Decorah is a place where college students are a big part of the character and culture of the town. Small towns have often struggled with declining populations over the past few decades, but the presence of such a large college student population has helped Decorah to fight this trend. Not only does the college population add spending and jobs to local economy, but it also contributes a very tangible, youthful energy to the town.
The overall crime rate in Decorah is one of the lowest in the US. This makes it one of the safer places to live in the country in terms of crime.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Decorah spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 12.99 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.
The education level of Decorah ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Decorah, 45.02% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree.
The per capita income in Decorah in 2022 was $31,226, which is lower middle income relative to Iowa, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $124,904 for a family of four. However, Decorah contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Decorah home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Decorah residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Decorah include German, Norwegian, Irish, English, and Czech.
The most common language spoken in Decorah is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and German/Yiddish.
