Cedar Falls, IA

Census Place

2024 Population

40,888

US Senator

Chuck Grassley

Republican Party

US Senator

Joni Ernst

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

29.3

1.68% 1-year decrease

2024 Poverty Rate

15.7%

0.987% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$76,987

3.81% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

Population & Diversity

Cedar Falls, IA is home to a population of 40.9k people, from which 98.5% are citizens.

As of 2024, 3.35% of Cedar Falls, IA residents were born outside of the country (1.37k people).

In 2024, there were 28.5 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (37k people) in Cedar Falls, IA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 1.3k Asian (Non-Hispanic) and 880 Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

98.5%

2024 Citizenship

97.8%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 98.5% of Cedar Falls, IA residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Cedar Falls, IA was 97.8%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Cedar Falls, IA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Cedar Falls, IA

White (Non-Hispanic)
37k ± 437
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
1.3k ± 276
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
880 ± 261

2.18%

Hispanic Population

893 people

2.18% of the people in Cedar Falls, IA are hispanic (893 people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Cedar Falls, IA as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the Place level, so we are showing data for Iowa.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
44,333 ± 5,134 people
India
11,889 ± 2,672 people
Guatemala
8,189 ± 2,219 people

In 2024, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Iowa was Mexico, the natal country of 44,333 Iowa residents, followed by India with 11,889 and Guatemala with 8,189.

Foreign-Born Population

3.35%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

1.37k people

4.05%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

1.65k people

As of 2024, 3.35% of Cedar Falls, IA residents (1.37k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Cedar Falls, IA was 4.05%, meaning that the rate has been decreasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Cedar Falls, IA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
527 ± 122
Gulf War (2001-)
454 ± 187
Gulf War (1990s)
263 ± 106

Cedar Falls, IA has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.16 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Cedar Falls, IA.

Economy

The economy of Cedar Falls, IA employs 22.7k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Cedar Falls, IA were Educational Services (3,537 people), Retail Trade (3,072 people), and Health Care & Social Assistance (3,034 people), and the highest paying industries were Utilities ($109,167), Manufacturing ($82,522), and Finance & Insurance ($71,779).

Employment

Occupations

22.7k

2024 Value

± 1,204

0.581%

1 Year growth

± 7.42%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Cedar Falls, IA grew at a rate of 0.581%, from 22.6k employees to 22.7k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Cedar Falls, IA, are Education Instruction, & Library Occupations (2,505 people), Management Occupations (2,343 people), and Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations (2,326 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Cedar Falls, IA.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Iowa.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Iowa (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

22.7k

2024 Value

± 1,204

0.581%

1 Year growth

± 7.42%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Cedar Falls, IA grew at a rate of 0.581%, from 22.6k employees to 22.7k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Cedar Falls, IA, are Educational Services (3,537 people), Retail Trade (3,072 people), and Health Care & Social Assistance (3,034 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Cedar Falls, IA, though some of these residents may live in Cedar Falls, IA and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$48,834

Median earning men ± $5,586

$27,505

Median earning women ± $3,625

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($85,401), Manufacturing ($84,254), and Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($73,209).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Public Administration ($88,068), Construction ($77,000), and Manufacturing ($75,050).

Education

The student population of Cedar Falls, IA in 2024 is skewed towards women, with 3,433 male students and 5,990 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Cedar Falls, IA are White (2,203 and 86.4%), Hispanic or Latino (152 and 5.96%), Black or African American (77 and 3.02%), and Two or More Races (53 and 2.08%).

The largest universities in Cedar Falls, IA by number of degrees awarded are University of Northern Iowa (2,535 and 97.9%), La James International College-Cedar Falls (31 and 1.2%), and The Salon Professional Academy-Cedar Falls (23 and 0.888%).

The most popular majors in Cedar Falls, IA are Elementary Education & Teaching (293 and 11.3%), Social Work (126 and 4.87%), and Other Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods (126 and 4.87%).

The median tuition cost for a public four year colleges is $8,564 for in-state students and $20,340 for out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2024 in Cedar Falls, IA, the percentage of applicants admitted was 92.7%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 31.1%. The number of students enrolled in 2024 was 9,423 (36.4% men and 63.6% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2024 there were 9,423 students enrolled in Cedar Falls, IA, 36.4% men and 63.6% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 7,760 records, of which 64.5% were women and 35.5% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Elementary Education & Teaching
293 degrees awarded
Other Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods
110 degrees awarded
General Business Administration & Management
104 degrees awarded

In 2024, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Cedar Falls, IA was Elementary Education & Teaching with 293 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Cedar Falls, IA according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

University of Northern Iowa
2,535 degrees awarded
La James International College-Cedar Falls
31 degrees awarded
The Salon Professional Academy-Cedar Falls
23 degrees awarded

In 2024, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was University of Northern Iowa with 2,535 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2024, 862 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Cedar Falls, IA, which is 0.499 times less than the 1,727 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2024, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 2,203 degrees mean that there were 14.5 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 152 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Public, 4-year or above ($8,564) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,372) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2024.

Public, 4-year or above ($800) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Cedar Falls, IA was $263,600 in 2024, which is 0.792 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $252,500 to $263,600, a 4.4% increase. The homeownership rate in Cedar Falls, IA is 64%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Cedar Falls, IA have an average commute time of 14 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Cedar Falls, IA is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$263,600

Median Property Value 2024

±$13,449

$10,175

Median Property Taxes

±$632

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Cedar Falls, IA the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Cedar Falls, IA compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

64%

Homeownership

2024

62.4%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 64% of the housing units in Cedar Falls, IA were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 62.6%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Cedar Falls, IA compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$76,987

Median Household Income

± $5,036

15.9k

Number of Households

± 999

In 2024, the median household income of the 15.9k households in Cedar Falls, IA grew to $76,987 from the previous year's value of $74,165.

The following chart displays the households in Cedar Falls, IA distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Cedar Falls, IA is from Iowa.

0.435

2024 Wage GINI in Iowa

0.441

2023 Wage GINI in Iowa

In 2024, the income inequality in Iowa was 0.435 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 1.29% decline from 2023 to 2024, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Iowa was lower than than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Iowa in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Iowa across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (76.7%)
Worked At Home (11.1%)
Walked (5.78%)

In 2024, 76.7% of workers in Cedar Falls, IA drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (11.1%) and those who walked to work (5.78%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

14 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Cedar Falls, IA have a shorter commute time (14 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 0.478% of the workforce in Cedar Falls, IA have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Cedar Falls, IA compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Cedar Falls, IA distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Cedar Falls, IA have 2 cars.

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

15.7% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Cedar Falls, IA (5.86k out of 37.2k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 18 - 24, followed by Males 18 - 24 and then Females 25 - 34.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Cedar Falls, IA is White, followed by Two Or More and Hispanic.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798, followed by New York (5,087).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

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