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Central City, Iowa

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Maine Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52214. The Survey maps it on the Central City quadrangle. 1,264 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 833 feet above sea level.

Central City within Linn County

On record in Central City

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Central City grew from 1,257 to 1,264 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
20101,257
20201,264+7 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 15 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

2 since 2013

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Central City between 2013 and 2017, burning about 62 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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/undetermined1
Debris and open burning1

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
13 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
5 April 2013Debris and open burning60 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Linn County

Mines and quarries near this place

9 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Central City: 8 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Central City PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Foy EstateSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Park PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Boddicker-Murray QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Edgerly QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Plower QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnknownStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Linn County

Storms near this place

17 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Central City in 17 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 10 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 2 tornado, 1 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. 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
June 2017Tornado (EF2)Central City1 hurtThe tornado touched down south of Central City in the county fairgrounds outfield area, and tracked about 12 miles northeast through Prairieburg before lifting in rural Jones County. The most intense damage occurred near and in Prairieburg. At a farmstead just southwest of town, a woman was injured when her garage collapsed on her. In Prairieburg, the grain elevator sustained severe damage, one mobile home was lofted and destroyed, and another mobile home severely damaged. On the east edge of town, a horse barn was destroyed. One horse was killed and two others sustained injuries. Northeast of town, a hog building was destroyed, killing several young hogs. This EF2 tornado continued into Jones County, Iowa.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindCentral City$25,000Wind gusts estimated to be 65 mph blew some tents over and damaged some carnival equipment at the Linn County Fairgrounds on the south side of Central City, IA at 555 pm CDT June 29.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindCentral City$5,000Winds estimated to be 70 mph blew down several large maple trees and power lines. Time estimated.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindCentral City-A large tree uprooted.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindCentral City-Photo relayed of a large tree branch broken off. Time of the event was estimated using radar.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindCentral City-A public report of a 7 inch diameter branch down. Time of the event was estimated using radar.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindCentral City-A tree was blown down onto a house.
June 2019Tornado (EFU)Central City-A weak landspout tornado moved through rural areas northeast and east of Central City, IA. Evidence for the tornado is through photo and video, but no damage was observed along its path to assign a rating.
June 2013Flash FloodCentral City-The Emergency Manager for Linn County reported street flooding in Central City as well as major flash flooding occurring in Walker. Rainfall amounts in Linn County ranged from 1.02 inches at Coggon to 2.50 inches 1 mile south-southeast of Cedar Rapids.
April 2010HailCentral City-Quarter sized hail fell in Central City, IA at 641 pm April 5.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindCentral City-Winds estimated to be 65 mph blew down some trees across streets making them impassible.|
July 2001Thunderstorm WindCentral City-Corn field flattened. Reported by National Weather Service cooperative observer.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindCentral City-Numerous trees and branches down.
July 2020HailCentral City-no account filed
July 2020HailCentral City-no account filed
June 2015HailCentral City-no account filed
August 1996Thunderstorm WindCentral City-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Linn 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
Rogers2.9 miles15
Jordans Grove3.6 miles14
Paris3.8 miles15
Waubeek4.1 miles14
Paris (historical)4.1 miles14
Coggon5.3 miles10
Prairieburg5.9 miles14
Alburnett6.3 miles15

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 Central CityAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1944988The 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 455313. 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.