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Iowa, Louisiana

Iowa is a small town of about 3,300 people in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. It has lost about 4% of its people since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Houston, is about 146 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,301
down 3.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$249,200
Calcasieu Parish prices down 2.2% since 2022
Prices, Lake Charles area
85.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
11 miles
Lake Charles, LA
To Houston
146 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.1% below the U.S. average in the Lake Charles metro area.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Iowa to say.
  • A safer neighborhood49 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 15.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 18.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byLake Charles Memorial Hospital in Lake Charles, about 11 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHouston is about 146 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 Iowa 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
$249,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Down 2.2%Calcasieu Parish, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,098 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them
81%U.S.: 65%
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
31%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
85.9U.S. average = 100 (the Lake Charles 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 down 2.2% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Lake Charles metro area, not Iowa 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
3,3012020: 3,430
Median age
37.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
28%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%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 (25%); retail (14%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (14%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%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: Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, Lake Charles, LA, about 11 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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 Iowa, run by Calcasieu Parish.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Louisiana'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
78%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
94%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
40°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
93 a year
Nights at or below freezing
24 a year
Rain and melted snow
65.1 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
21 feet

Weather stations: Moss Bluff 2 NNW (14 miles away) and Lake Charles Port (14 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: Lake Charles Memorial Hospital, Lake Charles, Houston.

Calcasieu Parish 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read about Iowa's history on Wikipedia.

Know Iowa?

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

  • Lacassine, LA (unincorporated)218 people, 6 miles
  • Fenton, LA217 people, 10 miles
  • Hayes, LA (unincorporated)690 people, 10 miles
  • Gillis, LA (unincorporated)667 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.