City · Bremer County, Iowa

Denver, Iowa

Denver is a city in Bremer County, Iowa, part of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area. It has 2,379 residents. Denver, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 97 out of 100 (very high), ranking #445 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #14 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on drug overdose deaths (low), hospital quality rating (high) and mammography screening (high). It ranks worst on new business applications (low), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and gyms and fitness centers (low).

97Very high

Quality-of-life score: #445 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #14 of 281 in IA
Population: 2,379 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,399.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 1920035

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety96#700/15,637
Economy81#2,927/15,631
Housing88#1,762/14,977
Health89#1,660/15,609
Healthcare83#2,623/15,650
Environment87#1,994/15,453
Education94#942/15,649
Infrastructure58#6,510/15,650
Community99#186/15,651
Leisure & amenities41#9,184/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Iowa 9.4 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBremer County value
Hospital quality rating · high5.0
98/100Iowa 3.2United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBremer County value
Mammography screening · high59.0%
98/100Iowa 57.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBremer County value
Food environment index · high9.5
97/100Iowa 8.6United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBremer County value
Food insecurity · low7.0%
96/100Iowa 12.7%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Lack of reliable transportation · low4.7%
96/100Iowa 7.2%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

New business applications · low7.7 /1k
5/100Iowa 10.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauBremer County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high95 mi
11/100Iowa 60 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauBremer County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.4 /10k
13/100Iowa 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBremer County value
Public EV charging ports · low1.6 /10k
17/100Iowa 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyBremer County value
Distance to an airport · high69 mi
24/100Iowa 44 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauBremer County value
Average weekly wage · low$1,038
25/100Iowa $1,221United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBremer County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,726 (2015-2019) → 2,379 (2020-2024)
+38%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
38.6% (2015-2019) → 50.4% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
31.5% (2015-2019) → 41.2% (2020-2024)
+9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateWorsening
0.7% (2015-2019) → 9.5% (2020-2024)
+8.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
86.0% (2015-2019) → 93.9% (2020-2024)
+7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$67,228 (2015-2019) → $92,000 (2020-2024)
+37%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Denver, Iowa improved on 3 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 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

Inequality−0.0740.423 → 0.349
Bachelor's++9.8 points31.5% → 41.2%
Household income+37%$67,228 → $92,000

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Denver, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.9 min2015-2019	17.8 min2020-2024	−4.1 min	Within the margin of error	86%
Bachelor's degree or higher	31.5%2015-2019	41.2%2020-2024	+9.8 points	Improved	89%
Broadband subscriptions	86.0%2015-2019	93.9%2020-2024	+7.9 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Effective property tax rate	1.38%2015-2019	1.26%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	40%
High school diploma or higher	93.9%2015-2019	99.1%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	76%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4232015-2019	0.3492020-2024	−0.074	Improved	91%
Median household income	$67,2282015-2019	$92,0002020-2024	+37%	Improved	69%
Poverty rate	5.3%2015-2019	6.7%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Rent-burdened households	38.6%2015-2019	50.4%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	20%

“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 Denver, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Denver, 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, Denver, Iowa itself moved +8.9 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

2,379 residents (±318)

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

846 households (±117)

Denver, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k9.5%†80
$25k–50k12%†104
$50k–75k16%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

846 households (±117)

Denver, Iowa
Iowa share

Own82%697
Rent18%†149

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+5.1 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

1,134 workers (±179)

Denver, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone84%954
Carpool1.8%†20
Public transit0.0%0

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 Bremer County, the county holding most of Denver's residents.

Bremer County has 552 employer establishments, 218 for every 10,000 residents (0.88× the US rate of 248; 0.84× Iowa's), with 8,178 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,318. The Census Bureau also counts 1,810 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 552; 1,810 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 218; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 8,178
Average annual pay: $49,318; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	44	17.4	0.83×About typical	590	$50,634	56
Specialty trade contractors	40	15.8	1.02×About typical	399	$81,444	119
Religious organizations	35	13.8	2.49×More than typical	192	$17,401	—
Restaurants and other eating places	34	13.4	0.73×Fewer than typical	553	$13,897	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	23	9.1	2.07×More than typical	144	$68,236	43
Offices of other health practitioners	21	8.3	1.36×More than typical	250	$45,628	29
Banks and credit unions	15	5.9	1.83×More than typical	180	$64,483	—
Full-service restaurants	15	5.9	0.77×Fewer than typical	277	$13,292	—
Building equipment contractors	14	5.5	0.92×About typical	223	$97,435	9
Construction of buildings	14	5.5	0.73×Fewer than typical	153	$54,340	68
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	13	5.1	1.63×More than typical	67	$56,836	28
Automotive repair and maintenance	12	4.7	0.94×About typical	29	$33,690	31

Rank places for an industry Open Bremer County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 25,337 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Denver, Iowa: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

1.6KFY2018
1.7KFY2019
3.3KFY2020
1.8KFY2021
1.9KFY2022
872.3FY2023
-945.6FY2024

What was bought

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

Denver, Iowa's figures are part of those of Bremer County, IA ($7.7M 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: Denver is mostly in Bremer County.

See federal money in Bremer 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.

Denver, 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.

Bremer County100100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA87

Other cities and towns in Bremer 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
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/1920035

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends