Hardwood Floor Refinishing in Mount Vernon, Iowa
Mount Vernon is a small Linn County city. This page is about Mount Vernon, Iowa, not Mount Vernon in New York, Ohio or Virginia. The Census Bureau's April 2020 estimates base is 4,539 and its 2024 estimate is 4,518, so it is one of two of the eleven towns, with Robins, that lost a little population over the period.
Housing at a glance
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Population, April 2020 estimates base | 4,539 |
| Population, 2024 estimate | 4,518 |
| Housing units (give or take) | 1,352 (give or take 139) |
| Median year built (give or take) | 1972 (give or take 10 years) |
| Built in 1939 or earlier | 39.6% |
| Built in 2000 or later | 16.6% |
| Single-family homes standing alone | 74.5% |
| In buildings of five or more units | 9.5% |
| Mobile homes | 3.9% |
| Owner-occupied homes | 86.3% |
| Renter-occupied homes | 13.7% |
| Householders who moved in during 2020 or later | 11.0% |
| Median gross rent | $780 a month |
| Median value of owner-occupied homes | $245,200 |
| Residents 3 and over enrolled in college or graduate school | 25.7% |
| About these figures | Population is the Census Bureau's April 2020 estimates base and 2024 estimate; the rest are Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. They are sample-based estimates with margins, and they describe housing and households, not floors |
Homes by year built
| Year built | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 or later | 16 | 1.2% |
| 2010 to 2019 | 23 | 1.7% |
| 2000 to 2009 | 186 | 13.8% |
| 1990 to 1999 | 189 | 14.0% |
| 1980 to 1989 | 107 | 7.9% |
| 1970 to 1979 | 201 | 14.9% |
| 1960 to 1969 | 61 | 4.5% |
| 1950 to 1959 | 34 | 2.5% |
| 1940 to 1949 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1939 or earlier | 535 | 39.6% |
Three National Historic Districts
The Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Commission says the city has three National Historic Districts: the Ash Park Historic District, the Commercial Historic District and the Cornell College Historic District (Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Commission, Historic Districts, as of 2026).
What stands out
Mount Vernon has the oldest stock of the eleven towns by share: about 40 percent of its homes, roughly 535, were built in 1939 or earlier. The published median year built, 1972, comes with a margin of 10 years, far wider than in any larger town here. The survey is a sample, and the stock splits between very old homes and fairly new ones, so the median is a middle point between two groups and not the age of a typical home. About 86 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied, about 26 percent of residents aged 3 and over are enrolled in college or graduate school, the second-highest share after Iowa City, and the median gross rent, $780 a month, is the lowest of the eleven towns. Only about 11 percent of householders moved in during 2020 or later, the second-lowest share after Robins.