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Manly, IA

View of Manly, IA
Image credit: Nahtzen / CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
1,239
U.S. Census Population Estimates Program · 2025
Elevation
1,201 ft
Median Home Value
$120,300
U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-Year · 2024
Median Rent
$756/mo
U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-Year · 2024
Median Income
$72,813
U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-Year · 2024

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Manly in context.

OverallBest places in IowaPopulation rankingHighest population places in IowaNearest larger communityMason City, Iowa9.7 miles away · 26,853 residents.

About Manly

Manly is a Worth County city laid out in 1877 at the junction of the Rock Island and Chicago Great Western railroads. The Rock Island made it a division point in 1912, with a roundhouse and shops that employed several hundred workers. The 2020 census counted 1,256 residents. The rail corridor is still active under Iowa Northern Railway, and the crossing of the railroad story with the farm roads is visible in the city's name, streets, and annual calendar. Manly remains a working rail junction in north-central Iowa.

U.E. Church Manly

That history now has a new physical home. Construction is complete on the Manly Junction Railroad Museum north of town, with locomotives, rail cars, photographs, artifacts, a depot-style section, and tracks tied to the Iowa Northern line. Central Springs Community School District is headquartered on East Street and runs high school and elementary campuses in Manly, with middle school in Nora Springs. Railroad/Ag Days keeps the old junction and the surrounding farm economy in the same local calendar.

Top Rating Signals

Highest current ratings for this town.

Lower County Wildfire Hazard Potential ClassA+100.0ratingLower FEMA County Hurricane Risk IndexA+100.0ratingLower Projected Late-Century County-Area Exposure to Sea-Level RiseA+100.0rating

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