Star-Clipper-Canfield Building and Winding Stairway · National Register of Historic Places
Traer’s story
Traer in pictures
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →TraerIA
A town of 1,519. Public schools that outperform most of Iowa.
Population
1,519
−7% since 2010
Typical home
$179K
−1.1% in a year
Household income
$76K
median
Median age
46.5
years
Jobs based here
459
A commuter town
What makes Traer stand out
The 3 things Traer does most differently from other towns.
A commuter town
85% of working residents leave Traer for work
Where Traer’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
459jobs based in Traer
15%of working residents work in town
22 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
Traer’s report card
Now in Traer
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Residents weigh in
Live in Traer? Is a C− for its schools right?
Your answer becomes a post in Traer’s Town Square.
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The data
Ordered by what stands out in Traer. Another town gets a different order.
Schools
Traer’s public schools outperform 18% of Iowa districts
The public schools Traer’s kids attend trail 82% of Iowa’s districts on state tests. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.
C−School Grade
| School | Grades | Students | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Tama Elementary | PK–6 | 276 | C |
| North Tama High School | 7–12 | 203 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IA on state testsAll 2 schools →
Work & commute
About one in seven working residents works right in Traer
Most working residents leave Traer for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Waterloo (19%), Cedar Falls (8%) and Des Moines (4%). Half commute less than 22 miles.
15%work in town
Where working residents work
In Traer15%
Waterloo19%
Cedar Falls8%
Des Moines4%
Cedar Rapids3%
22 mi
median commute distance
459
jobs based in Traer
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACSCommute map →
Housing
A typical Traer home is worth about $179K
The typical Traer home is worth about $179,000, down 1.1% in a year, 25% below the Iowa typical home.
$179KZillow home value
Typical home value
Traer$179K
Iowa$240K
−1.1%
value change, 1 year
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data CenterHousing market →
Climate
Four seasons, pleasant summers
Traer has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. A typical July afternoon reaches 83°, a January night drops to 10°, and about 34 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
34″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter14–30°
Spring37–59°
Summer60–82°
Fall39–61°
Oct 9
typical first frost
Apr 30
typical last frost
+0.6°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020Full climate →
Health
Healthier than 63% of U.S. towns
Traer beats the Iowa average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3.
BHealth Grade
32 measures vs. Iowa
9 better20 too close to call3 worse
| What stands out | Traer | IA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.3% | 11.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.4% | 12% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.4% | 8.7% |
Grundy County Memorial Hospital
19.2 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
62nd
percentile among IA towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSAFull health report →
Natural hazards
Moderate risk, with drought at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 40% of U.S. communities.
40risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
DroughtInland floodingStrong wind
1
paid flood claims since 2008
5
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMANatural hazards →
Outdoors
0% of Traer is conserved land
0.0 miles of trails across 1 parks and preserves.
0%conserved
0%
conserved · 0 of 820 acres
0.0 mi
of trails · 0 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Taylor Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-USParks & trails →
About Traer
City in Iowa, United States
Traer is a city in Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,583 at the time of the 2020 census. Traer is known for the iron spiral staircase that originally led to the office of the local newspaper. The staircase is freestanding, reverse-spiral and connected to the building with a suspended walkway, a somewhat rare arrangement.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Population
- 1,583
- Area
- 1.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 915 ft
- ZIP code
- 50675
- Area code
- 319