City · Louisa County, Iowa

Columbus Junction, Iowa

Columbus Junction is a city in Louisa County, Iowa. It has 2,110 residents. Columbus Junction, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 55 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,971 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #255 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on property crime rate (low), firearm deaths (low) and drug overdose deaths (low). It ranks worst on job growth (low), primary care physicians (low) and pharmacies (low).

55Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,971 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #255 of 281 in IA
Population: 2,110 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 982.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 1915420

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety89#1,685/15,637
Economy33#10,489/15,631
Housing94#968/14,977
Health65#5,536/15,609
Healthcare23#12,018/15,650
Environment46#8,402/15,453
Education23#11,982/15,649
Infrastructure31#10,865/15,650
Community81#2,951/15,651
Leisure & amenities47#8,346/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Property crime rate · low190 /100k
99/100Iowa 1,172 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationLouisa County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Iowa 11.4 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionLouisa 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 dataLouisa County value
Public libraries · high3.8 /10k
97/100Iowa 1.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesLouisa County value
Rent-burdened households · low26.8%
97/100Iowa 43.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Iowa 2.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionLouisa County value

Weaknesses

Job growth · low-6.1%
1/100Iowa -0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLouisa County value
Primary care physicians · low9 /100k
1/100Iowa 74 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2021University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLouisa County value
Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100Iowa 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLouisa County value
New business applications · low6.8 /1k
2/100Iowa 10.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauLouisa County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Iowa 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLouisa County value
Distance to an emergency room · high17.6 mi
5/100Iowa 5.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLouisa County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,229 (2015-2019) → 2,110 (2020-2024)
−5.3%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
67.9% (2015-2019) → 86.3% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Average commute timeWorsening
21.0 min (2015-2019) → 28.8 min (2020-2024)
+37%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Median household incomeImproving
$47,151 (2015-2019) → $63,828 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
21.5% (2015-2019) → 14.9% (2020-2024)
−6.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
16.0% (2015-2019) → 10.3% (2020-2024)
−5.6 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, Columbus Junction, Iowa improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 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

Broadband+18 points67.9% → 86.3%
Household income+35%$47,151 → $63,828

Declined1

Inequality+0.0800.365 → 0.445

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Columbus Junction, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.0 min2015-2019	28.8 min2020-2024	+7.8 min	Within the margin of error	4%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.0%2015-2019	17.9%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Broadband subscriptions	67.9%2015-2019	86.3%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	87%
Child poverty rate	21.5%2015-2019	14.9%2020-2024	−6.6 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Effective property tax rate	1.61%2015-2019	1.23%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	83%
High school diploma or higher	69.9%2015-2019	71.1%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	2.0×2020-2024	−0.0×	Within the margin of error	80%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3652015-2019	0.4452020-2024	+0.080	Declined	8%
Median household income	$47,1512015-2019	$63,8282020-2024	+35%	Improved	66%
Poverty rate	16.0%2015-2019	10.3%2020-2024	−5.6 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	19.8%2015-2019	21.2%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Rent-burdened households	25.3%2015-2019	26.8%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.7%2015-2019	7.3%2020-2024	−5.4 points	Within the margin of error	88%

“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 Columbus Junction, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Columbus Junction, 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, Columbus Junction, Iowa itself moved −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

2,110 residents (±270)

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

699 households (±98)

Columbus Junction, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k14%†98
$25k–50k19%†136
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

699 households (±98)

Columbus Junction, Iowa
Iowa share

Own76%529
Rent24%†170

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+10.3 points).

† 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

920 workers (±152)

Columbus Junction, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone70%644
Carpool21%†196
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 Louisa County, the county holding most of Columbus Junction's residents.

Louisa County has 211 employer establishments, 200 for every 10,000 residents (0.81× the US rate of 248; 0.77× Iowa's), with 3,089 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,375. The Census Bureau also counts 664 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 211; 664 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 200; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 3,089
Average annual pay: $53,375; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	16	15.2	2.74×More than typical	37	$34,459	—
Specialty trade contractors	15	14.3	0.92×About typical	41	$47,683	65
Truck transportation	14	13.3	2.63×More than typical	48	$55,500	38
Ambulatory health care services	11	10.5	0.50×Fewer than typical	77	$46,390	16
Restaurants and other eating places	10	9.5	0.52×Fewer than typical	61	$12,754	6
Automotive repair and maintenance	9	8.6	1.70×Too few to compare	38	$24,263	15
Full-service restaurants	8	7.6	0.99×Too few to compare	44	$14,614	—
Building equipment contractors	7	6.7	1.11×Too few to compare	23	$44,957	15
Gasoline stations	7	6.7	2.05×Too few to compare	77	$21,883	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	7	6.7	0.99×Too few to compare	260	$24,750	41
Lessors of real estate	6	5.7	0.46×Too few to compare	9	$28,222	83
Banks and credit unions	5	4.8	1.47×Too few to compare	31	$47,839	—

Rank places for an industry Open Louisa County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 10,525 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 $5,551 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Columbus Junction, Iowa: $2.63 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $5,551; −41% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.63; US $1,994
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

Agricultural Marketing Service$5,551100%

Top recipients

TYSON FRESH MEATS INC$5,551100%

Spending by fiscal year

30.5KFY2017
62KFY2019
25.6KFY2020
29.8KFY2021
17.3KFY2022
43.8KFY2023
23.6KFY2024
9.5KFY2025

Top industries (NAICS)

Animal slaughtering and processing · 3116$5,551100%

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 Columbus Junction, Iowa, so they do not add up across cities.

Columbus Junction, Iowa's figures are part of those of Louisa County, IA ($366K in FY2026), never added to them: 1.5% of that total.

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

See federal money in Louisa 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.

Columbus Junction, 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.

Louisa County72100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Louisa 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/1915420

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends