City · Monona County, Iowa

Onawa, Iowa

Onawa is a city in Monona County, Iowa. It has 2,839 residents. Onawa, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 66 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,269 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #226 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on public libraries (high), property crime rate (low) and drug overdose deaths (low). It ranks worst on flu vaccinations (low), public EV charging ports (low) and adult obesity (high).

66High

Quality-of-life score: #5,269 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #226 of 281 in IA
Population: 2,839 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 538.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 1959115

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.

Safety88#1,882/15,637
Economy35#10,159/15,631
Housing79#3,183/14,977
Health41#9,197/15,609
Healthcare43#8,888/15,650
Environment88#1,816/15,453
Education53#7,302/15,649
Infrastructure20#12,566/15,650
Community66#5,363/15,651
Leisure & amenities88#1,932/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Onawa, Iowa ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Monona 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 · high7.1 /10k
100/100Iowa 1.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesMonona County value
Property crime rate · low210 /100k
99/100Iowa 1,172 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationMonona 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 dataMonona County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Iowa 2.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100k2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionMonona County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.6 µg/m³
93/100Iowa 7.1 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMonona County value
Students per teacher · low11.1×
93/100Iowa 14.1×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsMonona County value

Weaknesses

Flu vaccinations · low14.0%
0/100Iowa 51.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMonona County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Iowa 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyMonona County value
Adult obesity · high44.8%
5/100Iowa 39.7%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Average weekly wage · low$910
6/100Iowa $1,221United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMonona County value
Broadband subscriptions · low84.3%
9/100Iowa 88.8%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Mental health providers · low71 /100k
10/100Iowa 226 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMonona County value

Trends

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

Median household incomeImproving
$36,406 (2015-2019) → $62,143 (2020-2024)
+71%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
30.7% (2015-2019) → 18.4% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.4% (2015-2019) → 84.3% (2020-2024)
+8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
25.1% (2015-2019) → 16.3% (2020-2024)
−8.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
10.9% (2015-2019) → 19.4% (2020-2024)
+8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
30.3% (2015-2019) → 35.2% (2020-2024)
+4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Onawa, Iowa improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 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

Household income+71%$36,406 → $62,143
Bachelor's++8.5 points10.9% → 19.4%
Broadband+8.9 points75.4% → 84.3%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Onawa, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.1 min2015-2019	18.4 min2020-2024	+0.4 min	Within the margin of error	43%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.9%2015-2019	19.4%2020-2024	+8.5 points	Improved	86%
Broadband subscriptions	75.4%2015-2019	84.3%2020-2024	+8.9 points	Improved	54%
Child poverty rate	30.7%2015-2019	18.4%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Effective property tax rate	1.53%2015-2019	1.36%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	52%
High school diploma or higher	92.4%2015-2019	90.3%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	2.3×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	77%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4302015-2019	0.4072020-2024	−0.023	Within the margin of error	69%
Median household income	$36,4062015-2019	$62,1432020-2024	+71%	Improved	95%
Poverty rate	25.1%2015-2019	16.3%2020-2024	−8.8 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Rent as share of income	30.3%2015-2019	35.2%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Rent-burdened households	51.2%2015-2019	53.7%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.1%2015-2019	6.7%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	52%

“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 Onawa, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Onawa, 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, Onawa, Iowa itself moved +1.4 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

2,839 residents (±17)

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

1,256 households (±95)

Onawa, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k20%†246
$25k–50k23%†287
$50k–75k18%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,256 households (±95)

Onawa, Iowa
Iowa share

Own74%926
Rent26%†330

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+15.3 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

1,231 workers (±148)

Onawa, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone84%1,030
Carpool15%†182
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 Monona County, the county holding most of Onawa's residents.

Monona County has 228 employer establishments, 267 for every 10,000 residents (1.08× the US rate of 248; 1.03× Iowa's), with 1,935 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,234. The Census Bureau also counts 629 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 228; 629 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 267; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 1,935
Average annual pay: $42,234; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	21	24.6	1.59×More than typical	66	$69,545	55
Ambulatory health care services	13	15.2	0.73×Fewer than typical	104	$61,442	18
Restaurants and other eating places	13	15.2	0.83×About typical	133	$13,910	3
Banks and credit unions	11	12.9	3.99×More than typical	55	$55,273	—
Building equipment contractors	9	10.5	1.75×Too few to compare	15	$48,533	16
Gasoline stations	9	10.5	3.25×Too few to compare	94	$22,468	—
Lessors of real estate	9	10.5	0.86×Too few to compare	35	$16,200	68
Truck transportation	9	10.5	2.08×Too few to compare	17	$37,235	38
Other specialty trade contractors	8	9.4	3.73×Too few to compare	15	$104,200	21
Religious organizations	8	9.4	1.69×Too few to compare	22	$11,818	—
Full-service restaurants	7	8.2	1.07×Too few to compare	55	$11,109	3
General merchandise stores	6	7	3.98×Too few to compare	75	$20,360	5

Rank places for an industry Open Monona County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 8,539 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 Onawa, 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

-3.5KFY2017
9.2KFY2019

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

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

See federal money in Monona 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.

Onawa, 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.

Monona County86100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Monona 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/1959115

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends