Living in Colfax, Iowa: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.3% below the U.S. average in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byMercyone Newton Medical Center in Newton, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityOmaha is about 149 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 Colfax 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: $178,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 18%Jasper County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $789 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $79,318U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 69%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,669 a yearIowa: $2,897
Homes built before 1940: 44%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 91.7U.S. average = 100 (the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area)

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 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area, not Colfax 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: 2,3032020: 2,255
Median age: 33.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 29%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 22%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 12%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 (31%); construction (15%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 8%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: Mercyone Newton Medical Center, Newton, IA, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

2 public schools in Colfax, run by Colfax-Mingo 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: 71%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 88%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: 13°F
July average high: 84°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 14 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 137 a year
Rain and melted snow: 35.1 inches a year
Snow: 29 inches a year
Elevation: 836 feet

Weather stations: Des Moines 17 E (9 miles away) and Newton (11 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

Mercyone Newton Medical CenterEmergency room10

Ankeny, IACity of 78,00019

Omaha, NEMetro of 1 million149

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: Mercyone Newton Medical Center, Ankeny, Omaha.

Jasper County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Colfax Spring City Commercial Historic District.

Read about Colfax's history on Wikipedia.

Know Colfax?

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

Prairie City, IA1,700 people, 6 miles
Mitchellville, IA2,700 people, 7 miles
Newton, IA15,700 people, 10 miles
Bondurant, IA9,600 people, 11 miles
Monroe, IA2,000 people, 13 miles
Pleasant Hill, IA11,200 people, 15 miles

Smaller places

Mingo, IA313 people, 6 miles
Lambs Grove, IA171 people, 8 miles
Baxter, IA984 people, 11 miles
Runnells, IA461 people, 13 miles
Reasnor, IA158 people, 13 miles

Sources

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.