Iola is a somewhat small city located in the state of Kansas. With a population of 5,309 people and two associated neighborhoods, Iola is the 65th largest community in Kansas. Much of the housing stock in Iola was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 18.13 minutes getting to work every day.

Being a small city, Iola does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.

The population of Iola overall has a level of education that is slightly above the US average for all US cities and towns of 21.84%. Of adults 25 and older in Iola, 23.55% have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Iola in 2022 was $26,378, which is low income relative to Kansas and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $105,512 for a family of four. However, Iola contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Iola is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Iola home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Iola residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Iola include German, English, Irish, Scottish, and Dutch.

The most common language spoken in Iola is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Spanish.