City · Osceola County, Iowa

Sibley, Iowa

Sibley is a city in Osceola County, Iowa. It has 2,803 residents. Sibley, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 61 out of 100 (high), ranking #6,160 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #240 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on property crime rate (low), preventable hospital stays (low) and violent crime rate (low). It ranks worst on arts, entertainment and recreation (low), new business applications (low) and mental health providers (low).

61High

Quality-of-life score: #6,160 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #240 of 281 in IA
Population: 2,803 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,569.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 1972975

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety98#337/15,637
Economy9#14,169/15,631
Housing58#6,351/14,977
Health49#7,957/15,609
Healthcare35#10,105/15,650
Environment97#472/15,453
Education89#1,684/15,649
Infrastructure26#11,617/15,650
Community77#3,664/15,651
Leisure & amenities14#13,410/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Property crime rate · low55 /100k
100/100Iowa 1,172 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationOsceola County value
Preventable hospital stays · low976 /100k
100/100Iowa 2,368 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOsceola County value
Violent crime rate · low18 /100k
100/100Iowa 234 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationOsceola County value
Public libraries · high6.7 /10k
99/100Iowa 1.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesOsceola County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Iowa 11.4 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionOsceola County value
Social associations · high21.8 /10k
99/100Iowa 14.3 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOsceola County value

Weaknesses

Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.0 /10k
1/100Iowa 4.7 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOsceola County value
New business applications · low6.0 /1k
1/100Iowa 10.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauOsceola County value
Mental health providers · low33 /100k
3/100Iowa 226 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOsceola County value
Dentists · low17 /100k
3/100Iowa 73 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOsceola County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Iowa 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyOsceola County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Iowa 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOsceola County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,611 (2015-2019) → 2,803 (2020-2024)
+7.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
34.5% (2015-2019) → 70.1% (2020-2024)
+36 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
19.1% (2015-2019) → 46.6% (2020-2024)
+28 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
20.8% (2015-2019) → 44.3% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.4× (2015-2019) → 2.2× (2020-2024)
+64%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Poverty rateWorsening
13.0% (2015-2019) → 23.5% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Sibley, Iowa improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 6. 6 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

Commute−7.6 min22.0 min → 14.4 min
Broadband+7.6 points78.9% → 86.5%

Declined6

Rent / income+23 points20.8% → 44.3%
Child poverty+28 points19.1% → 46.6%
Rent burden+36 points34.5% → 70.1%
Poverty+11 points13.0% → 23.5%
Uninsured+6.4 points8.1% → 14.4%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Sibley, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.0 min2015-2019	14.4 min2020-2024	−7.6 min	Improved	96%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.4%2015-2019	22.9%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Broadband subscriptions	78.9%2015-2019	86.5%2020-2024	+7.6 points	Improved	47%
Child poverty rate	19.1%2015-2019	46.6%2020-2024	+28 points	Declined	2%
Effective property tax rate	1.57%2015-2019	1.26%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	75%
High school diploma or higher	85.2%2015-2019	90.0%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Home price to income ratio	1.4×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	+0.9×	Declined	28%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4282015-2019	0.4502020-2024	+0.022	Within the margin of error	33%
Median household income	$57,7082015-2019	$55,0702020-2024	−4.6%	Within the margin of error	5%
Poverty rate	13.0%2015-2019	23.5%2020-2024	+11 points	Declined	4%
Rent as share of income	20.8%2015-2019	44.3%2020-2024	+23 points	Declined	1%
Rent-burdened households	34.5%2015-2019	70.1%2020-2024	+36 points	Declined	2%
Unemployment rate	3.8%2015-2019	6.7%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.1%2015-2019	14.4%2020-2024	+6.4 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 Sibley, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sibley, 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, Sibley, Iowa itself moved −18.5 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

2,803 residents (±50)

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

1,120 households (±84)

Sibley, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k23%†252
$25k–50k22%†245
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,120 households (±84)

Sibley, Iowa
Iowa share

Own73%815
Rent27%305

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

1,277 workers (±103)

Sibley, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone83%1,060
Carpool11%†143
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 Osceola County, the county holding most of Sibley's residents.

Osceola County has 192 employer establishments, 319 for every 10,000 residents (1.29× the US rate of 248; 1.23× Iowa's), with 1,896 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,122. The Census Bureau also counts 432 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 192; 432 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 319; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 1,896
Average annual pay: $46,122; US $68,342

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

Truck transportation	28	46.6	9.21×More than typical	88	$46,364	23
Religious organizations	13	21.6	3.90×More than typical	37	$16,378	—
Specialty trade contractors	13	21.6	1.40×More than typical	67	$38,731	48
Construction of buildings	10	16.6	2.20×More than typical	40	$78,175	18
Gasoline stations	7	11.6	3.59×Too few to compare	116	$30,922	—
Building equipment contractors	6	10	1.66×Too few to compare	38	$50,105	6
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	6	10	3.17×Too few to compare	28	$23,321	10
Insurance agencies and brokerages	6	10	2.27×Too few to compare	14	$51,643	7
Restaurants and other eating places	6	10	0.54×Too few to compare	77	$14,091	3
Ambulatory health care services	5	8.3	0.40×Too few to compare	31	$77,871	12
Electrical contractors and wiring installation	5	8.3	3.36×Too few to compare	25	$50,440	3
Full-service restaurants	4	6.7	0.87×Too few to compare	46	$14,283	—

Rank places for an industry Open Osceola County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 6,015 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 -$95.60 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Sibley, Iowa: -$0.03 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$95.60
Per resident: -$0.03; 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

CARE INITIATIVES$00.0%
STEELCASE INC.-$95.600.0%

Spending by fiscal year

-1.4KFY2017
1.6KFY2023
2.4KFY2024
-95.6FY2026

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

Sibley, Iowa's figures are part of those of Osceola County, IA ($5.2M 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: Sibley is mostly in Osceola County.

See federal money in Osceola 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.

Sibley, 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.

Osceola County84100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Osceola 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/1972975

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends