City · Monroe County, Iowa

Albia, Iowa

Albia is a city in Monroe County, Iowa. It has 3,663 residents. Albia, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 76 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,822 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #174 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on drug overdose deaths (low), property crime rate (low) and reading scores (high). It ranks worst on rent-burdened households (high), pharmacies (low) and gyms and fitness centers (low).

76High

Quality-of-life score: #3,822 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #174 of 281 in IA
Population: 3,663 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 1,126.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 1900910

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety88#1,822/15,637
Economy56#6,814/15,631
Housing34#9,937/14,977
Health51#7,653/15,609
Healthcare68#5,075/15,650
Environment68#4,907/15,453
Education85#2,315/15,649
Infrastructure59#6,429/15,650
Community88#1,816/15,651
Leisure & amenities44#8,747/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Albia, Iowa ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Monroe 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

Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Iowa 9.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionMonroe County value
Property crime rate · low274 /100k
98/100Iowa 1,172 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationMonroe County value
Reading scores · high3.50
97/100Iowa 3.05United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMonroe County value
Math scores · high3.50
96/100Iowa 3.03United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMonroe County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low1.4%
95/100Iowa 6.4%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Home price to income ratio · low1.9×
94/100Iowa 2.8×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077

Weaknesses

Rent-burdened households · high66.8%
0/100Iowa 43.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100Iowa 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMonroe County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Iowa 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMonroe County value
Mental health providers · low41 /100k
4/100Iowa 226 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMonroe County value
New homes permitted · low0.0 /1k
13/100Iowa 4.1 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Flu vaccinations · low34.0%
15/100Iowa 51.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMonroe County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
44.9% (2015-2019) → 66.8% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
0.5 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.6% (2015-2019) → 91.5% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
84.3% (2015-2019) → 96.8% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$46,332 (2015-2019) → $70,455 (2020-2024)
+52%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Average commute timeWorsening
17.4 min (2015-2019) → 25.7 min (2020-2024)
+48%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Albia, Iowa improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 8 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.

Improved3

Broadband+20 points71.6% → 91.5%
Household income+52%$46,332 → $70,455
Bachelor's++8.7 points16.0% → 24.7%

Declined2

Commute+8.3 min17.4 min → 25.7 min
Rent burden+22 points44.9% → 66.8%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Albia, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.4 min2015-2019	25.7 min2020-2024	+8.3 min	Declined	4%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.0%2015-2019	24.7%2020-2024	+8.7 points	Improved	86%
Broadband subscriptions	71.6%2015-2019	91.5%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	90%
Child poverty rate	13.8%2015-2019	16.9%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Effective property tax rate	2.10%2015-2019	1.51%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	94%
High school diploma or higher	84.3%2015-2019	96.8%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	98%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	1.8×2020-2024	−0.0×	Within the margin of error	81%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4282015-2019	0.3802020-2024	−0.048	Within the margin of error	83%
Median household income	$46,3322015-2019	$70,4552020-2024	+52%	Improved	86%
Poverty rate	13.7%2015-2019	14.7%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Rent as share of income	28.1%2015-2019	35.1%2020-2024	+7 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Rent-burdened households	44.9%2015-2019	66.8%2020-2024	+22 points	Declined	7%
Unemployment rate	4.6%2015-2019	5.1%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	38%

“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 Albia, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Albia, Iowa 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, Albia, Iowa itself moved +4.4 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

3,663 residents (±33)

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

1,558 households (±149)

Albia, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k21%†325
$25k–50k16%†255
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,558 households (±149)

Albia, Iowa
Iowa share

Own73%1,143
Rent27%†415

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

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,614 workers (±162)

Albia, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone75%1,216
Carpool11%†184
Public transit0.0%0

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 Monroe County, the county holding most of Albia's residents.

Monroe County has 183 employer establishments, 244 for every 10,000 residents (0.98× the US rate of 248; 0.94× Iowa's), with 2,403 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,057. The Census Bureau also counts 563 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 183; 563 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 244; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 2,403
Average annual pay: $56,057; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	14	18.7	1.21×About typical	27	$53,852	82
Restaurants and other eating places	12	16	0.87×About typical	136	$13,066	—
Religious organizations	10	13.4	2.41×More than typical	33	$12,606	—
Ambulatory health care services	9	12	0.58×Too few to compare	52	$52,673	20
Lessors of real estate	7	9.3	0.76×Too few to compare	14	$29,143	57
Truck transportation	7	9.3	1.85×Too few to compare	20	$31,050	24
Full-service restaurants	6	8	1.04×Too few to compare	80	$10,838	—
Other specialty trade contractors	6	8	3.19×Too few to compare	8	$56,000	35
Services to buildings and dwellings	5	6.7	0.99×Too few to compare	99	$28,404	34
Building equipment contractors	4	5.3	0.89×Too few to compare	17	$40,765	12
Construction of buildings	4	5.3	0.71×Too few to compare	13	$73,385	26
Gasoline stations	4	5.3	1.65×Too few to compare	70	$20,500	—

Rank places for an industry Open Monroe County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 7,490 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Albia, Iowa: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0; 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

Top recipients

MOI, INC.$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

6.6KFY2017
6KFY2018
4.2KFY2019
2.9KFY2020
1.8KFY2021
747.4FY2022
4.8KFY2023
2.9KFY2024
2.6KFY2025
0FY2026

What was bought

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 Albia, Iowa, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Monroe 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.

Albia, Iowa is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Zachary NunnR-IA-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 95%Missed 4.6%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

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

Monroe County86100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Monroe 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/1900910

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends