City · Jones County, Iowa

Monticello, Iowa

Monticello is a city in Jones County, Iowa, part of the Cedar Rapids, IA metro area. It has 4,071 residents. Monticello, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 76 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,805 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #172 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent-burdened households (low), mammography screening (high) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on public EV charging ports (low), flu vaccinations (low) and reading scores (low).

76High

Quality-of-life score: #3,805 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #172 of 281 in IA
Population: 4,071 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 723.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 1953625

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.

Safety87#2,105/15,637
Economy71#4,604/15,631
Housing91#1,298/14,977
Health74#4,089/15,609
Healthcare56#6,827/15,650
Environment53#7,210/15,453
Education33#10,524/15,649
Infrastructure41#9,261/15,650
Community83#2,714/15,651
Leisure & amenities57#6,652/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Rent-burdened households · low16.5%
99/100Iowa 43.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty
Mammography screening · high60.0%
98/100Iowa 57.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJones County value
Public libraries · high3.3 /10k
97/100Iowa 1.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesJones County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,573 /100k
95/100Iowa 2,368 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJones County value
Child poverty rate · low0.9%
95/100Iowa 13.1%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Child care cost burden · low20.2%
94/100Iowa 22.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJones County value

Weaknesses

Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Iowa 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyJones County value
Flu vaccinations · low31.0%
10/100Iowa 51.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJones County value
Reading scores · low2.72
10/100Iowa 3.05United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJones County value
Job growth · low-1.9%
14/100Iowa -0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataJones County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high83 mi
14/100Iowa 60 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauJones County value
Primary care physicians · low34 /100k
15/100Iowa 74 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJones County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
3,837 (2015-2019) → 4,071 (2020-2024)
+6.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
34.1% (2015-2019) → 16.5% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
8.4% (2015-2019) → 0.8% (2020-2024)
−7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
1.5 /1k (2021) → 1.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−35%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
26.2% (2015-2019) → 19.7% (2020-2024)
−6.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$53,068 (2015-2019) → $70,015 (2020-2024)
+32%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, Monticello, Iowa improved on 2 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved2

Inequality−0.0710.432 → 0.361
Household income+32%$53,068 → $70,015

Declined1

Uninsured+6.3 points0.0% → 6.3%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Monticello, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.6 min2015-2019	18.9 min2020-2024	−0.7 min	Within the margin of error	56%
Bachelor's degree or higher	26.2%2015-2019	19.7%2020-2024	−6.5 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Broadband subscriptions	80.4%2015-2019	85.3%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Effective property tax rate	1.38%2015-2019	1.50%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	5%
High school diploma or higher	92.5%2015-2019	94.2%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	66%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4322015-2019	0.3612020-2024	−0.071	Improved	90%
Median household income	$53,0682015-2019	$70,0152020-2024	+32%	Improved	59%
Poverty rate	8.1%2015-2019	6.0%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Rent as share of income	26.1%2015-2019	24.1%2020-2024	−2 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	0.0%2015-2019	6.3%2020-2024	+6.3 points	Declined	7%

“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 Monticello, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Monticello, 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, Monticello, Iowa itself moved +0.2 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

4,071 residents (±20)

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

1,833 households (±136)

Monticello, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k12%†221
$25k–50k27%496
$50k–75k16%†296

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,833 households (±136)

Monticello, Iowa
Iowa share

Own71%1,303
Rent29%530

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

2,101 workers (±166)

Monticello, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone86%1,817
Carpool4.3%†90
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 Cedar Rapids, 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 Jones County, the county holding most of Monticello's residents.

Jones County has 514 employer establishments, 246 for every 10,000 residents (0.99× the US rate of 248; 0.95× Iowa's), with 4,620 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,467. The Census Bureau also counts 1,454 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 514; 1,454 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 246; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 4,620
Average annual pay: $46,467; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	55	26.3	1.70×More than typical	371	$88,439	166
Truck transportation	33	15.8	3.12×More than typical	88	$45,136	61
Restaurants and other eating places	29	13.9	0.75×Fewer than typical	272	$12,515	5
Construction of buildings	27	12.9	1.71×More than typical	61	$50,885	55
Ambulatory health care services	25	11.9	0.57×Fewer than typical	113	$54,407	28
Building equipment contractors	24	11.5	1.91×More than typical	98	$52,653	19
Full-service restaurants	21	10	1.31×More than typical	187	$14,278	3
Automotive repair and maintenance	17	8.1	1.61×More than typical	51	$54,431	25
Religious organizations	16	7.6	1.38×More than typical	54	$17,111	—
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	15	7.2	2.27×More than typical	94	$73,011	38
Banks and credit unions	13	6.2	1.92×More than typical	133	$64,872	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	13	6.2	1.41×More than typical	40	$51,325	37

Rank places for an industry Open Jones County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 20,933 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 Monticello, Iowa: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
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

59.9FY2018
1.1KFY2023
0FY2024
275.2FY2025

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

Monticello, Iowa's figures are part of those of Jones County, IA ($69.6K 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: Monticello is mostly in Jones County.

See federal money in Jones 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.

Monticello, 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.

Jones County82100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Cedar Rapids, IA95

Other cities and towns in Jones 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/1953625

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends