City · Henry County, Iowa

Wayland, Iowa

Wayland is a city in Henry County, Iowa. It has 1,191 residents. Wayland, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 81 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,989 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #137 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on income inequality (Gini index) (low), time spent in the emergency room (low) and unemployment rate (low). It ranks worst on new business applications (low), math scores (low) and new homes permitted (low).

81Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,989 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #137 of 281 in IA
Population: 1,191 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,119.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 1982965

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.

Safety81#2,919/15,637
Economy70#4,738/15,631
Housing88#1,844/14,977
Health59#6,418/15,609
Healthcare65#5,480/15,650
Environment83#2,575/15,453
Education40#9,434/15,649
Infrastructure59#6,395/15,650
Community72#4,361/15,651
Leisure & amenities63#5,795/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.308
100/100Iowa 0.444United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Time spent in the emergency room · low91 min
98/100Iowa 128 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHenry County value
Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100Iowa 3.5%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Preventable hospital stays · low1,353 /100k
98/100Iowa 2,368 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHenry County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low4 mi
98/100Iowa 60 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauHenry County value
Public libraries · high2.6 /10k
94/100Iowa 1.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesHenry County value

Weaknesses

New business applications · low8.5 /1k
10/100Iowa 10.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauHenry County value
Math scores · low2.67
12/100Iowa 3.03United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHenry County value
New homes permitted · low0.0 /1k
13/100Iowa 4.1 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Suicide rate · high21.9 /100k
15/100Iowa 16.9 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataHenry County value
Pharmacies · low1.0 /10k
15/100Iowa 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHenry County value
Mental health providers · low134 /100k
21/100Iowa 226 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHenry County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,066 (2015-2019) → 1,191 (2020-2024)
+12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
34.7% (2015-2019) → 9.1% (2020-2024)
−26 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
0.8 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
73.9% (2015-2019) → 89.2% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Unemployment rateImproving
12.7% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Poverty rateImproving
18.0% (2015-2019) → 9.0% (2020-2024)
−9 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, Wayland, 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

Inequality−0.0920.400 → 0.308
Broadband+15 points73.9% → 89.2%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Wayland, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.1 min2015-2019	26.8 min2020-2024	+5.7 min	Within the margin of error	8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.6%2015-2019	19.4%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Broadband subscriptions	73.9%2015-2019	89.2%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	80%
Effective property tax rate	1.67%2015-2019	1.30%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	82%
High school diploma or higher	95.3%2015-2019	95.9%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Home price to income ratio	1.7×2015-2019	1.9×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	66%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4002015-2019	0.3082020-2024	−0.092	Improved	94%
Median household income	$54,1672015-2019	$70,7742020-2024	+31%	Within the margin of error	57%
Poverty rate	18.0%2015-2019	9.0%2020-2024	−9 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	21.5%2015-2019	23.7%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	38%

“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 Wayland, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Wayland, 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, Wayland, Iowa itself moved +0.4 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

1,191 residents (±254)

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

397 households (±67)

Wayland, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k7.6%†30
$25k–50k26%†103
$50k–75k20%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

397 households (±67)

Wayland, Iowa
Iowa share

Own80%317
Rent20%†80

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+10.1 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

568 workers (±147)

Wayland, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone84%478
Carpool8.1%†46
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 Henry County, the county holding most of Wayland's residents.

Henry County has 482 employer establishments, 246 for every 10,000 residents (0.99× the US rate of 248; 0.95× Iowa's), with 6,726 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,155. The Census Bureau also counts 1,384 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 482; 1,384 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 246; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 6,726
Average annual pay: $44,155; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	41	20.9	1.00×About typical	372	$66,581	37
Restaurants and other eating places	27	13.8	0.75×Fewer than typical	362	$14,500	6
Specialty trade contractors	24	12.2	0.79×Fewer than typical	125	$52,776	117
Automotive repair and maintenance	23	11.7	2.33×More than typical	64	$46,969	33
Religious organizations	20	10.2	1.84×More than typical	100	$22,690	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	19	9.7	2.21×More than typical	29	$49,207	24
Offices of other health practitioners	14	7.1	1.18×About typical	43	$50,860	22
Truck transportation	14	7.1	1.41×More than typical	290	$76,869	45
Building equipment contractors	13	6.6	1.10×About typical	73	$48,589	21
Banks and credit unions	12	6.1	1.89×More than typical	80	$47,875	—
Full-service restaurants	12	6.1	0.80×Fewer than typical	116	$17,121	3
Gasoline stations	12	6.1	1.89×More than typical	206	$27,024	—

Rank places for an industry Open Henry County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 19,603 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Henry 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.

Wayland, 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.

Henry County90100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Henry 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/1982965

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends