The worst small town in Iowa won’t surprise you at all

Iowans are proud to be from their small towns. However, most people agree that not all small towns are created equal.

Last year we dived into the worst rural town in the state of Hawkeye.

By the way, the “worst” rural town is somewhat subjective. The Youtuber has put together a series of videos of the “worst” rural towns in each state. Each state has its own corresponding video.

When this guy says “the worst”, he actually means the most affordable.

You can read more about it here.

However, when we say “the worst” in this case, we actually mean THE WORST LITTLE TOWN. A publication called Snacks put together a list of the worst small towns in Iowa.

It was determined based on several factors: unemployment rates, crime rates, housing costs, high school dropouts, adjusted median income, and population density.

So…which Iowa city fails in each of these categories?

It’s a small, well-known place called Villisca.

Are we really surprised that the site of an incredibly gruesome murder that captured national attention is right at the top of this list?

The 1912 home murders in this small town attract paranormal investigators more than a hundred years later. This city has become known throughout the country for these horrific attacks.

Here is the complete list of the ten worst small towns in Iowa (according to this dataset).

1. Villisca
2. Tama
3. City bag
4. Postville
5. Montezuma
6. Bugle
7. Onawa
8. Toledo
9. Columbus Junction
10. Lamoni

As we all know, Iowa is full of small towns that are even more charming than bad. According to the same publication, the best small town in Iowa is… Atkins.

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