The Iowa City area community includes Coralville, North Liberty, Solon, and other small towns with a total population of about 100,000. The University both provides and attracts a wide variety of cultural opportunities, Big Ten athletic events, and a number of business endeavors resulting from scientific and educational research that originated at Iowa.

In the summers, Iowa City sponsors weekly downtown jazz and pop concerts, and all through the year major poets, writers, artists, historians, scientists, and others speak or perform in University venues or to read at local bookstores. Excellent public schools, close, safe, and comfortable neighborhoods, and a highly educated population mean that Iowa City frequently appears high on “best-place-to-live” listings in national magazines.

The nearby countryside, good state parks, and the Iowa River provide many opportunities for walking, biking, and boating.