What it's like to live in Spencer
Spencer is a small city in Iowa with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Spencer deals with household incomes below the national average, cold, harsh winters, snowy winters, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment in the county
- Low crime rates
- Short commutes
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- Cold, harsh winters
- Snowy winters — 43" per year
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Spencer compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Spencer
Based on Spencer's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,610
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $32,200 a year
- 37% of Spencer renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$36,960
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $18,480
- Homes cost 3.1× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 43% below US
$805/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $805 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $184,800. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $184,800 · 37% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
3.2% county unemployment
Unemployment in Clay County is 3.2%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Clay County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 71% below US
96 violent crimes per 100k
Safety is genuinely one of the selling points here. Both violent and property crime run well below the national average, the kind of numbers that fade into the background after a week of living somewhere.
Property crime 874/100k · Spencer Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 39% below US
16 min average commute
Commutes run short here, averaging 15.8 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 6% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 82°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 10°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 4.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 17% below US
30% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 30%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
5 public schools inside the boundary
There are 5 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, close to the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Pipestone National Monument (84 miles away).
Bottom line
Spencer's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and cold, harsh winters. A year of median rent ($805/mo) equals 16% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low), and anyone prioritizing low crime. It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive and anyone who dislikes long, cold winters.
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