Living in Onawa, Iowa: homes, schools and costs

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 2.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Onawa itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byBurgess Health Center is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityOmaha is about 53 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 Onawa 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: $145,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 20%Monona County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,037 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $62,143U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 74%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,888 a yearIowa: $2,897
Homes built before 1940: 32%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 2%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 Onawa 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: 2,8212020: 2,907
Median age: 35.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 19%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 4%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 (27%); retail (11%); construction (11%)
Unemployment rate: 1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 1%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 16%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Burgess Health Center, Onawa, IA, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Twelve Clans Unity Hospital, Winnebago, NE, about 24 miles away. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

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

3 public schools in Onawa, run by West Monona 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: 66%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 84%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: 8°F
July average high: 86°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 26 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 151 a year
Rain and melted snow: 29.9 inches a year
Snow: 31 inches a year
Elevation: 1,049 feet

Weather station: Onawa 3NW (3 miles away). 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

Sioux City, IACity of 86,00036

Omaha, NEMetro of 1 million53

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: Sioux City, Omaha.

Monona County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Missouri National Recreational River50 miles

Read about Onawa's history on Wikipedia.

Know Onawa?

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

Sloan, IA1,100 people, 16 miles
Mapleton, IA1,100 people, 18 miles
Tekamah, NE1,700 people, 19 miles
Oakland, NE1,300 people, 23 miles
Dunlap, IA1,000 people, 28 miles
Woodbine, IA1,700 people, 28 miles

Smaller places

Blencoe, IA226 people, 7 miles
Whiting, IA738 people, 8 miles
Decatur, NE411 people, 8 miles
Castana, IA103 people, 10 miles
Hornick, IA253 people, 14 miles
Moorhead, IA190 people, 14 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.