City · Des Moines County, Iowa

Burlington, Iowa

Burlington is a city in Des Moines County, Iowa, part of the Burlington, IA-IL metro area. It has 23,728 residents. Burlington, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 54 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,154 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #259 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an Amtrak station (low), average commute time (low) and social associations (high). It ranks worst on suicide rate (high), broadband subscriptions (low) and primary care shortage (high).

54Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,154 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #259 of 281 in IA
Population: 23,728 (2020-2024)
Land area: 14 mi²
Density: 1,646.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 1909550

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.

Safety32#10,595/15,637
Economy34#10,307/15,631
Housing73#4,118/14,977
Health36#10,006/15,609
Healthcare69#4,832/15,650
Environment54#7,179/15,453
Education51#7,628/15,649
Infrastructure47#8,226/15,650
Community68#4,934/15,651
Leisure & amenities65#5,416/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Distance to an Amtrak station · low4 mi
99/100Iowa 60 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauDes Moines County value
Average commute time · low16.1 min
97/100Iowa 19.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Social associations · high17.8 /10k
96/100Iowa 14.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDes Moines County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.9×
93/100Iowa 2.8×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Traffic deaths · low6.2 /100k
88/100Iowa 11.0 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataDes Moines County value
High school diploma or higher · high93.6%
87/100Iowa 93.3%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high39.2 /100k
1/100Iowa 16.9 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataDes Moines County value
Broadband subscriptions · low85.4%
11/100Iowa 88.8%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Primary care shortage · high16.0
14/100Iowa 7.0United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationDes Moines County value
Effective property tax rate · high1.59%
18/100Iowa 1.33%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Distance to an airport · high78 mi
18/100Iowa 44 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauDes Moines County value
Property crime rate · high1,601 /100k
23/100Iowa 1,172 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationDes Moines County value

Trends

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

Child poverty rateImproving
35.5% (2015-2019) → 15.8% (2020-2024)
−20 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
1.6 /1k (2021) → 0.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−89%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.2% (2015-2019) → 85.4% (2020-2024)
+8.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
20.7% (2015-2019) → 13.2% (2020-2024)
−7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$47,540 (2015-2019) → $59,000 (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
18.9% (2015-2019) → 22.5% (2020-2024)
+3.6 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, Burlington, Iowa improved on 5 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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.

Improved5

Child poverty−20 points35.5% → 15.8%
Poverty−7.5 points20.7% → 13.2%
Bachelor's++3.6 points18.9% → 22.5%
Broadband+8.2 points77.2% → 85.4%
Household income+24%$47,540 → $59,000

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Burlington, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	15.6 min2015-2019	16.1 min2020-2024	+0.6 min	Within the margin of error	41%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.9%2015-2019	22.5%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Improved	57%
Broadband subscriptions	77.2%2015-2019	85.4%2020-2024	+8.2 points	Improved	50%
Child poverty rate	35.5%2015-2019	15.8%2020-2024	−20 points	Improved	93%
Effective property tax rate	1.71%2015-2019	1.59%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	41%
High school diploma or higher	91.1%2015-2019	93.6%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	1.9×2020-2024	−0.0×	Within the margin of error	80%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4732015-2019	0.4382020-2024	−0.035	Within the margin of error	77%
Median household income	$47,5402015-2019	$59,0002020-2024	+24%	Improved	42%
Poverty rate	20.7%2015-2019	13.2%2020-2024	−7.5 points	Improved	88%
Rent as share of income	31.0%2015-2019	29.7%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Rent-burdened households	51.8%2015-2019	49.1%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Unemployment rate	6.3%2015-2019	3.9%2020-2024	−2.5 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.2%2015-2019	5.8%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	63%

“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 Burlington, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Burlington, 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, Burlington, Iowa itself moved +3.8 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

23,728 residents (±24)

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

11,070 households (±297)

Burlington, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k19%2,155
$25k–50k22%2,459
$50k–75k20%2,231

Homes

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

Owners and renters

11,070 households (±297)

Burlington, Iowa
Iowa share

Own71%7,820
Rent29%3,250

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+4.5 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

11,177 workers (±451)

Burlington, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone80%8,963
Carpool11%1,266
Public transit1.1%†125

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 Burlington, IA-IL

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 Des Moines County, the county holding most of Burlington's residents.

Des Moines County has 1,065 employer establishments, 278 for every 10,000 residents (1.12× the US rate of 248; 1.07× Iowa's), with 18,107 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,464. The Census Bureau also counts 2,568 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,065; 2,568 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 278; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 18,107
Average annual pay: $48,464; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	88	23	1.10×About typical	1,416	$72,665	99
Restaurants and other eating places	68	17.8	0.97×About typical	1,445	$18,030	13
Specialty trade contractors	55	14.4	0.93×About typical	489	$67,258	206
Religious organizations	48	12.5	2.26×More than typical	171	$22,965	—
Offices of physicians	39	10.2	1.57×More than typical	874	$83,995	12
Individual and family services	37	9.7	3.45×More than typical	339	$35,448	15
Lessors of real estate	36	9.4	0.76×Fewer than typical	103	$35,932	293
Limited-service restaurants	32	8.4	1.04×About typical	796	$16,480	5
Automotive repair and maintenance	29	7.6	1.50×More than typical	128	$42,188	35
Full-service restaurants	29	7.6	0.99×About typical	530	$20,919	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	29	7.6	1.12×About typical	233	$36,700	182
Insurance agencies and brokerages	26	6.8	1.55×More than typical	130	$54,077	40

Rank places for an industry Open Des Moines County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 38,299 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 $4,782 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Burlington, Iowa: $0.20 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $4,782; −79% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.20; US $1,995
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Social Security Administration$10.1K100%

Top recipients

FRANCONIA REAL ESTATE SERVICES, INC.$10.1K100%
COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS OF SOUTHEASTERN IOWA INC$00.0%
CRAY LAW FIRM, PLC-$5,3030.0%

Spending by fiscal year

167.1KFY2017
232.1KFY2018
42.4KFY2019
25.5KFY2020
118.4KFY2021
409.1KFY2022
-62.4KFY2023
85.9KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Offices of real estate agents and brokers · 5312$10.1K100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Burlington, Iowa, so they do not add up across cities.

Burlington, Iowa's figures are part of those of Des Moines County, IA ($94.3M 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: Burlington is mostly in Des Moines County.

See federal money in Des Moines 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.

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

House

Mariannette Miller-MeeksR-IA-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 96%Missed 3.9%

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.

Des Moines County75100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Burlington, IA-IL71

Other cities and towns in Des Moines 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/1909550

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends