Ely
A small town south of Cedar Rapids, on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.
Typical times without traffic, from OpenStreetMap routing. Rush hour runs longer.
Small town, between two cities.
Ely was laid out in 1872 and named for John F. Ely, a railroad builder. It's part of the Cedar Rapids metro, with Cedar Rapids to the north and Iowa City to the south.
Most of its housing is recent, with new subdivisions added as the town annexed land, plus acreages in the countryside around it. A town this size has only a handful of homes for sale at once, so it helps to have your budget worked out before the right one comes up.
Runs through town past City Park and downtown, reaching Cedar Rapids in one direction and Lake Macbride in the other.
The town's largest park, with ball and soccer fields and the pond used for the October Pumpkin Float.
Held the last weekend of September, with a vendor fair and a car show.
Lake Macbride and Palisades-Kepler are both a short drive away.
Acreages with an Ely address are usually outside city limits, in unincorporated Linn County, where township tax rates and county rules apply instead of the city's.
Rural homes typically run on a private well and septic system. Iowa requires a time-of-transfer septic inspection by a certified inspector before the sale, so I plan for it from the first showing.
Every Ely home on the MLS right now, updated daily.
See homes → SoldRecent salesEvery Ely home sold in the last 6 months, with prices.
See the sales → SellingWhat's mine worth?An instant estimate for your Ely address, then a pricing opinion and an estimated net sheet from me.
Get my number →Sources: 2020 US Census; Census ACS 2020-24 via Census Reporter; Linn County Auditor, consolidated levy rates FY2026-27; City of Ely; College Community School District; Linn County Public Health; Iowa DNR; Wikipedia, "Ely, Iowa".
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