Town Chart.

← All rankings · All towns in Iowa

Towns with the best schools in Iowa

Ranked by our Schools score out of 100, which is based on how many high-school students take AP, IB or college classes, how many students miss a lot of school, the graduation rate and class size, for the public schools in the town. Of the 221 towns in Iowa with 1,000 or more people, these are the top 25.

Van Meter ranks first with a score of 84. Adel and Pella follow, with 82 and 81. Scores compare each town with all 27,850 towns we track across the US.

RankTownScore High-school students in AP or IB classesHigh-school students taking college classes Population
1 Van Meter 84 27.9%33.9% 1,628
2 Adel 82 26.1%37.1% 6,430
3 Pella 81 13.3%64.4% 10,720
4 Norwalk 79 22.4%58.4% 14,183
5 Cedar Falls 79 18.7%34.0% 40,888
6 Ankeny 78 28.8%57.2% 72,615
7 Solon 77 8.5%43.4% 3,152
8 Decorah 76 10.2%34.8% 7,535
9 Urbandale 76 22.5%40.4% 46,595
10 Cascade 75 3.0%50.0% 2,375
11 Waukee 75 19.1%45.3% 29,236
12 Baxter 75 20.9%48.0% 1,247
13 West Des Moines 74 22.1%49.8% 71,083
14 Bettendorf 74 22.2%31.3% 39,647
15 Johnston 73 18.7%30.1% 24,384
16 Gilbert 73 10.6%34.9% 1,381
17 Nevada 73 1.9%40.0% 6,983
18 Rock Rapids 72 6.4%43.4% 2,661
19 Carlisle 72 17.7%31.6% 4,255
20 Huxley 72 16.1%33.2% 4,544
21 Elkader 72 9.4%36.0% 1,293
22 Logan 71 4.3%30.8% 1,392
23 Humboldt 71 8.2%42.1% 4,771
24 Williamsburg 71 16.0%30.7% 3,360
25 West Branch 71 6.4%27.7% 2,594

This is not a test-score ranking, and graduation rates are from 2018 or 2019. Only towns with a high school of their own are listed, and a town does not show up when its students go to school elsewhere. Only towns with 1,000 or more people are ranked. Scores compare each town with all towns we track. See how we score towns and where the figures come from. These are estimates, so check official sources before you decide.

More rankings for Iowa

Towns with the best schools in other states

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