Tiny Iowa: We Have Two Towns with Under 15 Residents

One of Iowa's smallest incorporated towns has a population of 14 people, but here is some unique Iowa history. The Iowa town, located in the southwestern part of the state, is Beaconsfield. It's Iowa's second-smallest incorporated town behind Le Roy, which in the 2020 census was found to have a population of 11 Iowans.

Beaconsfield, a tiny town with big Iowa history

Beaconsfield is located in Ringgold County, Iowa, and is about 2 and a half hours southwest of Cedar Rapids. The population was a mere 14 in 2021 according to a website called World Population Review. The same website shows the town has bounced between a population of 14 and 15 for some time now. That ranks Beaconsfield as the 942nd largest city in Iowa.

Despite having only 14 Iowans, Beaconsfield is actually pretty big on Iowa history and is home to one of the most significant businesses to come out of the state.

The Hy-Vee grocery chain has its origin in the Beaconsfield Supply Store, a general store opened by Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg in 1930. This location is on the National Register of Historic Places and you can see a photo of it here. Unfortunately, they don't have any Hy-Chi at this location. Nor any carts for that matter.

Le Roy, Iowa: a tale of 11 residents

Even smaller than Beaconsfield is Le Roy. Located in Decatur County, in the far southern part of the state, Le Roy had 15 residents in 2010. With the new census in 2020, that number dropped to 11. Imagine 11 people in your town. I'd wager there have been graduating classes of one. At least going to virtual learning last year must have been easy.

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With so few people, I'd imaging gossip would travel rather quickly throughout the city. Best they keep their noses clean!