Decorah is a somewhat small city located in the state of Iowa. With a population of 7,454 people and two associated neighborhoods, Decorah is the 53rd largest community in Iowa. Decorah has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

Decorah real estate is some of the most expensive in Iowa, although Decorah house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.

Of important note, Decorah is also a city of artists. Decorah has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Decorah’s character.

A relatively large number of people in Decorah telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 10.80% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Decorah is a small town with a large college student population. Because of this, there is a real youthful, hip vibe to the place, and much of the life in the town is centered on the college. This has helped Decorah to buck the trend of other small towns that have suffered declining populations over the past 20 to 30 years. Spending by students, and faculty and staff jobs, are a big part of the local economy.

One of the benefits of Decorah is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 13.89 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.

The education level of Decorah ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Decorah, 42.21% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree.

The per capita income in Decorah in 2022 was $35,743, which is middle income relative to Iowa and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $142,972 for a family of four. However, Decorah contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Decorah home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Decorah residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Decorah include German, Norwegian, Irish, English, and Czech.

The most common language spoken in Decorah is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and German/Yiddish.