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Carroll, Iowa

Carroll is a small town of about 10,100 people in Carroll County, Iowa. It's the county seat. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.7 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Omaha, is about 83 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
10,085
down 2.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$188,700
Carroll County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$69,706
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Iowa
84.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
St. Anthony Regional Hospital & Nursing Home
To Omaha
83 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 15.9% below the U.S. average in the parts of Iowa outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood6 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 12.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySt. Anthony Regional Hospital & Nursing Home is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityOmaha is about 83 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Carroll meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$188,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Carroll County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$722 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$69,706U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
72%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,409 a yearIowa: $2,897
Homes built before 1940
17%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
84.1U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Iowa outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Iowa outside metro areas, not Carroll alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
10,0852020: 10,311
Median age
43.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
24%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
27%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (23%); manufacturing (16%); finance, insurance and real estate (11%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
12 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
9%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Anthony Regional Hospital & Nursing Home, Carroll, IA, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Trinity Regional Medical Center, Fort Dodge, IA, about 45 miles away. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Carroll, run by Carroll Comm School District.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Iowa's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
69%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
87%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
10°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
18 a year
Nights at or below freezing
153 a year
Rain and melted snow
33.6 inches a year
Snow
34 inches a year
Elevation
1,285 feet

Weather stations: Carroll (1 mile away) and Denison (24 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Ames, Omaha.

Carroll County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Carroll City-Mount Olivet Cemetery and the Graham Park Historic District.

Read about Carroll's history on Wikipedia.

Know Carroll?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Lidderdale, IA159 people, 5 miles
  • Halbur, IA266 people, 7 miles
  • Arcadia, IA586 people, 9 miles
  • Breda, IA488 people, 10 miles
  • Templeton, IA339 people, 11 miles
  • Dedham, IA219 people, 11 miles
  • Lanesboro, IA112 people, 12 miles
  • Westside, IA280 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.