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Iowa Demographics

Iowa State Demographics

Iowa takes its name from Ioway, an American Indian tribe that settled in the state during the European conquest. The cultural atmosphere, economy as well as the landscape of the state is diverse and that explains the deep mix of people who live here harmoniously.

The Populous Cities of Iowa

  • Iowa hosts one of the safest metropolitans of the world – Des Moines which is the chief city and the state capital. The population as of 2009 was 198,460 as revealed by the United States Census Bureau.

  • Cedar Rapids is the next most populous city in the state with a population of 128,182 people. Davenport, Sioux City, Iowa City and Waterloo follow with 101,306; 82794; 82794; 68903 and 66896 people respectively.

The Population of the State of Iowa

  • The year of 1840 saw a mere 43,112 people in the state. However, this number has grown and has crossed the 200,000 mark as of 2009.

  •  If the recent census data is to be consulted, the population of the state has increased by over 0.6% adding another 19,000 people to the 2008 total of 3,002,555. This has culminated into the 2009 statistics, yet to be officially released by the census office.

  • It was reported that 6.1% of the people in Iowa were less than 5 years of age while 22.6% were in their teens. 14.7% of the people were 65 or older.

Area and Population Iowa

  • The capital city of Iowa is Des Moines. In terms of size, the state of Iowa is ranked 26th among the other states of the United State of America.

  • As of 2009, the population of the state enabled Iowa to be ranked 30th in United States of America with an approximate population of 3,007,856.

  • During 2008, the state of Iowa projected a population of 3,002,555 people, which is an additional 19,000 citizens or a 0.6 increase, in terms of percentage, as of the previous year.

  • It also showed a rise of 76,000 or 2.6%, ever since 2000. It is also the time when the state of Iowa peaked the three million score as regards its number of people.

  • The foreign immigrant population coming from other countries to the United States of America is the chief reason for an increase of 29,386 people in the population, whereas relocation within the nation produced a total loss of 41,140 to the population.

  • If one were to put an estimate to the total density of population of the state of Iowa, it would be recorded as 52.7 citizens in one square mile.

Iowa Language

  • The English language finds primary usage in the state.  94% of the population of the state uses this as its primary language.

  • Spanish is one of the other languages spoken in the state of Iowa. With about 120,000 people in Iowa being of Hispanic and of Latino origin, the language finds a lot of speakers. Also, due to 47,000 citizens being born in Latin America, Spanish takes the throne with the second most common language spoken in the state of Iowa.

  • The German language along with its primary dialects like the Amana German and the Pennsylvania German are also spoken in the state of Iowa by approximately 17K people which accounts for about 0.5% of the total population.

Iowa Religion:

  • In Iowa about 52% of the Iowans are Protestants and 23% are Roman Catholics while 6-7% Iowans belong to other religions. The largest Protestant denominations by sum total of believers are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 268,543 followers and the United Methodist Church with approximately 248,211 followers.

  • Traditionally, numerous religious wings who preferred to live at a distance from the rest of society ascertained themselves in the state of Iowa. These religious wings included sects such as the Amish and Mennonite in East Iowa especially near Kalona. Specifically, in eastern region of Iowa such as Davis County and Buchanan County.

  • Several other religious sects living away from each other consist of Quakers around the area of West Branch. One also speaks of the Pietists from Germany who established the Amana Colonies as well as groups of people from the Transcendental Meditation sect who founded the Maharishi Vedic City around the area of Le Grand.

Iowa Race and Ancestral Composition

  • The population of the state of Iowa comprises of approximately around 97,000 foreign-born populations which comes up to 3.3% of the total population. The people of Iowa are more often than not descendents from Western Europe.

  • Statistically speaking, the five principal ancestry groupings in Iowa can be classified into Germans - who amount to about 35.7%, Irish - up to 13.5%, English around 9.5%, American summing up to 6.6%, and Norwegian  being a meager 5.7% of the total population

  • The racial composition of the state of Iowa can be reported as about 91.0% people being White or non-Hispanic, 3.8% of population being Hispanic, 2.5% people of the population are Black or African American, 1.6% are Asian, and 0.4% of the total population consists of American Indians.

Demographics of Iowa (csv)
By Race White Black AIAN* Asian NHPI*
2000 (total population) 96.14% 2.51% 0.63% 1.48% 0.08%
2000 (Hispanic only) 2.68% 0.08% 0.08% 0.03% 0.01%
2005 (total population) 95.79% 2.79% 0.61% 1.67% 0.08%
2005 (Hispanic only) 3.48% 0.13% 0.09% 0.03% 0.01%
Growth 2000–05 (total population) 1.01% 12.55% -2.70% 14.41% 1.01%
Growth 2000–05 (non-Hispanic only) 0.12% 11.13% -5.68% 14.14% 0.05%
Growth 2000–05 (Hispanic only) 31.91% 53.85% 19.33% 29.51% 7.14%

Iowa Largest Cities

  1. Des Moines - 198,460
  2. Cedar Rapids - 128,182
  3. Davenport - 101,306
  4. Sioux City - 82,794
  5. Iowa City - 68,903
  6. Waterloo - 66,896
  7. Council Bluffs - 59,911
  8. Dubuque - 57,222
  9. Ames - 56,814
  10. West Des Moines - 56,503
  11. Ankeny - 43,319
  12. Cedar Falls - 38,589
  13. Urbandale - 38,445
  14. Marion - 33,213
  15. Bettendorf - 33,098

Iowa Historical Population

Census Population %±
1840 43,112 —
1850 192,214 345.8%
1860 674,913 251.1%
1870 1,194,020 76.9%
1880 1,624,615 36.1%
1890 1,912,297 17.7%
1900 2,231,853 16.7%
1910 2,224,771 −0.3%
1920 2,404,021 8.1%
1930 2,470,939 2.8%
1940 2,538,268 2.7%
1950 2,621,073 3.3%
1960 2,757,537 5.2%
1970 2,824,376 2.4%
1980 2,913,808 3.2%
1990 2,776,755 −4.7%
2000 2,926,324 5.4%
Est. 2009 3,007,856 2.8%

Iowa Demographic Statistics

 

 Number
 Percent
Total population 2,926,324 100.0
Sex and Age
Male 1,435,515 49.1
Female 1,490,809 50.9
Under 5 years 188,413 6.4
5 to 9 years 202,603 6.9
10 to 14 years 210,547 7.2
15 to 19 years 226,420 7.7
20 to 24 years 203,663 7.0
25 to 34 years 363,060 12.4
35 to 44 years 445,199 15.2
45 to 54 years 392,794 13.4
55 to 59 years 139,052 4.8
60 to 64 years 118,360 4.0
65 to 74 years 211,935 7.2
75 to 84 years 159,160 5.4
85 years and over 65,118 2.2
Median age (years) 36.6 (X)
18 years and over 2,192,686 74.9
Male 1,058,805 36.2
Female 1,133,881 38.7
21 years and over 2,051,156 70.1
62 years and over 505,699 17.3
65 years and over 436,213 14.9
Male 176,997 6.0
Female 259,216 8.9
Race
One race 2,894,546 98.9
White 2,748,640 93.9
Black or African American 61,853 2.1
American Indian and Alaska Native 8,989 0.3
Asian 36,635 1.3
Asian Indian 5,641 0.2
Chinese 6,161 0.2
Filipino 2,272 0.1
Japanese 1,474 0.1
Korean 5,063 0.2
Vietnamese 7,129 0.2

Other Asian 1

 8,895 0.3
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 1,009 0.0
Native Hawaiian 270 0.0
Guamanian or Chamorro 170 0.0
Samoan 150 0.0

Other Pacific Islander 2

 419 0.0
Some other race 37,420 1.3
Two or more races 31,778 1.1

Race alone or in combination with one or more other races 3

    
White 2,777,183 94.9
Black or African American 72,512 2.5
American Indian and Alaska Native 18,246 0.6
Asian 43,119 1.5
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 2,196 0.1
Some other race 46,858 1.6
Hispanic or Latino and Race
Total population 2,926,324 100.0
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 82,473 2.8
Mexican 61,154 2.1
Puerto Rican 2,690 0.1
Cuban 750 0.0
Other Hispanic or Latino 17,879 0.6
Not Hispanic or Latino 2,843,851 97.2
White alone 2,710,344 92.6
Relationship
Total population 2,926,324 100.0
In households 2,822,155 96.4
Householder 1,149,276 39.3
Spouse 633,254 21.6
Child 831,984 28.4
Own child under 18 years 686,153 23.4
Other relatives 72,519 2.5
Under 18 years 29,297 1.0
Nonrelatives 135,122 4.6
Unmarried partner 56,822 1.9
In group quarters 104,169 3.6
Institutionalized population 50,256 1.7
Noninstitutionalized population 53,913 1.8
Households by Type
Total households 1,149,276 100.0
Family households (families) 769,684 67.0
With own children under 18 years 361,153 31.4
Married-couple family 633,254 55.1
With own children under 18 years 274,565 23.9
Female householder, no husband present 98,270 8.6
With own children under 18 years 64,367 5.6
Nonfamily households 379,592 33.0
Householder living alone 313,083 27.2
Householder 65 years and over 130,739 11.4
Households with individuals under 18 years 382,455 33.3
Households with individuals 65 years and over 291,420 25.4
Average household size 2.46 (X)
Average family size 3.00 (X)
Housing Occupancy
Total housing units 1,232,511 100.0
Occupied housing units 1,149,276 93.2
Vacant housing units 83,235 6.8
For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use 16,472 1.3
Homeowner vacancy rate (percent) 1.7 (X)
Rental vacancy rate (percent) 6.8 (X)
Housing Tenure
Occupied housing units 1,149,276 100.0
Owner-occupied housing units 831,419 72.3
Renter-occupied housing units 317,857 27.7
Average household size of owner-occupied unit 2.57 (X)
Average household size of renter-occupied unit 2.15 (X)


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