Creston, IA: Local News, Events & Neighbors

Creston is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Iowa. The population was 7,536 at the time of the 2020 Census. Creston is a regional hub for southwest Iowa and is home to Southwestern Community College.

Official town website ↗

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

How Creston ranks

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#5Highest graduation rate in IA #8Most walkable in IA #9Cheapest rent in IA All IA rankings →

Town numbers

ZIP code50801

Area code641

Living in Creston

Housing in Creston

$156K▲ 3.5% in a year Typical home value · Zillow

The typical Creston home is worth about $156,000, up 3.5% in a year, 35% below the Iowa typical home.

Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data CenterHousing market →

Safety in Creston

C⁺

Safety Grade C+

Creston reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 61% report less.

Violent crime per 1,000

Creston 4.5

Iowa 2.4

U.S. 3.3

Property crime per 1,000

Creston 8.2

Iowa 12

U.S. 15.5

FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to policeCrime & safety →

Health in Creston

Compared with Iowa

3worse than IA

of 32 measures CDC estimates. The other 29 are too close to call.

Conditions 3▼ 9 close Habits all close Care all close Mind all close Everyday needs all close

BetterToo close to callWorse

What stands out

8.3%More adults with COPDIA 6.9% · worse 7.6%More adults with heart diseaseIA 6.6% · worse 3.8%More adults who have had a strokeIA 3.3% · worse

Care nearby

Greater Regional Medical CenterCreston · 1.3 mi · ER · rural critical access

Infinity Health - Mount Ayr OfficeMount Ayr · 24.8 mi · sliding-scale fees

Primary careNo shortage

DentalNo shortage

Mental healthShortage · county-wide

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CDC's estimate for Creston · CMS · HRSAHealth in Creston →

Schools in Creston

All Creston schools →

B⁻

School Grade B-

The public schools Creston’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 54% of Iowa’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.

See how Creston’s schools compare in IA →

DistrictCreston Comm School DistrictSchools5

Creston Elementary School C-Elementary · Grades 1–5 · 416 students Creston Early Childhood CenterElementary · Grades PK–K · 142 students St. Malachy SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 183 students Creston Middle School B-Middle · Grades 6–8 · 259 students Creston High School BHigh · Grades 9–12 · 486 students

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within IA. Ratings are from neighbors.

Famous people from CrestonWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Creston.Meet them →

Where Creston is

Explore map →

Locator map of Creston — Wikimedia Commons · Map: Arkyan · CC BY-SA 3.0

Location map

Iowa · IATown boundary on OpenStreetMap →

Nearby towns

Cromwell5 mi Afton9 mi Orient10 mi Arispe11 mi Shannon City12 mi Prescott13 mi Macksburg14 mi Lenox16 mi Thayer17 mi Lorimor17 mi

How things work in Creston

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