8,243	$40,048	10,331
Real estate agents and brokers	1,134	13.4	2.75×More than typical	1,811	$83,144	4,936
Construction of buildings	1,052	12.4	1.64×More than typical	6,504	$78,560	5,386
Building finishing contractors	916	10.8	2.85×More than typical	5,494	$48,601	3,853
Building equipment contractors	889	10.5	1.75×More than typical	9,076	$63,932	2,174
Full-service restaurants	692	8.2	1.06×About typical	17,117	$26,900	262
Management, scientific and technical consulting	686	8.1	1.21×About typical	3,288	$71,375	3,512
Offices of physicians	608	7.2	1.11×About typical	8,712	$88,676	648

Rank places for an industry Open Lee County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 846,125 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated -$55.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Iona, Florida: -$4.04 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$55.1K; −248% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$4.04; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Consumer Product Safety Commission$6,5820.0%

Top recipients

LEE MEMORIAL HEALTH SYSTEM FOUNDATION, INC.$6,5820.0%
KANADA US LLC-$2130.0%
WASTE MANAGEMENT INC. OF FLORIDA-$3610.0%
TREMBLAY THOMAS R-$1,3460.0%
MCGREGOR PARK PLAZA, INC-$1,3550.0%
COUNTY OF LEE-$17.5K0.0%
NHC-FL5 L.P.-$18.9K0.0%
FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY-$21.9K0.0%

Spending by fiscal year

33.2KFY2017
70.3KFY2018
54.9KFY2019
171.2KFY2020
23.6KFY2021
20KFY2022
558.2KFY2023
257.3KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Data processing, hosting, and related services · 5182$6,5820.0%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Iona, Florida, so they do not add up across cities.

Iona, Florida's figures are part of those of Lee County, FL ($114.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Iona is mostly in Lee County.

See federal money in Lee County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Iona, Florida is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Lee County60100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL63

Other cities and towns in Lee County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1234012

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends