?WhereToHQ

Ranked · Distribution node · Iowa

Best cities to run distribution in Iowa

Cities of 25,000+ residents, scored with the “Distribution node” weighting the live tool uses, heaviest on avg. weekly wage, commercial electricity, major airport, corporate income tax. Scores are relative to this set; open the tool to change the weights and re-rank.

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Top 10 · computed ranking

  1. 1.Marshalltown, IA28k residents

    69/100

    avg. weekly wage: $1,124/wk · commercial electricity: 10.2¢/kWh · major airport: 52 mi

  2. 2.Ottumwa, IA25k residents

    69/100

    avg. weekly wage: $1,036/wk · commercial electricity: 10.2¢/kWh · major airport: 70 mi

  3. 3.Council Bluffs, IA63k residents

    67/100

    avg. weekly wage: $1,114/wk · commercial electricity: 10.2¢/kWh · major airport: 3 mi

  4. 4.Dubuque, IA59k residents

    61/100

    avg. weekly wage: $1,164/wk · commercial electricity: 10.2¢/kWh · major airport: 69 mi

  5. 5.Waterloo, IA67k residents

    60/100

    avg. weekly wage: $1,151/wk · commercial electricity: 10.2¢/kWh · major airport: 53 mi

  6. 6.Ames, IA68k residents

    58/100

    avg. weekly wage: $1,253/wk · commercial electricity: 10.2¢/kWh · major airport: 35 mi

  7. 7.Sioux City, IA86k residents

    56/100

    avg. weekly wage: $1,081/wk · commercial electricity: 10.2¢/kWh · major airport: 77 mi

  8. 8.Cedar Falls, IA41k residents

    56/100

    avg. weekly wage: $1,151/wk · commercial electricity: 10.2¢/kWh · major airport: 58 mi

  9. 9.Mason City, IA27k residents

    56/100

    avg. weekly wage: $1,089/wk · commercial electricity: 10.2¢/kWh · major airport: 114 mi

  10. 10.Cedar Rapids, IA137k residents

    52/100

    avg. weekly wage: $1,355/wk · commercial electricity: 10.2¢/kWh · major airport: 7 mi

Methodology: each city is scored 0–100 by min–max normalizing every weighted facet across this candidate set (direction-aware), identical math to the tool's “Best fit” tab. A different weighting produces a different order, which is the point: this is a starting shortlist, not a verdict.

Questions & answers
Which city is best to run distribution in Iowa?
Marshalltown, IA ranks first with a fit score of 69/100, followed by Ottumwa (69) and Council Bluffs (67), using the "Distribution node" weighting.
How is this ranking calculated?
Each of the 10 candidate cities (25,000+ residents) is scored 0 to 100 by min-max normalizing the weighted facets, heaviest on avg. weekly wage, commercial electricity, major airport, corporate income tax, across this set. Change the weights in the live tool and the order changes with them.