Scores by category

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

Safety30#10,976/15,637
Economy55#7,088/15,631
Housing42#8,619/14,977
Health60#6,220/15,609
Healthcare84#2,559/15,650
Environment79#3,206/15,453
Education70#4,674/15,649
Infrastructure77#3,616/15,650
Community77#3,598/15,651
Leisure & amenities62#5,919/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Average commute time · low14.0 min
99/100Iowa 19.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Flu vaccinations · high59.0%
98/100Iowa 51.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlack Hawk County value
High school diploma or higher · high97.8%
98/100Iowa 93.3%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Mammography screening · high58.0%
97/100Iowa 57.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlack Hawk County value
Drug overdose deaths · low7.2 /100k
93/100Iowa 9.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataBlack Hawk County value
Loneliness · low30.2%
92/100Iowa 33.1%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Distance to an Amtrak station · high102 mi
9/100Iowa 60 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauBlack Hawk County value
Suicide rate · high21.5 /100k
16/100Iowa 16.9 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBlack Hawk County value
Median Air Quality Index · high49
17/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyBlack Hawk County value
Property crime rate · high1,792 /100k
19/100Iowa 1,172 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationBlack Hawk County value
Firearm deaths · high18.4 /100k
21/100Iowa 11.4 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBlack Hawk County value
Math scores · low2.77
21/100Iowa 3.03United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlack Hawk County value

Trends

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

Child poverty rateImproving
12.6% (2015-2019) → 6.6% (2020-2024)
−6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
51.6% (2015-2019) → 57.4% (2020-2024)
+5.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
87.3% (2015-2019) → 93.1% (2020-2024)
+5.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$61,420 (2015-2019) → $76,987 (2020-2024)
+25%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
31.0% (2015-2019) → 34.1% (2020-2024)
+3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
47.4% (2015-2019) → 50.4% (2020-2024)
+3 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, Cedar Falls, Iowa improved on 4 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 1 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.

Improved4

Inequality−0.0610.508 → 0.447
Child poverty−6 points12.6% → 6.6%
Household income+25%$61,420 → $76,987
Broadband+5.8 points87.3% → 93.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Cedar Falls, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	14.7 min2015-2019	14.0 min2020-2024	−0.7 min	Within the margin of error	56%
Bachelor's degree or higher	47.4%2015-2019	50.4%2020-2024	+3 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Broadband subscriptions	87.3%2015-2019	93.1%2020-2024	+5.8 points	Improved	37%
Child poverty rate	12.6%2015-2019	6.6%2020-2024	−6 points	Improved	72%
Effective property tax rate	1.61%2015-2019	1.24%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	82%
High school diploma or higher	96.1%2015-2019	97.8%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	3.4×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	58%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5082015-2019	0.4472020-2024	−0.061	Improved	88%
Median household income	$61,4202015-2019	$76,9872020-2024	+25%	Improved	45%
Poverty rate	18.0%2015-2019	15.7%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Public transit commuters	0.2%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	23%
Rent as share of income	31.0%2015-2019	34.1%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Rent-burdened households	51.6%2015-2019	57.4%2020-2024	+5.9 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Unemployment rate	3.1%2015-2019	3.9%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.2%2015-2019	3.5%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	55%

“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 Cedar Falls, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cedar Falls, 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, Cedar Falls, Iowa itself moved +1.1 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

40,888 residents (±39)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 70–79 women (+1.5 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

40,888 residents (±39)

Cedar Falls, Iowa
Iowa share

White91%37,031
Black1.4%†555
Hispanic or Latino2.2%893

Education

22,547 residents (±601)

Cedar Falls, Iowa
Iowa share

No high school diploma2.2%†501
High school or GED21%4,721
Some college16%3,700

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

15,908 households (±454)

Cedar Falls, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k12%1,936
$25k–50k20%3,215
$50k–75k16%2,594
$75k–100k11%1,781
$100k–150k19%3,093
$150k–200k9.9%1,576
$200k or more11%1,713

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−6.2 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

15,908 households (±454)

Cedar Falls, Iowa
Iowa share

Own64%10,175
Rent36%5,733

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

5,554 households (±472)

Cedar Falls, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $75011%†614
$750–1,00020%1,110
$1,000–1,50038%2,133

Home values

10,175 homes (±425)

Cedar Falls, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $150k15%1,524
$150k–250k32%3,245
$250k–400k34%3,419

Age of homes

16,804 homes (±468)

Cedar Falls, Iowa
Iowa share

2010 or later15%2,564
2000–200911%1,848
1980–199916%2,615

Size of homes

16,804 homes (±468)

Cedar Falls, Iowa
Iowa share

Studio1.6%†276
1 bedroom8.5%1,429
2 bedrooms27%4,516

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

22,373 workers (±820)

Cedar Falls, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone77%17,168
Carpool5.5%1,223
Public transit0.0%0
Walk5.8%1,293
Bike0.6%†136
Work from home11%2,478
Other0.3%†75

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+6.1 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

19,895 workers (±781)

Cedar Falls, Iowa
Iowa share

Under 15 min58%11,484
15–29 min36%7,097
30–44 min3.4%680

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA

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 Black Hawk County, the county holding most of Cedar Falls's residents.

Black Hawk County has 3,105 employer establishments, 237 for every 10,000 residents (0.96× the US rate of 248; 0.92× Iowa's), with 63,693 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,712. The Census Bureau also counts 8,500 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,105; 8,500 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 237; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 63,693
Average annual pay: $56,712; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	225	17.2	0.83×About typical	3,042	$71,221	321
Restaurants and other eating places	214	16.4	0.89×About typical	4,874	$17,846	28
Specialty trade contractors	166	12.7	0.82×About typical	1,623	$73,898	484
Lessors of real estate	138	10.5	0.86×About typical	531	$41,996	1,076
Limited-service restaurants	103	7.9	0.98×About typical	2,078	$18,114	12
Religious organizations	100	7.6	1.38×More than typical	854	$21,267	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	100	7.6	1.13×About typical	1,037	$28,536	416
Truck transportation	87	6.7	1.32×More than typical	1,087	$61,251	395
Offices of other health practitioners	83	6.3	1.04×About typical	534	$48,500	121
Full-service restaurants	80	6.1	0.80×Fewer than typical	2,286	$18,051	11
Automotive repair and maintenance	77	5.9	1.17×About typical	456	$43,432	110
Construction of buildings	74	5.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	560	$66,807	224

Rank places for an industry Open Black Hawk County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 130,812 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 $20M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Cedar Falls, Iowa: $489 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $20M; +30% vs FY2025
Per resident: $489; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.4%; US 30%
Single offer: 11%; 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

Internal Revenue Service$13.3M67%
Bureau of the Fiscal Service$5.6M28%
Office of the Chief Financial Officer$996.1K5.0%
Department of Veterans Affairs$93.8K0.5%
Department of the Army$2,5740.0%

Top recipients

THE CBE GROUP, INC.$18.9M95%
AERIAL SERVICES, INC.$996.1K5.0%
TALK TO ME TECHNOLOGIES LLC$93.8K0.5%
EARTHWORKS LANDSCAPE AND MAINTENANCE, LLC$2,5740.0%

Spending by fiscal year

6.2MFY2017
3.1MFY2018
5.8MFY2019
6.5MFY2020
9.2MFY2021
10.9MFY2022
14.9MFY2023
13.7M

Top industries (NAICS)

Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services · 5412$13.2M66%
Business support services · 5614$5.7M29%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$996.1K5.0%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$74.7K0.4%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$14.2K0.1%

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 Cedar Falls, Iowa, so they do not add up across cities.

Cedar Falls, Iowa's figures are part of those of Black Hawk County, IA ($74.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 27% of that total.

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

See federal money in Black Hawk 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.

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

House

Ashley HinsonR-IA-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 1.5%

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.

Black Hawk County78100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA87

Other cities and towns in Black Hawk 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/1911755

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends