RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Carroll County >> RalstonIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Iowa

The Commemorative Quarter for Iowa





Welcome to Ralston ...

The city of Ralston is primarily located in Carroll County<1>. A portion of Ralston extends into Greene County.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Ralston, you might get a feel for it by knowing that the earliest mention that we've found (so far) was on a map dated 1911.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Ralston has a population of 73 people<2> (see below for details).

Ralston is 1,110 feet [338 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Ralston lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Ralston: 712

The ZIP code for Ralston: 51459<4>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Ralston had an population of 73 people. This is a decrease of 7.59% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 25.51% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Ralston had a population of 79 people. This makes Ralston the county's 13th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 79 people, the population of Ralston decreased 19.39% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 98 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Ralston.

Communities Also Named Ralston ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 15 communities that are also named Ralston - they are located in Alberta, California, Manitoba, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington and Wyoming.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Ralston.

Communities near Ralston ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Ralston.

  • Carroll
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Jefferson
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jefferson have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
    • Jefferson is located in Greene County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,075 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jefferson <5>
  • Lake City
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Coon Rapids
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coon Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Rapids
    • Coon Rapids is located in Carroll County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,221 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coon Rapids <5>
  • Glidden
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glidden have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glidden
    • Glidden is located in Carroll County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,090 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glidden <5>
  • Scranton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scranton have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scranton
    • Scranton is located in Greene County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 514 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scranton <5>
  • Bayard
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Churdan
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churdan
    • Churdan is located in Greene County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 363 people
  • Lohrville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Farnhamville
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farnhamville have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farnhamville
    • Farnhamville is located in Calhoun County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Ralston. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Ralston.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Ralston. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ralston.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Ralston. See our Newspapers Page for Ralston.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Ralston ...

Looking for more information about Ralston? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Ralston, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Ralston.

Adding Ralston to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Ralston in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Ralston was on a map titled Map of Iowa (from Rand McNally, 1911).

We also found Ralston on a map titled Map of the Lincoln Highway (1915-1916).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Ralston.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ralston. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Carroll County: www.co.carroll.ia.us/

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Carroll, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Ralston.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Ralston - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Ralston). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Ralston or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 18 Apr 2025