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Walcott, Iowa

Walcott is a small town of about 1,500 people in Scott County, Iowa. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.4 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, Chicago, is about 161 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,530
down 1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$190,300
Scott County prices up 16% since 2022
Household income
$78,580
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Davenport area
89.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
12 miles
Davenport, IA
To Chicago
161 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.9% below the U.S. average in the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 3.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Durant Junior/senior High School, about 7 miles away.
  • A hospital close byGenesis Medical Center-Davenport in Davenport, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 161 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 Walcott 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
$190,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 16%Scott County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$787 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$78,580U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
80%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,452 a yearIowa: $2,897
Homes built before 1940
23%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89.1U.S. average = 100 (the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island 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 16% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island metro area, not Walcott 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
1,5302020: 1,545
Median age
43.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
23%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
20%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
Manufacturing (24%); schools, health care and social services (19%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (10%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Genesis Medical Center-Davenport, Davenport, IA, about 12 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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

2 public schools in Walcott, run by Davenport Comm School District. The nearest public high school is Durant Junior/senior High School, about 7 miles away.

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
77%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%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
17 a year
Nights at or below freezing
138 a year
Rain and melted snow
38.3 inches a year
Snow
29 inches a year
Elevation
718 feet

Weather stations: Davenport Wfo (10 miles away) and Muscatine 2N (16 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: Genesis Medical Center-Davenport, Davenport, Chicago.

Scott 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Herbert Hoover National Historic Site30 miles

Read about Walcott's history on Wikipedia.

Know Walcott?

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

  • Stockton, IA171 people, 4 miles
  • Maysville, IA156 people, 5 miles
  • Montpelier, IA (unincorporated)209 people, 9 miles
  • Donahue, IA335 people, 9 miles
  • New Liberty, IA134 people, 10 miles
  • Dixon, IA204 people, 11 miles
  • Fairport, IA (unincorporated)109 people, 13 miles
  • Long Grove, IA844 people, 13 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.