City · Fayette County, Iowa

Oelwein, Iowa

Oelwein is a city in Fayette County, Iowa. It has 5,834 residents. Oelwein, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 64 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,615 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #231 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on public libraries (high), preventable hospital stays (low) and drug overdose deaths (low). It ranks worst on gyms and fitness centers (low), new business applications (low) and broadband subscriptions (low).

64High

Quality-of-life score: #5,615 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #231 of 281 in IA
Population: 5,834 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 1,211.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 1958620

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.

Safety80#3,139/15,637
Economy11#13,888/15,631
Housing82#2,708/14,977
Health47#8,324/15,609
Healthcare47#8,277/15,650
Environment84#2,422/15,453
Education58#6,603/15,649
Infrastructure23#11,996/15,650
Community82#2,797/15,651
Leisure & amenities70#4,619/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Public libraries · high5.8 /10k
99/100Iowa 1.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesFayette County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,186 /100k
99/100Iowa 2,368 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFayette 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 dataFayette County value
Hospital quality rating · high5.0
98/100Iowa 3.2United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesFayette County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low96 min
97/100Iowa 128 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesFayette County value
Mammography screening · high58.0%
97/100Iowa 57.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFayette County value

Weaknesses

Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Iowa 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsFayette County value
New business applications · low7.6 /1k
5/100Iowa 10.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauFayette County value
Broadband subscriptions · low85.3%
12/100Iowa 88.8%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Median household income · low$46,653
12/100Iowa $75,623United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Mental health providers · low84 /100k
12/100Iowa 226 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFayette County value
Adult smoking · high20.1%
12/100Iowa 16.4%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
0.3 /1k (2021) → 2.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+513%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateWorsening
16.3% (2015-2019) → 26.8% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
76.3% (2015-2019) → 85.2% (2020-2024)
+9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Average commute timeWorsening
16.6 min (2015-2019) → 22.8 min (2020-2024)
+38%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Poverty rateWorsening
11.8% (2015-2019) → 18.5% (2020-2024)
+6.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Unemployment rateWorsening
2.3% (2015-2019) → 7.6% (2020-2024)
+5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Oelwein, Iowa improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 9 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.

Improved1

Broadband+9 points76.3% → 85.2%

Declined3

Commute+6.2 min16.6 min → 22.8 min
Poverty+6.7 points11.8% → 18.5%
Child poverty+11 points16.3% → 26.8%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Oelwein, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.6 min2015-2019	22.8 min2020-2024	+6.2 min	Declined	6%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.5%2015-2019	17.5%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Broadband subscriptions	76.3%2015-2019	85.2%2020-2024	+9 points	Improved	55%
Child poverty rate	16.3%2015-2019	26.8%2020-2024	+11 points	Declined	11%
Effective property tax rate	1.64%2015-2019	1.45%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	55%
High school diploma or higher	89.4%2015-2019	90.5%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	2.1×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	74%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4372015-2019	0.4672020-2024	+0.030	Within the margin of error	27%
Median household income	$41,8492015-2019	$46,6532020-2024	+11%	Within the margin of error	18%
Poverty rate	11.8%2015-2019	18.5%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Declined	9%
Rent as share of income	33.2%2015-2019	33.8%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Rent-burdened households	59.2%2015-2019	57.2%2020-2024	−2 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.4%2015-2019	8.2%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	37%

“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 Oelwein, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Oelwein, 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, Oelwein, Iowa itself moved −6.1 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

5,834 residents (±24)

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

2,610 households (±168)

Oelwein, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k26%680
$25k–50k26%674
$50k–75k18%465

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,610 households (±168)

Oelwein, Iowa
Iowa share

Own77%1,998
Rent23%612

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+7.8 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,293 workers (±194)

Oelwein, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone78%1,787
Carpool11%†243
Public transit0.0%†1

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 Fayette County, the county holding most of Oelwein's residents.

Fayette County has 524 employer establishments, 272 for every 10,000 residents (1.10× the US rate of 248; 1.05× Iowa's), with 5,706 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,389. The Census Bureau also counts 1,346 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 524; 1,346 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 272; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 5,706
Average annual pay: $45,389; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	37	19.2	1.24×About typical	272	$55,147	125
Truck transportation	32	16.6	3.29×More than typical	105	$56,143	78
Restaurants and other eating places	29	15.1	0.82×About typical	301	$14,113	5
Religious organizations	25	13	2.34×More than typical	77	$13,273	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	23	12	2.72×More than typical	51	$40,902	26
Ambulatory health care services	22	11.4	0.55×Fewer than typical	149	$55,054	38
Gasoline stations	16	8.3	2.57×More than typical	218	$33,633	—
Full-service restaurants	15	7.8	1.02×About typical	128	$9,586	4
Building equipment contractors	13	6.8	1.12×About typical	182	$47,203	18
Automotive repair and maintenance	12	6.2	1.24×About typical	60	$52,050	37
Banks and credit unions	12	6.2	1.93×More than typical	93	$51,774	—
Offices of other health practitioners	12	6.2	1.03×About typical	65	$49,323	15

Rank places for an industry Open Fayette County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 19,233 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 Oelwein, 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

72.9FY2017

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

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

See federal money in Fayette 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.

Oelwein, 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.

Fayette County84100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Fayette 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/1958620

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends