City · Muscatine County, Iowa

Wilton, Iowa

Wilton is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, part of the Muscatine, IA metro area. It has 2,920 residents. Wilton, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 68 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,966 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #215 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on mammography screening (high), unemployment rate (low) and rent as share of income (low). It ranks worst on pharmacies (low), suicide rate (high) and mental health care shortage (high).

68High

Quality-of-life score: #4,966 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #215 of 281 in IA
Population: 2,920 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,421.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 1986070

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety65#5,461/15,637
Economy71#4,466/15,631
Housing81#2,902/14,977
Health48#8,128/15,609
Healthcare49#8,028/15,650
Environment59#6,258/15,453
Education69#4,906/15,649
Infrastructure46#8,520/15,650
Community72#4,403/15,651
Leisure & amenities40#9,420/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Mammography screening · high57.0%
96/100Iowa 57.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMuscatine County value
Unemployment rate · low0.6%
94/100Iowa 3.5%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Rent as share of income · low17.6%
94/100Iowa 27.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low1.6%
93/100Iowa 6.4%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Rent-burdened households · low35.8%
93/100Iowa 43.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.358
90/100Iowa 0.444United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Weaknesses

Pharmacies · low0.7 /10k
7/100Iowa 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMuscatine County value
Suicide rate · high26.1 /100k
7/100Iowa 16.9 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMuscatine County value
Mental health care shortage · high18.0
11/100Iowa 10.1United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationMuscatine County value
New business applications · low8.7 /1k
12/100Iowa 10.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauMuscatine County value
Primary care physicians · low31 /100k
13/100Iowa 74 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMuscatine County value
New homes permitted · low0.0 /1k
13/100Iowa 4.1 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
10.0% (2015-2019) → 35.8% (2020-2024)
+26 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 21.3% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
14.1 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
24.8% (2015-2019) → 36.1% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$52,538 (2015-2019) → $76,648 (2020-2024)
+46%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateWorsening
2.0% (2015-2019) → 8.9% (2020-2024)
+6.9 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, Wilton, Iowa improved on 1 of 10 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.

Improved1

Household income+46%$52,538 → $76,648

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Wilton, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.2 min2015-2019	22.7 min2020-2024	+3.5 min	Within the margin of error	16%
Bachelor's degree or higher	24.8%2015-2019	36.1%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Broadband subscriptions	86.7%2015-2019	86.2%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Effective property tax rate	1.92%2015-2019	1.64%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	72%
High school diploma or higher	94.6%2015-2019	98.4%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	70%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3872015-2019	0.3582020-2024	−0.029	Within the margin of error	73%
Median household income	$52,5382015-2019	$76,6482020-2024	+46%	Improved	81%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	22.9%2015-2019	17.6%2020-2024	−5.3 points	Within the margin of error	83%

“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 Wilton, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Wilton, 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, Wilton, Iowa itself moved +1.5 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

2,920 residents (±19)

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

1,365 households (±138)

Wilton, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k14%†194
$25k–50k17%†232
$50k–75k18%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,365 households (±138)

Wilton, Iowa
Iowa share

Own67%919
Rent33%†446

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† 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

1,672 workers (±216)

Wilton, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone82%1,370
Carpool8.9%†148
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Muscatine, IA

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 Muscatine County, the county holding most of Wilton's residents.

Muscatine County has 949 employer establishments, 224 for every 10,000 residents (0.90× the US rate of 248; 0.87× Iowa's), with 19,519 paid employees at an average annual pay of $60,791. The Census Bureau also counts 2,318 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 949; 2,318 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 224; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 19,519
Average annual pay: $60,791; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	77	18.2	0.99×About typical	1,128	$15,482	3
Ambulatory health care services	68	16.1	0.77×Fewer than typical	472	$70,328	79
Specialty trade contractors	48	11.3	0.73×Fewer than typical	265	$61,992	158
Lessors of real estate	45	10.6	0.86×About typical	121	$40,901	252
Truck transportation	43	10.2	2.01×More than typical	437	$63,201	90
Limited-service restaurants	38	9	1.12×About typical	673	$16,174	—
Religious organizations	37	8.7	1.58×More than typical	227	$18,374	—
Full-service restaurants	32	7.6	0.99×About typical	359	$14,228	—
Construction of buildings	31	7.3	0.97×About typical	123	$49,691	82
Offices of other health practitioners	27	6.4	1.05×About typical	193	$58,358	31
Gasoline stations	25	5.9	1.82×More than typical	286	$28,643	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	23	5.4	0.81×About typical	143	$42,301	159

Rank places for an industry Open Muscatine County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 42,293 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: Wilton is mostly in Muscatine County.

See federal money in Muscatine 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.

Wilton, 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.

Muscatine County77100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Muscatine, IA71

Other cities and towns in Muscatine 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/1986070

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends