Cambridge Iowa Map

About Cambridge, Iowa

Cambridge is a locality in Story County, Iowa, United States. It is a small community with a population of 827. The population density is 239.4 people per km². Cambridge is located at 41.8983°N, 93.5291°W. It observes the Central Time (America/Chicago) timezone. Cambridge is an incorporated locality. ZIP code: 50046.

Cambridge occupies a quiet stretch of central Iowa where the landscape resolves into a vast, rhythmic expanse of tilled earth and open sky. It lies 10.5 miles south-southeast of Ames, IA (from Ames, IA: bearing 154°T), and is situated 9.5 miles south-southwest of Nevada. Ballard Creek carves a deliberate path through the terrain, its banks lined with the tangled growth of cottonwoods and willows that break the relentless horizontal line of the surrounding soybean and corn fields. The air here holds a particular clarity, especially as the sun dips low and casts long, violet shadows across the furrows, turning the dust into a fine, golden haze. While the horizon remains largely flat, the distant silhouettes of Blank Ridge provide a faint, serrated boundary to the west, and the dense, dark timber of Stephens State Forest - Woodburn Unit looms only a few miles away, offering a stark contrast to the manicured agricultural grid.

Cambridge functions as a steady, enduring anchor within this fertile basin, its daily operations tied closely to the seasonal cycles of the soil. Life moves with an unhurried, practical grace, centered around the modest amenities of Cambridge City Park, where the local pace is marked by the shifting light rather than the frantic demands of a larger metropolis. History is etched into the very geometry of the streets, reflecting the legacy of early settlers who recognized the resilience required to thrive in this prairie environment. Though Laverne Lake sits a short distance away, the local economy remains focused on the land itself, maintaining a quiet, literate civility that values the weight of a harvest and the steady, reliable connections between neighbors.

About This Cambridge Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Cambridge, Iowa. Coordinates: 41.898321, -93.529104. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.

Detailed location data for Cambridge includes the ZIP code (50046), telephone area code (515), county seat of Story County (Nevada), and school district assignment (Ballard Community School District).

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.