Personal loans in Ely, IA
Every figure below is Iowa's own, applied to Ely's 2,335 residents, with the publisher and retrieval date attached. By population, Ely sits at 148th in Iowa, with an estimated 2,335 residents. With roughly 2,335 residents, Ely is a small community, and the lending rules its borrowers live under are written in Iowa, not by the city. Ely gained roughly 0.4% in population across the 2020-to-2023 comparison. Begin with the payment, then weigh APR and total interest across the lenders that reach Ely's 2,335 residents. Borrowers who want a bigger city can look to Solon, IA about 7 miles away.
Ely by the numbers
What follows is Ely's place in the Census record, alongside the Iowa rules that govern a personal loan made here.
- Population: 2,335 people, a figure that places Ely 148th among the 940 Census places in Iowa (US Census Bureau, Vintage 2023).
- Population trend: The 2020-to-2023 change is positive, near 0.4%.
- Absolute change: 10 residents added between 2020 and 2023.
- Size percentile: about 84% of Iowa communities are smaller than Ely (2,335 residents).
- Population density: 1,385 people per square mile on 1.7 square miles of land.
- Land area: Ely covers 1.7 square miles, the 244th-largest area among Iowa's 940 places.
- State share: roughly 0.1% of Iowa's residents live in Ely (2,335 people).
- Nationally: Ely is the 7,061st-largest of 19,457 Census places in the dataset.
- Growth rank: Ely's 2020-to-2023 change ranks 199th of 940 places in Iowa.
- Against the state trend: Ely's 0.4% change compares with a Iowa average of -0.7% across its 940 places.
- Density rank: Ely is the 108th most densely settled place in Iowa.
- Against the state median: Ely runs about 1,385 residents per square mile, where the Iowa median is 672.
- Location: 41.8803, -91.5863 (Census Gazetteer coordinates).
- Nearest larger cities: Solon (7 mi); Cedar Rapids (8 mi); Mount Vernon (9 mi); North Liberty (10 mi); Fairfax (10 mi). Online lenders reach Ely no matter how far the nearest branch is.
- Smaller places close by: Shueyville (4 mi); Bertram (6 mi); Swisher (6 mi).
- Smaller places within 50 miles: 110 of them.
- Within 100 miles: 104 places are larger than Ely.
What shapes a Ely personal loan
Ely is a small community of about 2,335 people, and the personal loans written here are mostly unsecured — no collateral, so the lender leans on your credit file. Federal Truth in Lending rules require a Ely lender to disclose the APR and finance charge before you sign. Shortening the term on a Ely loan raises the monthly payment but cuts the interest; lengthening it does the reverse.
The Iowa lending rules that reach Ely
When Iowa does not publish a figure, the row links to the source instead of inventing a number; Ely is bound by the same rules.
| Rule | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| State lending regulator | Iowa Division of Banking (IDOB), Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services Source says: "As part of the 2023 state government realignment, the IDOB became part of a new Department of Insurance and Financial Services". | Iowa Division of Banking as of 2026-09-16 |
| Delayed deposit fee cap | Fee cap: $15 on first $100 of check face amount; $10 on subsequent $100 increments Source says: "fifteen dollars on the first one hundred dollars ... or more than ten dollars on subsequent one hundred dollar increments". | Iowa Legislature (Iowa Code) as of 2026-09-16 |
| Maximum legal interest rate (usury cap) | 2 percentage points above the monthly average 10-year U.S. Treasury constant maturity rate (written agreements) Source says: "The maximum lawful rate of interest ... in any written agreement ... shall be two percentage points above the monthly average ten-year constant maturity interest rate". | Iowa Legislature (Iowa Code) as of 2026-09-16 |
Ely on the map
The Census Gazetteer records about 1.7 square miles of land within Ely, with no significant water area listed. That land carries about 1,385 people per square mile. The state's population centre of gravity, Des Moines, is roughly 107 miles away. A 50-mile radius around Ely takes in 31 places that are larger. Within the same 50 miles lie 110 smaller Census places.
A pre-application checklist for Ely
For Ely's roughly 2,335 residents, these are the steps that most influence the offer:
- Order your free credit reports and dispute anything inaccurate — it is the cheapest way to move the rate you are offered.
- Model the payment on the calculator before a lender models it for you.
- Pre-qualify with three or more lenders, then compare the APR rather than the interest rate.
- Look the lender up in the Iowa regulator's licence records before you sign.
- When debt already feels heavy, a nonprofit credit counsellor is worth a call first.
- Look for an origination fee or prepayment penalty in the written disclosure.
- Make sure the new payment leaves room in a budget you already keep.
None of these steps is Ely-specific: the same Iowa licensing and disclosure rules reach all 2,335 residents.
How Ely compares across Iowa
Against Iowa's other places, Ely accounts for about 0.1% of the state's population and ranks 148th of 940 by size. Its 2020-to-2023 change ranks 199th of 940 Iowa places, putting it near the 79th percentile for growth. By density, at about 1,385 people per square mile, it ranks 108th in Iowa. In land area, Ely ranks 244th among Iowa's 940 places.
Common questions
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Nearby places
- Shueyville, IA — population 723
- Bertram, IA — population 267
- Swisher, IA — population 904
- Solon, IA — population 3,182
- Cedar Rapids, IA — population 135,958
- North Liberty, IA — population 21,345
- Marion, IA — population 42,213
- Mount Vernon, IA — population 4,552