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Cedar Falls, Iowa

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Cedar Falls City. It lies in ZIP code area 50613. It stands on Dry Run. The Survey maps it on the Cedar Falls quadrangle. 40,713 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 879 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Cedar Falls within Black Hawk County

On record in Cedar Falls

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 10 records

Population over time

2 figures

Cedar Falls grew from 39,260 to 40,713 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
201039,260
202040,713+1,453 (+4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 12 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

8 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 8 fires within 5 miles of Cedar Falls between 2002 and 2011, burning about 82 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined4
Arson/incendiarism2
Recreation and ceremony1
Equipment and vehicle use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2002Arson/incendiarismunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
21 July 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
3 June 2002Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
28 April 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resources310 ST. SPRUCE AVE, IA
23 March 2002Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
18 March 2002Arson/incendiarismunder an acreIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
8 November 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined75 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
29 November 2002Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIowa State Fire Marshal's Officenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Black Hawk County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 14 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Cedar Falls: 13 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Burton Avenue QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Stead Bros. and Guenther Clay PitClayPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Waterloo and Cedar Falls Brick Co.ClayPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Black Hawk County

Storms near this place

60 of 111 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cedar Falls in 111 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 45 hail, 38 thunderstorm wind, 14 heavy rain, 4 lightning. The reports record 1 death and 25 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2000Tornado (F3)Cedar Falls1 killed, 25 hurt, $1,750,000Multi-vortex, regerative tornado
April 2010HailCedar Falls$1,000,000The ground was covered by 1 to 3.5 inch diameter hail.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$750,000Six inch diameter tree branches were down and a radio station tower collapsed.
July 2007HailCedar Falls$300,000no account filed
July 2007HailCedar Falls$200,000no account filed
May 2013Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$100,000Many trees were down in the residential areas of the Cedar Falls and Waterloo areas. Dime to nickel size hail was also reported.
April 2010HailCedar Falls$100,000no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$75,000no account filed
September 2011LightningCedar Falls$50,000A building and two trees were set ablaze by lightning.
April 2010HailCedar Falls$50,000no account filed
August 2010LightningCedar Falls$50,000no account filed
July 2007HailCedar Falls$35,000no account filed
July 2009Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$25,000Trees were blown down, the power was out, and fences were blown down.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$25,000Numerous trees were downed by high winds in the town of Cedar Falls.
April 2010HailCedar Falls$25,000no account filed
June 2008Flash FloodCedar Falls$25,000no account filed
July 2007HailCedar Falls$25,000no account filed
September 2001Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$25,000no account filed
May 2000HailCedar Falls$25,000no account filed
April 2010HailCedar Falls$20,000Hail was reported at the intersection of 6th and Main.
April 2008Flash FloodCedar Falls$20,000Sandbagging operations were being done around the fire station due to flooding from the Dry Run Creek.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$20,000Numerous reports of trees down in the Cedar Falls and Waterloo areas. Reports began at 2206 CST.
July 2007HailCedar Falls$20,000no account filed
July 2007HailCedar Falls$20,000no account filed
July 2007HailCedar Falls$20,000no account filed
May 2017Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$15,000Public reported a tree fell on their house. Time estimated by radar.
April 2010HailCedar Falls$15,000no account filed
April 2010HailCedar Falls$15,000no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$15,000no account filed
September 2018Flash FloodCedar Falls$10,000KWWL relayed images of stalled cars in around 1 to 2 feet of water. The water did not look to be moving.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$10,000Power lines were reported down.
June 2010Flash FloodCedar Falls$10,000Water over the road at Hudson and 23rd St.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$10,000A tree and large branches blown down along Franklin St in Cedar Falls.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$10,000Trees were uprooted and power lines blown down.
April 2013HailCedar Falls$10,000no account filed
April 2013HailCedar Falls$10,000no account filed
April 2013HailCedar Falls$10,000no account filed
March 2007FloodCedar Falls$10,000no account filed
July 2007HailCedar Falls$10,000no account filed
July 2007HailCedar Falls$10,000no account filed
May 1996HailCedar Falls$10,000no account filed
June 2025Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$6,000Tree down on power lines resulting in power outages around Cedar Falls.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$5,000Power poles were blown down at 19th and Summit.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$5,000Power pole was blown down.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$5,000Trees were downed at 9th and college.
April 2013HailCedar Falls$5,000no account filed
April 2010HailCedar Falls$5,000no account filed
July 2007HailCedar Falls$5,000no account filed
February 2007LightningCedar Falls$5,000no account filed
September 2001Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$5,000no account filed
May 2000HailCedar Falls$5,000no account filed
May 2000HailCedar Falls$5,000no account filed
May 2000HailCedar Falls$5,000no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$5,000no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$5,000no account filed
July 1998LightningCedar Falls$5,000no account filed
August 2014Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$3,000Winds toppled trees at the corner of Orchard Drive and Laurinda in Cedar Falls.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindCedar Falls$3,000Numerous tree branches down.
May 2008HailCedar Falls$3,000Quarter size hail was reported.
June 2001Tornado (F0)Cedar Falls$3,000Brief touchdown on the edge of town.

Every storm recorded in Black Hawk County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Cedar City0.9 miles12
Lamplighter Villa1.7 miles12
North Cedar1.9 miles12
Norris Siding2.4 miles12
Castle Hill2.8 miles12
Benson5.2 miles9
Cedar Falls Junction5.9 miles10
Waterloo5.9 miles11

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Cedar FallsAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q582212The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 455240. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.