Atalissa is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States.

[3] From 1974 to 2009 Atalissa was the home of a few dozen intellectually challenged men who worked in a nearby turkey processing plant.

They were removed and relocated by state agencies in 2009, after being found to be living in unacceptable conditions.

A 2013 verdict awarded the men a total of $240 million in damages, since reduced to $50,000/man.

The men's plight had a profound effect on social services in Iowa, and their experiences and subsequent court case was the subject of the documentary film The Men of Atalissa.

[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.14 square miles (0.36 km2), all land.

There were 117 housing units at an average density of 861.0 per square mile (332.4/km2).

17.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

About 6.0% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.9% of those under the age of eighteen and 11.1% of those 65 or over.