Iowa Real Estate & Relocation Guide

Dubuque, Iowa

Population: 57,686

Located in Dubuque County

Dubuque, Iowa is a contemporary city with Victorian charm. As the seventh largest city in the state of Iowa, residents enjoy a small-town's warmth, friendliness, and freedom from hassles coupled with the conveniences of an urban setting. Situated in a beautiful, natural location along the Mississippi River, Dubuque is known for its steep hills and river bluffs. Settled in 1788 by French Canadian fur trader and early entrepreneur Julien Dubuque, this has been a vibrant river city since the early 1800s.

Today, Dubuque is a thriving city, with a population of nearly 62,000 people and a county population of nearly 90,000. More than one million tourists visit Dubuque annually to ride the riverboats, learn the history, and see the sights. Listed below are some helpful links to enjoying life in Dubuque.

Because Iowa is one of the healthiest and safest places to live and raise a child, life here is good. Good for families, for careers, and for creating a balanced quality of life.

In May of 2004, Dubuque was ranked #1 for housing affordability in the U.S., according to a survey done by Expansion Management Magazine, which looked at home ownership and rental costs for all U.S metro areas to calculate the percentage of a metro area's population that is able to afford to buy the median-priced home in that particular metro. This study was conducted to determine the accessibility of descent housing for the average employee.

If or when a move to Dubuque becomes a reality for you, there are lots of details to pin down with your relocation. Dubuque offers a wonderful mix of family-oriented, young singles and retirement living opportunities. Depending on your personal needs for space and type of housing, proximity to work or recreation and neighborhood ambience, you can find something that fits your lifestyle.

Dubuque¹s five historic districts offers beautiful vintage homes, downtown¹s unique buildings provide cool, affordable apartments, while newer construction in both single and multi-family dwellings can be found in the city's south and west sides. The average cost of a three-bedroom home in the city of Dubuque is $106,000. Rental homes typically range from $600 - $1,800 per month.

If that¹s not enough of a draw for you, perhaps the job market could be a major selling point. In March 2008, Dubuque was ranked 18th in the nation in Forbes¹ Magazine¹s annual ³Best Small Places for Business and Careers.²

Employers in Dubuque draw from the labor force in the Iowa Counties of Dubuque, Clayton, Delaware, Jones, and Jackson, as well as Grant County in Wisconsin and JoDavies County in Illinois.

Dubuque has a strong downtown business district with more than 7,000 employees working in downtown each day. There is strong public and private financial investment in downtown revitalization, which has reached more than $374. 5 million dollars, most of which has been since 2000. Downtown Dubuque is also the cultural corridor for the community and is home to art galleries, Museum of Art, Symphony, several community Theater venues as well as a dynamic list of restaurants and other entertainment venues.

In January 2009, IBM announced it will open a new technology service delivery center in downtown Dubuque, creating up to 1,300 jobs by 2010. Current Dubuque employers include John Deere, Hormel, McGraw-Hill Higher Education, McKesson Corporation, Medline Industries, Nordstrom Distribution, Prudential Financial, Quebecor Work, and Thermo-Fisher Scientific.

In the March 2009 issue of Site Selection magazine, Dubuque is named as a 2008 Top Ten Metro with a population less than 200,000. Site Selection magazine recognizes communities, in part, on their successful economic development projects. Of course, economic development project success is linked to, among other things, quality of place, affordability of a community, and job creation. Dubuque was also recognized by Business Retention and Expansion International, a worldwide trade association for economic development professionals, as having the top business retention program in the country.

The Dubuque area boasts a diversified, highly educated and motivated workforce, which has grown to support economic expansions of recent years. Major employers draw from manufacturing, publishing and financial/insurance industries as well as from the private area colleges, universities, and technical schools. These institutions not only provide diverse fields of study and expertise to incoming students, but are a resource to businesses for continuing education and professional development.

The Dubuque Community School District provides K-12 education through 11 elementary schools, three junior high schools, one middle school, and three high schools. Within the last five years, the district constructed two new elementary schools and a new middle school. Dubuque also offers two private school systems accredited by the State of Iowa. The Holy Family Catholic Schools offers K-12 education at four elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The Dubuque Lutheran School offers K-5 education at one elementary school.

Known for its superior literacy rates and high graduation performance, Iowa consistently ranks in the top five states in the nation on standardized achievement tests such as ACT, SAT, and ITBS. Test scores for elementary and high school students in Dubuque consistently rank above both national and state averages. The Dubuque community takes great pride in the quality of its educational system and it is a top priority for Dubuque citizens and leaders Dubuque's public school system was ranked #7 out of 2,200 school districts nationwide! The mission of "Every Child, Every Promise" is to improve outcomes for our community's youth by concentrating our focus on the fulfillment of the Five Promises: caring adults, safe places, healthy start, effective education, and opportunities to help others. For more on this, visit www.everychild-everypromise.org.

Dubuque also boasts three private, liberal arts colleges (Clarke College, Loras College, University of Dubuque) offering a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate degree programs, a community college (Northeast Iowa Community College) with diverse certificate and degree programs, and a Bible college. The tri-state area features an additional state university and two more community colleges for a total of 18,000 college students!

You'll find Dubuque a picturesque, charming town - a work of art. In fact, residents affectionately refer to it as the "Masterpiece on the Mississippi" because of the colorful, gingerbread Victorian mansions that dot the bluffs, and simply because of the natural beauty of the bluffs themselves, with rock outcroppings, tall trees, wildflowers, soaring bald eagles and various cultural opportunities and rich history.

But, Dubuque is not the kind of masterpiece that you'll sit back and admire. There is too much to do! Dip your toes in the world-famous Mighty Mississippi River and ride an authentic paddleboat. Tour the museums, historical sites and National Landmarks. Take in a show. See Victorian architecture and Louis Tiffany stained glass windows. Hike and bike, go downhill or cross-country skiing or run bases at the Field of Dreams movie site. Hit the jackpot at fabulous casinos, or shop for antiques and gifts.

Dubuque features a wide variety of community events throughout all four seasons. There are festivals almost every weekend throughout the summer and more than 500 cultural and entertainment venues in the tri-state area each year. One of the biggest is America¹s River Festival, which is three fun-filled days of activities featuring key attractions native to the Port of Dubuque. The festival focuses on showcasing the Mississippi River and all its facets. The annual festival attracts more than 10,000 each year and features musical entertainment, food, children's activities and more.

Approximately 47 parks cover nearly 880 acres and 18 miles of trails! The city park system consists of 15 community parks, six neighborhood parks, and 26 mini-parks. Park amenities include 262 units of play equipment, 1,000 picnic tables, 19 tennis courts, four accessible fishing piers, two skate parks, a disc golf course, an in-line hockey rink, eight softball fields, and one baseball field. Eagle Point Park is one of the most outstanding parks in the midwest. One hundred and sixty-four acres overlook the Mississippi River and Lock and Dam #11, providing a spectacular tri-state view of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. The Mississippi River Trail, a national trail system, runs through Dubuque along the river. A variety of multi-use trails exist within the city, many near the river and within Dubuque¹s many parks. These venues provide ample opportunity for year-round, outdoor fun including biking, hiking and cross-country skiing.

The city of Dubuque was one of eight cities in the United States and the only city in Iowa to be selected by the American Institute of Architects to participate in a land use and urban design process to develop recommendations to foster a more sustainable Dubuque. The city is also committing significant resources in sustainable projects including: a nearly $50 million conversion of the waste-water treatment plant from incineration to anaerobic-digestion; a $30+ million storm water run off management program; and implementing the first curb-side food scrap recycling program in Iowa.

In early January 2006, the following final 10 ideas were presented as possible community projects by 2010: America¹s River Phase II; community-wide wireless; an indoor/outdoor performing arts center; a library services expansion; revitalization of the Historic Millwork District; implementation of bilingual education curriculum; mental health and substance abuse services; an integrated walking/biking/hiking trail system; passenger train service; and a community health center. For more information, visit: www.envision2010.org