BlockBefore

Hills, Iowa

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Liberty Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52235. It stands on Dirty Face Creek. The Survey maps it on the Hills quadrangle. 863 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 630 feet above sea level.

Hills within Johnson County

Population over time

2 figures

Hills grew from 703 to 863 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
2010703
2020863+160 (+23%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 16 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

4 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Hills between 2010 and 2015, burning about 21 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/undetermined3
Smoking1

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
1 June 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resources5200 BLOCK OAKCREST HIL ST., IA
4 May 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresIowa Department of Natural Resources560TH AND NAPLES AVE, IOWA
23 April 2015Smoking5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
7 November 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resources3111 115TH ST., IOWA

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Johnson County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Hills: 1 past producer, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: 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
Riverside Plant and PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Showers SandpitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Johnson County

Storms near this place

38 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hills in 38 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 19 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 4 flood. The reports record 17 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 1998Tornado (F3)Hills17 hurt, $6,000,000no account filed
June 2010FloodHills$375,000Heavy rains during the third week of June resulted in the Iowa River at Lone Tree going above the moderate flood stage level of 16.5 feet on June 16 around 12 am. It crested around 17.0 feet around 11 am June 16. It fell below the moderate flood stage level around 930 pm June 16.
June 2009FloodHills$250,000Heavy rains during the middle of the month resulted in the Iowa River at Lone Tree going above the moderate flood stage level of 16.5 feet on June 22nd around 830 am. It crested around 16.6 feet around 1230 pm June 22. It fell below the moderate flood stage level around 2 pm June 22.
March 2002Thunderstorm WindHills$200,000A property suffered heavy damage. A large sliding door to a metal building was blown down and destroyed, a fence was damaged, a semi-trailer was tipped over and moved, the tin roof on an old shed was torn off, and an empty grain elevator was tipped over and moved. Additionally, many water tanks and other supplies that were piled around had been jumbled and thrown around. The owner credited some rail cars parked along the west side of the property with limiting the damage by providing a break from the wind. Also, a pole building on an adjacent lot northeast of the property was upended and destroyed with tractors and other equipment inside. The equipment suffered damage but was still driveable. Across the street from the pole building, a residence lost a chimney. Just east of that residence, was another residence which suffered the most damage seen in town. The home had damage on all four sides with windows broken out, siding damaged, a chimney destroyed, shingles removed and roof damage. A child was asleep in a first floor bedroom when the home was damaged. The mother reported that it was very difficult opening the door to the bedroom because of the force of the wind. The child was in bed with broken glass throughout the room and in the bed, but luckily there were no injuries. There was mud and debris plastered on the walls and in the room. Also, there was an old truck parked on a street on the east side of the home that was pushed into another vehicle parked nearby. Power lines were down, and the home was without power until 4:30 pm Saturday. Across the street from this residence was another home which suffered some roof damage, damage to a chimney and a playhouse which was tipped over and moved. There were also trees down throughout town.
August 2010FloodHills$75,000no account filed
April 2006Tornado (F1)Hills$70,000Rated high F1
August 1995HailHills$15,000no account filed
April 2006Tornado (F1)Hills$10,000Rated F1
June 2015LightningHills$5,000Officials reported two power lines down and transformer on fire.
May 2004HailHills$2,000Relayed by KCRG TV
July 2013Thunderstorm WindHills$1,000Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew down some two inch diameter tree limbs, ripped off camper awnings, and broke off a radio antenna at the Hills Access Camp Ground about a half mile east of Hills, IA around 630 pm CDT July 19.
March 2026HailHills-A trained spotter reported penny to ping pong ball sized hail.
May 2024HailHills-Spotter also reported 40 to 50 mph winds.
March 2023Tornado (EF2)Hills-The tornado began southwest of Hills and moved northeast, crossing Highway 218 through the northwest portions of town. The tornado destroyed several outbuildings, large trees, and trim/siding on houses. The greatest damage was seen in western portions of the town of Hills, where roofs were completely torn off, siding removed from several homes and a large outbuilding destroyed. The tornado then proceeded through a wooded area with several trees snapped. It then continued northeast, destroying siding and roofs on several homes on the extreme southeast side of Iowa City. The tornado continued northeast and crossed Herbert Hoover Highway before lifting. Johnson County EMA provided outstanding support to determine the final portion of this track.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindHills-Tree branches larger than 2 inches in diameter were blown down.
May 2018HailHills-A trained spotter reported hail up to the size of 1 inch in diameter.
May 2018HailHills-A trained spotter reported hail up to the size of pennies.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindHills-The county emergency manager reported a wind gust estimated at 60 mph.
February 2017HailHills-A report of hail about 1.25 inch in diameter was reported through social media photo.
February 2017HailHills-Quarter sized hail was reported by a trained spotter. Hail could be heard over the phone.
May 2017HailHills-The spotter reported hail the size of peas to pennies.
April 2014Funnel CloudHills-Two funnel clouds developed in the hills area within 5 to 10 minutes.
April 2014HailHills-A public report of hail up the size of pennies.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindHills-A trained spotter reported 60 mph winds along with small tree limbs down.
September 2012HailHills-Quarter sized hail fell about 2 miles south southeast of Hills, IA at 212 am CDT September 7.
April 2010HailHills-Non-severe hail (<1.0) fell in Hills, IA at 414 am April 6.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindHills-Wind gusts were estimated to be up to 70 mph in Hills, IA around 601 pm June 23.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindHills-Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph blew a pine tree down and a picnic table off a deck about 7 miles north of Riverside, IA at 515 am July 21.
April 2006Funnel CloudHills-Washington County Deputy reported to Johnson County of a funnel cloud between Riverside and Hills.
November 2006HailHills-Dime to penny size hail covered the ground up to one inch deep near the Hills exit number 85 on Highway 218.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindHills-Storm entered Johnson County from Washington County 3.9 miles southwest of Hills and moved over rural areas of Johnson County. Numerous farmers had corn fields flattened along the path of the storm.
May 2023HailHills-no account filed
June 2017HailHills-no account filed
November 2015HailHills-no account filed
September 2014HailHills-no account filed
February 2014HailHills-no account filed
April 2013FloodHills-no account filed
June 2011HailHills-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Johnson 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
River Junction4.8 miles7
Breckenridge Estates5.3 miles11
Midway (historical)6.8 miles11
Sharon Center6.8 miles15
University Heights7.1 miles19
Lone Tree7.4 miles7
Iowa City7.4 miles19
Parkhurst (historical)8.0 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 HillsAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1932069The 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 457499. 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.