Cedar is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in southeastern Mahaska County

Mahaska County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 22,381 in the county, with a population density of . There were 9,766 housing units, of which 8,975 were occupied.-2000 census:...

, Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It lies along Iowa Highway 23

Iowa Highway 23

Iowa Highway 23 is a state highway that is signed from north to south, although it is generally a southeast to northwest alignment, in south central Iowa. It has a length of .-Route description:...

 southeast of the city of Oskaloosa

Oskaloosa, Iowa

Oskaloosa is the county seat of Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. The population was 11,463 in the 2010 census, an increase from 10,938 in the 2000 census. -History:...

, the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Mahaska County. Its elevation is 814 feet (248 m), and it is located at 41°12′44"N 92°31′33"W (41.2122326, -92.5257450). Although Cedar is unincorporated, it has a post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 with the ZIP code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

of 52543, which opened on 19 June 1874. Cedar also has a Methodist church and a grain elevator.