These Are The 10 Best Places In Iowa To Catch Pokémon

So, you want to catch ’em all, huh?
Pokemon Go has swept the nation, and the app has broken records for the most downloads in the first week of release. All over the country, people are swarming, gathering, and all around going nuts, playing this interactive game.
Since we’re a data analytics website, and because we’re often cited as the ‘go to’ place for regional infotainment, we thought it was our duty to be as helpful as we can for people in Iowa who want to have the inside scoop as to where they should go if they want to dominate this addicting game.
After analyzing every place in Iowa, here is our list of the best places to catch Pokemon in the Hawkeye State:

1. Eldridge (Photos)
2. Hiawatha (Photos)
3. Pleasant Hill (Photos)
4. Nevada (Photos)
5. Grimes (Photos)
6. Norwalk (Photos)
7. Nevada (Photos)
8. Clear Lake (Photos)
9. Glenwood (Photos)
10. Winterset (Photos)

As you might note, these are all smaller suburbs of major cities in Iowa. That’s because in smaller cities, there are a higher number of places per capita where Pokemon are traditionally found. Meaning you’ll find more Pokemon in a much smaller area. When you read the analysis below, this will all make sense. Trust us.
So, grab your avatars, cell phones, and your Poke Balls as we uncover the truly best places in Iowa in which to find the most Pokemon, based on data.
For more Iowa reading , check out:

• 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Iowa
• 10 Safest Places In Iowa
• 10 Best Places To Live In Iowa

How do you decide where the best place is to catch Pokemon?

In order to rank the best places in Iowa in which to catch ’em all, we had to determine which cities, towns and villages in Iowa have the most places to find Pokemon.
So we scraped the internet for those criteria, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.

How we crunched the numbers

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using Google Maps, this is the criteria we used:

• Number of parks per capita
• Number of museums per capita
• Number of churches per capita
• Number of memorials and public gathering places per capita

If you’d like to see the complete list of cities, scroll to the bottom of this post to see a chart of the top cities.
Note: When measuring the locations listed above, we measured the locations within a short drive of the center of each place in Iowa.

1. Eldridge

Population: 5,908
Parks Per 1,000 People: 10.16
Museums Per 1,000 People: 1.69
Churches Per 1,000 People: 10.16
Public Gathering Places Per 1,000 People: 1.52

2. Hiawatha

Population: 7,109
Parks Per 1,000 People: 8.44
Museums Per 1,000 People: 1.41
Churches Per 1,000 People: 8.44
Public Gathering Places Per 1,000 People: 2.25

3. Pleasant Hill

Population: 9,011
Parks Per 1,000 People: 6.66
Museums Per 1,000 People: 1.44
Churches Per 1,000 People: 6.55
Public Gathering Places Per 1,000 People: 1.22

4. Nevada

Population: 6,794
Parks Per 1,000 People: 4.12
Museums Per 1,000 People: 0.88
Churches Per 1,000 People: 8.83
Public Gathering Places Per 1,000 People: 1.18

5. Grimes

Population: 9,037
Parks Per 1,000 People: 6.64
Museums Per 1,000 People: 1.22
Churches Per 1,000 People: 6.64
Public Gathering Places Per 1,000 People: 1.0

6. Norwalk

Population: 9,444
Parks Per 1,000 People: 6.35
Museums Per 1,000 People: 1.27
Churches Per 1,000 People: 6.35
Public Gathering Places Per 1,000 People: 0.95

7. Nevada

Population: 6,794
Parks Per 1,000 People: 5.15
Museums Per 1,000 People: 1.47
Churches Per 1,000 People: 5.74
Public Gathering Places Per 1,000 People: 1.62

8. Clear Lake

Population: 7,718
Parks Per 1,000 People: 4.02
Museums Per 1,000 People: 1.17
Churches Per 1,000 People: 7.26
Public Gathering Places Per 1,000 People: 0.78

9. Glenwood

Population: 5,253
Parks Per 1,000 People: 2.86
Museums Per 1,000 People: 0.76
Churches Per 1,000 People: 8.38
Public Gathering Places Per 1,000 People: 0.38

10. Winterset

Population: 5,165
Parks Per 1,000 People: 2.9
Museums Per 1,000 People: 0.58
Churches Per 1,000 People: 7.16
Public Gathering Places Per 1,000 People: 0.39

There You Have It

If you’re looking at communities in Iowa where you have a much higher chance of catching Pokemon, this is an accurate list.
If you’re also curious enough, here’s how the larger cities in Iowa with the most reliable locations to catch a Pokemon rank, according to science.

1. Urbandale (Photos)
2. Council Bluffs (Photos)
3. West Des Moines (Photos)
4. Ankeny (Photos)
5. Waterloo (Photos)

For more Iowa reading, check out:

• 10 Safest Places In Iowa
• 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Iowa
• 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Iowa

Detailed List Of The Best Places In Iowa To Catch Pokemon

Rank	City	Population
1	Eldridge	5,908
2	Hiawatha	7,109
3	Pleasant Hill	9,011
4	Nevada	6,794
5	Grimes	9,037
6	Norwalk	9,444
7	Nevada	6,794
8	Clear Lake	7,718
9	Glenwood	5,253
10	Winterset	5,165
11	Iowa Falls	5,193
12	Knoxville	7,257
13	Clive	16,246
14	Red Oak	5,644
15	Algona	5,513
16	Johnston	18,874
17	Altoona	15,317
18	Keokuk	10,742
19	Harlan	5,047
20	De Witt	5,297
21	North Liberty	14,503
22	Fort Madison	10,929
23	Independence	5,955
24	Centerville	5,480
25	Sheldon	5,047
26	Manchester	5,126
27	Shenandoah	5,079
28	Vinton	5,211
29	Waverly	9,998
30	Maquoketa	6,064
31	Mount Pleasant	8,682
32	Waukee	15,944
33	Sioux Center	7,218
34	Coralville	19,677
35	Anamosa	5,526
36	Pella	10,343
37	Atlantic	6,983
38	Grinnell	9,136
39	Denison	8,370
40	Decorah	8,058
41	Oelwein	6,321
42	Fairfield	9,615
43	Marion	35,809
44	Bettendorf	34,247
45	Perry	7,986
46	Cherokee	5,203
47	Storm Lake	10,743
48	Urbandale	41,157
49	Clarinda	5,490
50	Cedar Falls	40,009
51	Oskaloosa	11,555
52	Muscatine	23,857
53	Creston	7,846
54	Spencer	11,177
55	Carroll	10,051
56	Boone	12,619
57	Ankeny	49,488
58	Council Bluffs	62,261
59	Estherville	6,177
60	West Des Moines	59,815
61	Indianola	15,014
62	Newton	15,139
63	Le Mars	9,783
64	Fort Dodge	24,846
65	Burlington	25,559
66	Washington	7,315
67	Waterloo	68,392
68	Ottumwa	24,847
69	Knoxville	7,257
70	Clinton	26,611
71	Marshalltown	27,749
72	Dubuque	58,068
73	Davenport	101,316
74	Ames	61,276
75	Cedar Rapids	128,009
76	Des Moines	206,702