Iowa Population and Demographics

Are you tired of spending 10+ hours searching for demographic and population data for Iowa? We have all of the data you need by state, county, city, and zip code that will save you many hours of research!

In this article, we'll explore most of the 190+ data points we have for Iowa, covering popular demographics statistics like household income, race, age and gender, educational attainment, poverty, housing, and transportation.

The data on this page is from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey from the US Census Bureau.

Richest Zip Codes in Iowa

In the table below, we've ranked the richest zip codes in Iowa based on the average (or mean) household income. To do this, we only look at zip codes that have a population of at least 500 people and a reasonable margin of error for the data.

If the margin of error for the mean income is greater than 50% of the estimate, we don't use it. This is to try and make the data less likely to be skewed by outliers with very small population areas or estimates that are not very accurate.

Rank ZIP Code County Mean Income
1 52411 Linn County $249,820.00
2 50323 Dallas County, Polk County $194,069.00
3 50061 Dallas County, Madison County, Polk County, Warren County $182,351.00
4 52228 Benton County, Johnson County, Linn County $176,188.00
5 50109 Dallas County, Polk County $164,817.00
6 50226 Polk County, Story County $159,656.00
7 50325 Dallas County, Polk County $152,865.00
8 52338 Johnson County, Linn County $151,405.00
9 50055 Jasper County, Story County $149,603.00
10 50261 Dallas County, Madison County $147,720.00

To view details demographics data for a specific zip code, click on the link in the table above. You can also read our article here on the richest zip codes in Iowa.

Richest Cities in Iowa

We can also find the same information for the richest cities in Iowa. The table below ranks the top 10 cities in Iowa by average household income by using the same criteria as we did with the zip codes.

Rank City County Mean Income
1 Milo Delaware County $234,501.00
2 East Lucas Johnson County $222,998.00
3 Clear Creek Jasper County $201,349.00
4 Newport Johnson County $197,148.00
5 Shueyville Johnson County $188,700.00
6 Jackson Boone County $179,162.00
7 University Heights Johnson County $177,971.00
8 Lee Madison County $174,894.00
9 Perry Plymouth County $171,356.00
10 Cumming Warren County $164,276.00

To view details demographics data for a specific city, click on the link in the table above. You can also read our article here on the richest cities in Iowa.

Median Household Income

According to the latest ACS 5-year survey in 2022, the median household income in Iowa is $70,571.00.

The chart below shows the average household income by age in Iowa.

  • Under 25
    $42,113.00
  • 25 to 44
    $80,820.00
  • 45 to 64
    $87,016.00
  • 65 and over
    $51,672.00

Average Household Income

A very commonly asked question is "what is the average household income in Iowa?". The official term for the average household income is the mean household income. The mean household income is the total income of all households divided by the number of households.

The average (or mean) household income in Iowa is $92,053.00.

7.11% of households in Iowa are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

The difference between a median and an average income

The difference between a median and mean household income is that the median income is the middle point of the set of numbers whereas the mean income is an average of all numbers.

Both metrics are important when looking at the income statistics for Iowa but because the median value doesn't depend on other numbers in the dataset, it doesn't change as much when some of the values are extremely low or extremely high.

Household Income Tiers for Iowa

We can also look at the household income tiers. This lets you see how many households fall into each of the earnings brackets and what percentage that bracket is of the total number of households.

The chart below shows the household income brackets to see which age groups have the highest median income. The actual data is more granular than these brackets, but we've simplified them into bigger categories to make reviewing the data for Iowa easier to view.

You can purchase the raw data above, which will have the full income tiers with smaller jumps in household income.

  • Less than $24,999
    15.23%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    19.67%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    17.92%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    14.26%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    18.18%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    7.64%
  • $200,000 or more
    7.11%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income is the average income of all people in Iowa. This is calculated by dividing the total income of all people in Iowa by the total number of people in Iowa.

It differs from the average or mean household income because it includes all people in Iowa and not just the people who earn an income (i.e. children, retirees, unemployed, etc.).

The per capita income in Iowa is $37,949.00.

Population in Iowa by Race and Ethnicity

The total population in Iowa is currently 3,188,836 people.

The race and ethnicity of the population in Iowa can be very important for social research, economics, and marketing to a multi-culturial society.

Whether you want to target products or services to a particular race or ethnicity, or provide housing and new businesses to improve areas with a larger ethnic minority population, this data is very valuable for discovering suitable areas.

The chart below breaks down the population and percentage for each race and ethnicity in Iowa.

  • 1.30% White
    42,839
  • 93.50% Black/African American
    2,980,199
  • 83.80% Native
    2,672,930
  • 3.90% Hispanic
    124,224
  • 3.70% Asian
    117,940
  • 0.20% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
    6,472
  • 0.10% Two or more races
    4,355
  • 2.50% Other
    78,241

Population of Iowa by Age and Gender

Another very important demographics statistic for Iowa is the age and gender of the population. The age and gender of the population can be used to track trends in population growth or decline, and for businesses, the data can be used to identify people important to you and your business need.

In the table below, we show age groups at a 10 year granularity for ease of use. The raw data, which can be purchased above, includes age and gender at a 5 year granularity.

Age Group Male Female
0 to 9 Years 202,240 190,224
10 to 19 Years 221,317 212,224
20 to 29 Years 223,349 208,108
30 to 39 Years 207,392 196,043
40 to 49 Years 188,413 178,357
50 to 59 Years 195,729 193,707
60 to 69 Years 195,427 196,421
70 Years and over 164,688 215,197

Education Levels

Educational attainment is a very useful statistic that can give insights into other data such as the average household income, unemployment levels, and literacy.

What this means is that it is likely for areas that have higher levels of education to have higher average household incomes, lower unemployment rates, and higher literacy rates.

The chart below shows the educational attainment of the population in Iowa.

  • Master's degree or higher
    11.18%
  • Bachelor's degree
    32.68%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    11.45%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    42.85%
  • Less than high school diploma
    1.85%

Unemployment Rates

The unemployment rate is the percentage of the population that is actively looking for work but is unable to find a job. The unemployment rate is a very important statistic for Iowa because it can show how many people are actively looking for work and how many people are unable to find a job.

Lower levels of unemployment is generally seen as a positive sign for the economy. It also makes the government in Iowa look good because it shows that they are doing a good job of creating jobs, working to capacity, being efficient, and keeping the economy strong.

The unemployment rate is calculated using the total population in Iowa that are over the age of 16.

The current population in Iowa that are over the age of 16 is 2,544,719 people.

The unemployment rate in Iowa is 3.80%, which means 64,695 people are unemployed.

Median Age in Iowa

The median age is an interesting metric because it gives us an idea of the age distribution of people in Iowa. You know when you see a median age that it is the age where half of the population is older and half is younger than it.

For demographic studies, this can be used to infer and compare date to things such as birth rates, the age of parents, and so on.

An increasing median age can be a sign of an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population. This is because older people tend to have fewer children and die more often than younger people.

The median age in Iowa is 38.4 years old.

We can also look at the median age by gender to compare the see how each group compares to the total median age:

Median age by gender in Iowa

38.4

Total

37.4

Male

39.4

Female

Households and Families

There are a total of 1,290,139 households in Iowa, and the average household size is 2.4 people.

For families, the total number is 803,276, and the average family size is 3 people.

7.00% of those families in Iowa are living below the poverty line.

The table below shows the poverty thresholds for Iowa in .

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Please note that the poverty thresholds shown above are from , while the latest demographics data we have is from 2022.

Households and Families by Marital Status

There are four types of household and family, as defined by the Census Bureau:

  • Married-couple
  • Male householder, no spouse present
  • Female householder, no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

In the table below, you can see the total households and families in Iowa for each type, as well as the average sizes.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 630,424 55,449 117,403 486,863
Average Household Size 3.04 3.21 3.24 1.26
Total Families 630,424 55,449 117,403 0
Average Household Size 3.02 2.75 2.97 0

Housing Data in Iowa

There are total of 1,417,064 housing units in Iowa. Of those units, 1,290,139 (91.04%) are occupied, and 126,925 (8.96%) are vacant.

Rental Rates

Of the 1,417,064 housing units in Iowa, 345,485 (24.38%) are occupied by renters. The median rent paid by renters is $914.00.

Owner occupied housing units make up the remaining 65.11% of housing units, with 922,684 housing units in total.

The table below breaks down how much rent is paid by renters in Iowa.

  • No rent paid
    21,970
  • Less than $500
    34,882
  • $500 to $999
    172,769
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    100,595
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    25,182
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    6,597
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    1,606
  • $3,000 or more
    3,854

Property Values

The median value of a property in Iowa is $181,600.00.

The table below breaks down the range of valuations for all properties in Iowa.

  • Less than $50,000
    66,889
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    129,783
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    158,953
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    157,129
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    206,136
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    152,269
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    44,144
  • $1,000,000 or more
    7,381

Property Age

We can also look at the number of properties built in a given year to see the spread of property age in Iowa.

  • 1939 or earlier
    347,202
  • 1940 to 1949
    67,886
  • 1950 to 1959
    140,331
  • 1960 to 1969
    138,943
  • 1970 to 1979
    201,398
  • 1980 to 1989
    102,283
  • 1990 to 1999
    145,370
  • 2000 to 2009
    150,588
  • 2010 to 2013
    116,529
  • 2014 or later
    6,534

Vehicles Available per Household

Finally, we have data on how many vehicles each household in Iowa has. The table below breaks down the number of vehicles available per household.

  • No vehicles available
    72,379
  • 1 vehicle available
    382,050
  • 2 vehicles available
    496,500
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    339,210

Commuting to Work in Iowa

The time and means of commuting to work are useful metrics to look at because they can be correlated against other data such as income and education level.

Does a longer commuting time indicate a higher average income? If so, has the huge increase in home working during the pandemic changed this?

Using these metrics, we can get a better understanding of the demographics of Iowa, how they commute, and how that correlates to other data points.

The average travel time is 19.6 minutes, and the chart below covers the range of travel times across the population of Iowa.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    96,651
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    249,785
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    259,576
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    246,963
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    199,065
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    90,957
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    128,321
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    30,113
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    32,525
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    58,839
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    35,118
  • 90 or more minutes
    22,323

We can also look at the means of transport in Iowa to see which modes of transport people are using to commute to work.

  • Drove alone
    1,244,258
  • Carpooled
    125,647
  • Public transportation
    12,308
  • Walked
    47,290
  • Other means
    20,733
  • Worked from home
    148,422

Conclusion

Hopefully this article has given you the demographics data you were looking for in Iowa.

If you need more demographics data, or you need the data listed above in spreadsheet form with more granular grouping, head back to the top of this page where you can purchase the complete demographics data for Iowa.

Link To or Reference This Page

We spent a lot of time downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

  • "Iowa Population and Demographics". NameCensus.com. Accessed on March 29, 2024. https://namecensus.com/demographics/iowa/.

  • "Iowa Population and Demographics". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/demographics/iowa/. Accessed 29 March, 2024

  • Iowa Population and Demographics. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from https://namecensus.com/demographics/iowa/.