Thornton is a city in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, home to about 514 people across 1.2 square miles. Its ZIP code is 50479.
Homes sold for a median of $133 per square foot in the three months ending August 2026.
Each card is that ZIP code’s whole market, including any part outside Thornton. Seller’s market: under 4 months of supply; buyer’s market: over 6. Methodology
We’re writing up Thornton’s story and what everyday life there is like, for people thinking about moving in.
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| Nearest major airport | Des Moines International Airport (DSM)100 miles away |
|---|---|
| Closer regional airport | Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW)14 miles away |
| Nearest city of 250,000+ | St. Paul, MN138 miles away |
| Nearest city of 1 million+ | Chicago, IL302 miles away |
Straight-line distances from the center of Thornton; driving is longer.
Source: Airports from OurAirports (scheduled passenger service); city centers and populations from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Source: Members of Congress from the congress-legislators project; districts from the Census Bureau’s relationship files; governor and mayor from Wikidata.
Thornton had 400 residents in the 2020 census, down 5% since 2000.
It’s the 468th largest of 1,019 towns in Iowa by population.
Cerro Gordo County grew from 20,672 residents in 1900 to 43,127 in 2020.
Cerro Gordo County, 1900–2020
Source: U.S. Census Bureau decennial censuses (counties 1900–1990 from the Bureau’s historical county file).
Average highs peak around 83°F in summer, and winter lows average 7°F. About 36.4 inches of rain and melted snow fall in a typical year, with about 44 inches of snow.
Source: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Mason City Muni Ap, IA weather station (13 miles away).
20,024 jobs at 1,357 businesses in Cerro Gordo County. The biggest industries by employees:
Source: U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 (private employers; jobs counted where people work).
1 doctors and other health care providers list an office in Thornton.
Nearest hospitals
Providers with an office here
| Nurse practitioners and physician assistants | 1 |
|---|
Source: Hospitals from CMS Hospital General Information (ratings are CMS overall star ratings); straight-line distances; providers from the CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), by practice address and primary specialty.
Libraries
Counts are within about 1 mile of the center of town.
Source: Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (openstreetmap.org/copyright), as mapped by volunteers; it can miss places or include closed ones.
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Town boundaries don’t always match ZIP codes: a ZIP code can cross into neighboring towns, and a town can share a ZIP code with its neighbors. Facts describe the town itself; market figures describe whole ZIP codes.