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Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo is a small city of about 67,000 people in Black Hawk County, Iowa. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady 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, Minneapolis, is about 177 miles away as the crow flies.

County seatSmall city

Population
66,919
down 0.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$152,600
Black Hawk County prices up 16% since 2022
Household income
$57,480
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Waterloo area
87.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Mercyone Waterloo Medical Center
To Minneapolis
177 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.9% below the U.S. average in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area.
  • 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 neighborhood317 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 25.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town21 public schools: 14 elementary, 5 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byMercyone Waterloo Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMinneapolis is about 177 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 Waterloo 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
$152,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 16%Black Hawk County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$923 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$57,480U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
62%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,494 a yearIowa: $2,897
Homes built before 1940
22%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
87.1U.S. average = 100 (the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area, not Waterloo 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
66,9192020: 67,259
Median age
36.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%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
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 (21%); manufacturing (20%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
16 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
17%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mercyone Waterloo Medical Center, Waterloo, IA, in town. 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

21 public schools in Waterloo, run by Waterloo Comm School District and Cedar Falls Comm School District.

Colleges in or next to town: Hawkeye Community College (5,000 to 9,999 students); University of Northern Iowa (5,000 to 9,999 students); Allen College (under 1,000 students).

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
68%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
11°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
15 a year
Nights at or below freezing
150 a year
Rain and melted snow
36.3 inches a year
Snow
39 inches a year
Elevation
884 feet

Weather station: Waterloo Muni Ap (5 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

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: Cedar Rapids, Minneapolis.

Black Hawk County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

30 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Highland Historic District, the Walnut Street Historic District, the Waterloo East Commercial Historic District and the Waterloo West Commercial Historic District.

Campus life. Check University of Northern Iowa's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Waterloo's history on Wikipedia.

Know Waterloo?

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

  • Raymond, IA748 people, 6 miles
  • Washburn, IA (unincorporated)714 people, 7 miles
  • Gilbertville, IA786 people, 9 miles
  • Dunkerton, IA835 people, 11 miles
  • New Hartford, IA553 people, 15 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.