Economic Development in many Iowa communities is driven by the numbers. ISU's Office of Social and Economic Trend Analysis (SETA) can give you detailed information on the numbers in your community ranging from employment data to where people shop to school enrollment to the number of farms.
For assistance in developing your own local data, you can enlist the survey services of the Community Development Data, Information, and Analysis Laboratory (CD-DIAL). Housed in the ISU Sociology Department, CD-DIAL provides technical assistance in survey design, data collection, data anlysis, and communication of findings.