City · Wright County, Iowa

Clarion, Iowa

Clarion is a city in Wright County, Iowa. It has 2,770 residents. Clarion, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 83 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,737 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #129 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), grocery stores (high) and drug overdose deaths (low). It ranks worst on public EV charging ports (low), reading scores (low) and distance to an Amtrak station (high).

83Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,737 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #129 of 281 in IA
Population: 2,770 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 824.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 1913620

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.

Safety94#867/15,637
Economy55#7,051/15,631
Housing87#1,966/14,977
Health68#5,067/15,609
Healthcare38#9,676/15,650
Environment91#1,411/15,453
Education38#9,697/15,649
Infrastructure40#9,395/15,650
Community94#915/15,651
Leisure & amenities95#823/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Social associations · high25.3 /10k
99/100Iowa 14.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWright County value
Grocery stores · high4.7 /10k
99/100Iowa 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWright County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Iowa 9.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWright County value
Average commute time · low13.1 min
99/100Iowa 19.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Mammography screening · high60.0%
98/100Iowa 57.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWright County value
Public libraries · high3.9 /10k
98/100Iowa 1.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesWright County value

Weaknesses

Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Iowa 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyWright County value
Reading scores · low2.63
5/100Iowa 3.05United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWright County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high117 mi
8/100Iowa 60 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauWright County value
Mental health care shortage · high18.0
11/100Iowa 10.1United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationWright County value
New business applications · low8.7 /1k
12/100Iowa 10.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauWright County value
Flu vaccinations · low33.0%
13/100Iowa 51.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWright County value

Trends

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

Child poverty rateImproving
38.4% (2015-2019) → 10.7% (2020-2024)
−28 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
63.8% (2015-2019) → 86.1% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
14.2% (2015-2019) → 26.4% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$41,712 (2015-2019) → $64,625 (2020-2024)
+55%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
New homes permittedWorsening
0.7 /1k (2021) → 0.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−49%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Poverty rateImproving
20.3% (2015-2019) → 10.5% (2020-2024)
−9.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Clarion, Iowa improved on 3 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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+22 points63.8% → 86.1%
Bachelor's++12 points14.2% → 26.4%
Household income+55%$41,712 → $64,625

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Clarion, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	12.8 min2015-2019	13.1 min2020-2024	+0.3 min	Within the margin of error	44%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.2%2015-2019	26.4%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	94%
Broadband subscriptions	63.8%2015-2019	86.1%2020-2024	+22 points	Improved	93%
Effective property tax rate	1.59%2015-2019	1.37%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	62%
High school diploma or higher	86.4%2015-2019	87.1%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	1.8×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	89%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4162015-2019	0.4512020-2024	+0.034	Within the margin of error	24%
Median household income	$41,7122015-2019	$64,6252020-2024	+55%	Improved	88%
Rent as share of income	28.5%2015-2019	23.3%2020-2024	−5.2 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Rent-burdened households	47.9%2015-2019	42.6%2020-2024	−5.3 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.5%2015-2019	7.9%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	74%

“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 Clarion, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Clarion, 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, Clarion, Iowa itself moved +10 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

2,770 residents (±29)

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

1,319 households (±103)

Clarion, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k9.6%†126
$25k–50k26%†337
$50k–75k23%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,319 households (±103)

Clarion, Iowa
Iowa share

Own70%923
Rent30%396

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

1,485 workers (±122)

Clarion, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone84%1,244
Carpool7.8%†116
Public transit0.3%†5

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 Wright County, the county holding most of Clarion's residents.

Wright County has 358 employer establishments, 279 for every 10,000 residents (1.12× the US rate of 248; 1.08× Iowa's), with 4,315 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,370. The Census Bureau also counts 867 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 358; 867 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 279; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 4,315
Average annual pay: $56,370; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	25	19.5	3.51×More than typical	72	$13,389	—
Ambulatory health care services	22	17.2	0.82×About typical	139	$44,209	17
Restaurants and other eating places	22	17.2	0.93×About typical	172	$12,599	6
Specialty trade contractors	21	16.4	1.06×About typical	100	$66,970	59
Truck transportation	16	12.5	2.47×More than typical	74	$43,595	53
Automotive repair and maintenance	12	9.4	1.86×More than typical	49	$34,857	19
Offices of other health practitioners	12	9.4	1.54×More than typical	33	$30,818	5
Services to buildings and dwellings	12	9.4	1.39×More than typical	16	$21,563	56
Banks and credit unions	11	8.6	2.65×More than typical	79	$45,823	—
Full-service restaurants	11	8.6	1.12×About typical	92	$12,554	5
Insurance agencies and brokerages	11	8.6	1.95×More than typical	42	$57,881	14
Gasoline stations	10	7.8	2.41×More than typical	116	$26,509	—

Rank places for an industry Open Wright County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 12,825 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 $2,777 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Clarion, Iowa: $1.00 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $2,777
Per resident: $1.00; US $1,994
Sole-source: 4.0%; 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

Agricultural Marketing Service$2,66696%
Rural Housing Service$1114.0%

Top recipients

CENTRUM VALLEY FARMS, LLP$2,66696%
PINNACLE APPRAISALS LLC$1114.0%

Spending by fiscal year

7.7KFY2020
60.6KFY2021
4.5KFY2022
25.3KFY2023
2.8KFY2026

What was bought

Other equipment & supplies$2,66696%
Professional services$1114.0%

Top industries (NAICS)

Other food manufacturing · 3119$2,66696%
Activities related to real estate · 5313$1114.0%

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

Clarion, Iowa's figures are part of those of Wright County, IA ($112.5K in FY2026), never added to them: 2.5% of that total.

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

See federal money in Wright 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.

Clarion, 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.

Wright County91100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Wright 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/1913620

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends