City · Butler County, Iowa

Shell Rock, Iowa

Shell Rock is a city in Butler County, Iowa. It has 1,625 residents. Shell Rock, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 80 out of 100 (very high), ranking #3,114 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #143 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on public libraries (high), social associations (high) and property crime rate (low). It ranks worst on primary care physicians (low), new business applications (low) and gyms and fitness centers (low).

80Very high

Quality-of-life score: #3,114 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #143 of 281 in IA
Population: 1,625 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,014.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 1972435

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.

Safety95#713/15,637
Economy69#4,865/15,631
Housing91#1,280/14,977
Health64#5,576/15,609
Healthcare31#10,870/15,650
Environment67#5,022/15,453
Education74#4,033/15,649
Infrastructure31#10,840/15,650
Community94#872/15,651
Leisure & amenities56#6,913/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Shell Rock, Iowa ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Butler 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 · high5.7 /10k
99/100Iowa 1.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesButler County value
Social associations · high22.6 /10k
99/100Iowa 14.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteButler County value
Property crime rate · low217 /100k
99/100Iowa 1,172 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureButler County value
Drought exposure · low0%
98/100Iowa 13%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAButler County value
Mammography screening · high57.0%
96/100Iowa 57.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteButler County value
Violent crime rate · low63 /100k
95/100Iowa 234 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureButler County value

Weaknesses

Primary care physicians · low14 /100k
2/100Iowa 74 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteButler County value
New business applications · low7.3 /1k
3/100Iowa 10.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauButler County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Iowa 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsButler County value
Dentists · low21 /100k
5/100Iowa 73 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteButler County value
Mental health providers · low57 /100k
7/100Iowa 226 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteButler County value
Distance to an emergency room · high14.0 mi
8/100Iowa 5.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesButler County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,445 (2015-2019) → 1,625 (2020-2024)
+12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
3.1 /1k (2021) → 0.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−80%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
16.1% (2015-2019) → 4.2% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$57,750 (2015-2019) → $78,657 (2020-2024)
+36%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
27.7% (2015-2019) → 34.9% (2020-2024)
+7.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Average commute timeWorsening
19.0 min (2015-2019) → 25.5 min (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Shell Rock, Iowa improved on 2 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved2

Household income+36%$57,750 → $78,657
Broadband+6.2 points80.5% → 86.7%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Shell Rock, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.0 min2015-2019	25.5 min2020-2024	+6.5 min	Within the margin of error	6%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.8%2015-2019	20.3%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Broadband subscriptions	80.5%2015-2019	86.7%2020-2024	+6.2 points	Improved	39%
Effective property tax rate	1.83%2015-2019	1.25%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	94%
High school diploma or higher	92.2%2015-2019	92.2%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.1×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	78%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4902015-2019	0.3902020-2024	−0.100	Within the margin of error	96%
Median household income	$57,7502015-2019	$78,6572020-2024	+36%	Improved	67%
Poverty rate	10.3%2015-2019	5.0%2020-2024	−5.3 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Rent as share of income	26.6%2015-2019	21.7%2020-2024	−4.9 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Rent-burdened households	27.7%2015-2019	34.9%2020-2024	+7.2 points	Within the margin of error	31%

“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 Shell Rock, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Shell Rock, 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, Shell Rock, Iowa itself moved +3.1 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

1,625 residents (±214)

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

601 households (±75)

Shell Rock, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k5.7%†34
$25k–50k22%†130
$50k–75k20%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

601 households (±75)

Shell Rock, Iowa
Iowa share

Own85%510
Rent15%†91

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+8.9 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

785 workers (±136)

Shell Rock, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone85%665
Carpool8.8%†69
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 Butler County, the county holding most of Shell Rock's residents.

Butler County has 324 employer establishments, 228 for every 10,000 residents (0.92× the US rate of 248; 0.88× Iowa's), with 2,602 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,329. The Census Bureau also counts 1,036 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 324; 1,036 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 228; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 2,602
Average annual pay: $48,329; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	27	19	3.43×More than typical	66	$14,758	—
Specialty trade contractors	25	17.6	1.14×About typical	61	$70,934	109
Truck transportation	19	13.4	2.65×More than typical	51	$59,333	52
Insurance agencies and brokerages	13	9.2	2.09×More than typical	27	$51,296	21
Ambulatory health care services	12	8.5	0.41×Fewer than typical	61	$61,541	21
Other specialty trade contractors	12	8.5	3.37×More than typical	25	$96,800	36
Restaurants and other eating places	11	7.8	0.42×Fewer than typical	72	$7,806	3
Automotive repair and maintenance	10	7	1.40×More than typical	18	$43,222	31
Banks and credit unions	10	7	2.18×More than typical	80	$56,650	—
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	10	7	4.41×More than typical	113	$58,832	6
Services to buildings and dwellings	10	7	1.05×About typical	11	$55,909	80
Legal services	9	6.3	1.18×Too few to compare	24	$28,500	5

Rank places for an industry Open Butler County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 14,190 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 $111K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Shell Rock, Iowa: $68.29 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $111K
Per resident: $68.29; 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

Department of the Navy$111K100%

Top recipients

AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL CORP$111K100%

Spending by fiscal year

111KFY2026

What was bought

Professional services$111K100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$111K100%

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 Shell Rock, Iowa, so they do not add up across cities.

Shell Rock, Iowa's figures are part of those of Butler County, IA ($4.1M in FY2026), never added to them: 2.7% of that total.

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

See federal money in Butler 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.

Shell Rock, 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.

Butler County87100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Butler 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/1972435

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends