Churches & volunteer opportunities in Iowa

Largest cities in Iowa

• Churches in Sioux City, IA (65 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Council Bluffs, IA (45 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Fort Dodge, IA (27 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Le Mars, IA (14 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Sioux Center, IA (14 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Atlantic, IA (13 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Shenandoah, IA (13 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Winterset, IA (13 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Clarinda, IA (12 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Harlan, IA (12 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Red Oak, IA (12 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Spencer, IA (11 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Creston, IA (9 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Greenfield, IA (9 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Orange City, IA (9 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Rock Valley, IA (9 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Sheldon, IA (9 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Carroll, IA (8 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Cherokee, IA (8 churches & ministries)
• Churches in Jefferson, IA (8 churches & ministries)

All cities in Iowa

• Adel, IA
• Afton, IA
• Akron, IA
• Algona, IA
• Alta, IA
• Anita, IA
• Arthur, IA
• Atlantic, IA
• Audubon, IA
• Avoca, IA
• Bedford, IA
• Blockton, IA
• Carroll, IA
• Charter Oak, IA
• Cherokee, IA
• Churdan, IA
• Clarinda, IA
• Coon Rapids, IA
• Corning, IA
• Correctionville, IA
• Council Bluffs, IA
• Creston, IA
• Cumberland, IA
• Dallas Center, IA
• Dayton, IA
• Denison, IA
• Earlham, IA
• Emmetsburg, IA
• Essex, IA
• Exira, IA
• Fontanelle, IA
• Fort Dodge, IA
• Glenwood, IA
• Glidden, IA
• Greenfield, IA
• Griswold, IA
• Guthrie Center, IA
• Hamburg, IA
• Harlan, IA
• Hartley, IA
• Hawarden, IA
• Hornick, IA
• Hospers, IA
• Hull, IA
• Humboldt, IA
• Ida Grove, IA
• Ireton, IA
• Jefferson, IA
• Kingsley, IA
• Le Mars, IA
• Lenox, IA
• Linden, IA
• Logan, IA
• Lohrville, IA
• Manning, IA
• Manson, IA
• Mapleton, IA
• Marcus, IA
• Massena, IA
• Merrill, IA
• Missouri Valley, IA
• Mondamin, IA
• Mount Ayr, IA
• Odebolt, IA
• Ogden, IA
• Onawa, IA
• Orange City, IA
• Panora, IA
• Perry, IA
• Pocahontas, IA
• Pomeroy, IA
• Primghar, IA
• Red Oak, IA
• Redding, IA
• Rock Valley, IA
• Rockwell City, IA
• Ruthven, IA
• Sac City, IA
• Sanborn, IA
• Scranton, IA
• Sheldon, IA
• Shenandoah, IA
• Sidney, IA
• Sioux Center, IA
• Sioux City, IA
• Sioux Rapids, IA
• Spencer, IA
• Storm Lake, IA
• Stuart, IA
• Sutherland, IA
• Thayer, IA
• Van Meter, IA
• Villisca, IA
• Walnut, IA
• Winterset, IA
• Woodbine, IA

City Score: Iowa

Iowa scores 60 out of 100 on the Joy Project City Score. Condition 60 (the city from public data, 60%) and Movement (how the church is moving, 40%). How the score is built.

The condition of Iowa

• What Iowa is up against: 24 out of 100 — Better than 81% of states, up 2 points
• Where grace is growing: 37 out of 100 — Better than 33% of states
• Marriage & family: 73 out of 100 — Better than 81% of states
• Christian liberty: 53 out of 100 — Better than 53% of states, up 2 points

What affected it

• This quarter: Cohabiting households up 10 percentile points (Marriage & family)
• This quarter: Marriages down 10 percentile points (Marriage & family)
• This quarter: Divorces down 8 percentile points (Marriage & family)

Sources

1. Violent crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer · 2025 · Iowa · fetched Oct 28, 2026
2. Property crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer · 2025 · Iowa · fetched Oct 28, 2026
3. Sexually transmitted infections: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus · fetched Oct 28, 2026
4. Drug overdose deaths: CDC NCHS, provisional county drug overdose deaths (VSRR) · 2025 · Iowa (10 counties summed) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
5. Adult entertainment outlets: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
6. Gambling outlets: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
7. Cannabis outlets: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
8. Liquor outlets and bars: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
9. Predatory lenders: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
10. Abortion facilities (mapped): OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
11. Church adherents: 2020 U.S. Religion Census · 2020 · Iowa · fetched Oct 28, 2026
12. Congregations: 2020 U.S. Religion Census · 2020 · Iowa · fetched Oct 28, 2026
13. Charitable giving: IRS Statistics of Income, county data · 2023 · Iowa (99 counties summed) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
14. Given to local needs in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · fetched Oct 28, 2026 · verified in Joy
15. Needs met in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · fetched Oct 28, 2026 · verified in Joy
16. Volunteers mobilized in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · fetched Oct 28, 2026 · verified in Joy
17. New believers in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · fetched Oct 28, 2026 · verified in Joy
18. Children with married parents: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Iowa · fetched Oct 28, 2026
19. Adults 25-44 married: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Iowa · fetched Oct 28, 2026
20. Cohabiting households: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Iowa · fetched Oct 28, 2026
21. Divorces: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Iowa · fetched Oct 28, 2026
22. Marriages: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Iowa · fetched Oct 28, 2026
23. Births to unmarried mothers: CDC WONDER · fetched Oct 28, 2026
24. Religious Liberty in the States score: Religious Liberty in the States · 2026 · Iowa · fetched Oct 28, 2026
25. Safeguards fully in law: Religious Liberty in the States · 2026 · Iowa · fetched Oct 28, 2026
26. State Religious Freedom Restoration Act: Religious Liberty in the States · 2026 · Iowa · fetched Oct 28, 2026
27. Anti-Christian hate crimes: FBI Crime Data Explorer · 2025 · Iowa · fetched Oct 28, 2026

Cities in Iowa by status

• 226 cities without a status yet

Highest City Scores in Iowa

1. Sioux Center, IA — 77
2. Hartley, IA — 73
3. Manning, IA — 67
4. Minburn, IA — 64
5. Audubon, IA — 61
6. Mount Ayr, IA — 61
7. Adair, IA — 60
8. Adel, IA — 60
9. Afton, IA — 60
10. Akron, IA — 60
11. Albert City, IA — 60
12. Algona, IA — 60
13. Alta, IA — 60
14. Alton, IA — 60
15. Anita, IA — 60
16. Anthon, IA — 60
17. Arcadia, IA — 60
18. Archer, IA — 60
19. Arthur, IA — 60
20. Atlantic, IA — 60
21. Auburn, IA — 60
22. Aurelia, IA — 60
23. Avoca, IA — 60
24. Ayrshire, IA — 60
25. Bagley, IA — 60

Cite it as: Joy Project City Score v1.0, Iowa, 2026-Q4, staging.joyproject.com/states/ia. Methodology.

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