City · Audubon County, Iowa

Audubon, Iowa

Audubon is a city in Audubon County, Iowa. It has 2,130 residents. Audubon, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 62 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,977 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #239 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on firearm deaths (low), time spent in the emergency room (low) and preventable hospital stays (low). It ranks worst on mental health providers (low), median household income (low) and broadband subscriptions (low).

62High

Quality-of-life score: #5,977 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #239 of 281 in IA
Population: 2,130 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,101.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 1903655

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety83#2,628/15,637
Economy29#11,068/15,631
Housing41#8,778/14,977
Health42#9,060/15,609
Healthcare43#8,974/15,650
Environment93#1,087/15,453
Education53#7,278/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,242/15,650
Community93#1,089/15,651
Leisure & amenities66#5,327/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Iowa 11.4 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAudubon County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low84 min
99/100Iowa 128 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesAudubon County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,363 /100k
98/100Iowa 2,368 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAudubon County value
Public libraries · high3.6 /10k
97/100Iowa 1.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesAudubon County value
Social associations · high18.1 /10k
96/100Iowa 14.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAudubon County value
Average commute time · low16.7 min
95/100Iowa 19.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Mental health providers · low36 /100k
3/100Iowa 226 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAudubon County value
Median household income · low$39,816
5/100Iowa $75,623United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Broadband subscriptions · low81.3%
6/100Iowa 88.8%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Math scores · low2.59
8/100Iowa 3.03United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAudubon County value
New homes permitted · low0.0 /1k
13/100Iowa 4.1 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.517
14/100Iowa 0.444United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,991 (2015-2019) → 2,130 (2020-2024)
+7%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
39.9% (2015-2019) → 12.8% (2020-2024)
−27 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
45.8% (2015-2019) → 63.4% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.5× (2015-2019) → 2.5× (2020-2024)
+69%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
24.8% (2015-2019) → 38.0% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
13.3% (2015-2019) → 23.3% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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

Improved2

Bachelor's++10 points13.3% → 23.3%
Broadband+8.5 points72.9% → 81.4%

Declined3

Inequality+0.1370.380 → 0.517
Rent / income+13 points24.8% → 38.0%
Price / income+1.0×1.5× → 2.5×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Audubon, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.6 min2015-2019	16.7 min2020-2024	+0.1 min	Within the margin of error	46%
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.3%2015-2019	23.3%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	90%
Broadband subscriptions	72.9%2015-2019	81.4%2020-2024	+8.5 points	Improved	52%
Effective property tax rate	1.67%2015-2019	1.55%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	40%
High school diploma or higher	85.4%2015-2019	88.6%2020-2024	+3.3 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Home price to income ratio	1.5×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+1.0×	Declined	22%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3802015-2019	0.5172020-2024	+0.137	Declined	2%
Median household income	$44,1522015-2019	$39,8162020-2024	−9.8%	Within the margin of error	3%
Poverty rate	16.3%2015-2019	14.4%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	24.8%2015-2019	38.0%2020-2024	+13 points	Declined	6%
Rent-burdened households	45.8%2015-2019	63.4%2020-2024	+18 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.6%2015-2019	6.7%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	58%

“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 Audubon, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Audubon, 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, Audubon, Iowa itself moved −20.4 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

2,130 residents (±152)

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

1,078 households (±77)

Audubon, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k21%†229
$25k–50k38%411
$50k–75k11%†116

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,078 households (±77)

Audubon, Iowa
Iowa share

Own66%709
Rent34%369

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−10.5 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

959 workers (±118)

Audubon, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone88%848
Carpool3.9%†37
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 Audubon County, the county holding most of Audubon's residents.

Audubon County has 184 employer establishments, 333 for every 10,000 residents (1.34× the US rate of 248; 1.28× Iowa's), with 1,411 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,998. The Census Bureau also counts 445 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 184; 445 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 333; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 1,411
Average annual pay: $47,998; US $68,342

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

Truck transportation	26	47	9.30×More than typical	56	$50,268	42
Religious organizations	10	18.1	3.26×More than typical	31	$15,710	—
Specialty trade contractors	10	18.1	1.17×About typical	30	$42,933	49
Ambulatory health care services	9	16.3	0.78×Too few to compare	42	$65,167	10
Construction of buildings	9	16.3	2.15×Too few to compare	31	$48,032	13
Restaurants and other eating places	8	14.5	0.79×Too few to compare	115	$15,452	4
Full-service restaurants	6	10.9	1.41×Too few to compare	90	$15,878	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	5	9	1.80×Too few to compare	28	$45,464	12
Building equipment contractors	5	9	1.50×Too few to compare	23	$42,957	8
Commercial and industrial machinery repair	5	9	13.3×Too few to compare	18	$51,167	3
Insurance agencies and brokerages	5	9	2.06×Too few to compare	24	$46,833	9
Banks and credit unions	4	7.2	2.24×Too few to compare	34	$66,382	—

Rank places for an industry Open Audubon County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 5,527 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Audubon 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.

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

House

Randy FeenstraR-IA-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 1.6%

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.

Audubon County90100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Audubon 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/1903655

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends