Metro area · Iowa

Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area

Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA is a metropolitan area of 3 counties in Iowa, home to 169,189 residents. Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area has a quality-of-life score of 87 out of 100 (very high), ranking #119 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Iowa it ranks #12 of 23. It ranks best on flu vaccinations (high), drug overdose deaths (low) and mammography screening (high). It ranks worst on median Air Quality Index (high), distance to an Amtrak station (high) and adult obesity (high).

87Very high
Quality-of-life score
#119 of 925 metro and micro areas
Iowa
#12 of 23 in IA
Population
169,189 (2025)
Land area
1,503 mi²
Density
112.6 /mi²
CBSA code
47940

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map
Location of Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

  • Safety54#422/924
  • Economy69#287/925
  • Housing69#291/925
  • Health71#265/925
  • Healthcare98#20/923
  • Environment57#397/917
  • Education82#171/925
  • Infrastructure76#227/925
  • Community96#37/925
  • Leisure & amenities66#312/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Weaknesses

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.

Metro and micro areas like Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area 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.

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).

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Homes

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

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

Jobs and pay

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

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.

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

Counties in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

  1. Black Hawk CountyCentral county78131,532
  2. Bremer CountyOutlying county10025,296
  3. Grundy CountyOutlying county9912,361

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

  1. Cedar FallsPrincipal city40,888
  2. WaterlooPrincipal city67,008

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

  1. Waterloo67,008
  2. Cedar Falls40,888
  3. Waverly10,494
  4. Evansdale4,518
  5. Grundy Center2,809
  6. Hudson2,699
  7. Jesup2,561
  8. Denver2,379
  9. Sumner2,106
  10. La Porte City2,071
  11. Reinbeck1,715
  12. Dike1,365
  13. Conrad1,191
  14. Tripoli1,156
  15. Elk Run Heights964
  16. Janesville917
  17. Raymond899
  18. Dunkerton821
  19. Gilbertville761
  20. Readlyn736
  21. Washburn714
  22. Wellsburg673
  23. Holland327
  24. Plainfield314

Other metro and micro areas in Iowa

Areas based in Iowa, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

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.

JSON · /api/v1/places/M47940