Iowa City, IA

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

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2024 Population
179,200
US Senator
Chuck Grassley
Republican Party
US Senator
Joni Ernst
Republican Party
2024 Median Age
32.1
0.627% 1-year increase
2024 Poverty Rate
15.9%
1.64% 1-year increase
2024 Median Household Income
$75,088
1.28% 1-year growth
2024 Median Property Value
$293,600
4.71% 1-year growth
2024 Employed Population
98,345
0.752% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Iowa City, IA reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

95.2% of the residents in Iowa City, IA are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Iowa City, IA are University of Iowa (9,815 degrees awarded in 2023) and PCI Academy-Iowa City (74 degrees).

In 2024, the median property value in Iowa City, IA was $293,600, and the homeownership rate was 61.2%.

Most people in Iowa City, IA drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 19.9 minutes. The average car ownership in Iowa City, IA was 2 cars per household.

Iowa City, IA borders Cedar Rapids, IA, Fairfield, IA, and Muscatine, IA.

United StatesIowa

Population & Diversity

Iowa City, IA is home to a population of 179k people, from which 95.2% are citizens. As of 2024, 8.63% of Iowa City, IA residents were born outside of the country (15.5k people).

In 2024, there were 11.3 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (137k people) in Iowa City, IA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 12.2k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 8.91k Asian (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

95.2%
2024 Citizenship
94.6%
2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 95.2% of Iowa City, IA residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Iowa City, IA was 94.6%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been increasing.

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

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Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Iowa City, IA
  1. White (Non-Hispanic)
    137k ± 426
  2. Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
    12.2k ± 577
  3. Asian (Non-Hispanic)
    8.91k ± 495
6.87%
Hispanic Population
12.3k people

In 2024, there were 11.3 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (137k people) in Iowa City, IA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 12.2k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 8.91k Asian (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

6.87% of the people in Iowa City, IA are hispanic (12.3k people).

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

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Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the MSA level, so we are showing data for Iowa.
Most Common Origin
  1. Mexico
    42,808 ± 5,046 people
  2. India
    12,283 ± 2,716 people
  3. China
    7,889 ± 2,178 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Iowa was Mexico, the natal country of 42,808 Iowa residents, followed by India with 12,283 and China with 7,889.

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Foreign-Born Population

8.63%
2024 Foreign-Born Population
15.5k people
9.16%
2023 Foreign-Born Population
16.3k people

As of 2024, 8.63% of Iowa City, IA residents (15.5k 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 Iowa City, IA was 9.16%, meaning that the rate has been decreasing.

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

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Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period
  1. Vietnam
    1,747 ± 244
  2. Gulf War (2001-)
    1,678 ± 321
  3. Gulf War (1990s)
    773 ± 190

Iowa City, IA has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.04 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Iowa City, IA.

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Economy

The economy of Iowa City, IA employs 98.3k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Iowa City, IA were Educational Services (18,866 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (18,726 people), and Retail Trade (11,499 people), and the highest paying industries were Utilities ($91,216), Management of Companies & Enterprises ($84,250), and Public Administration ($70,839).

Employment

Occupations

98.3k
2024 Value
± 2,407
0.752%
1 Year growth
± 3.5%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Iowa City, IA grew at a rate of 0.752%, from 97.6k employees to 98.3k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Iowa City, IA, are Management Occupations (10,200 people), Office & Administrative Support Occupations (9,812 people), and Education Instruction, & Library Occupations (9,228 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Iowa City, IA.

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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.

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Industries

Employment by Industries

98.3k
2024 Value
± 2,407
0.752%
1 Year growth
± 3.5%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Iowa City, IA grew at a rate of 0.752%, from 97.6k employees to 98.3k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Iowa City, IA, are Educational Services (18,866 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (18,726 people), and Retail Trade (11,499 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Iowa City, IA, though some of these residents may live in Iowa City, IA and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

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Median Earnings by Industry

$51,193
Median earning men ± $2,626
$37,637
Median earning women ± $2,034

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($77,213), Public Administration ($75,947), and Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($72,828).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Public Administration ($60,559), Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($53,688), and Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($50,385).

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Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Iowa.
Y-Axis
1.48%
Year-over-year growth
Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 1.57M people employed in Iowa. This represents a 1.48% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 10.9%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Iowa.

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Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments
  1. 353
    Construction
  2. 237
    Other Services (except Public Administration)
  3. 235
    Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

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Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll
  1. $1.38M
    Health Care and Social Assistance
  2. $371k
    Manufacturing
  3. $331k
    Retail Trade

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

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Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Iowa went to Donald J. Trump with 55.7% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (42.5%), followed by Robert Kennedy (0.789%).

Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst are the senators currently representing the state of Iowa. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Iowa is currently represented by 4 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Voting results are not available for Iowa City, IA. Showing the available data for Iowa.
2024 Election Results
  1. Donald J. Trump (55.7%)
    Republican Party
  2. Kamala Harris (42.5%)
    Democratic Party
  3. Robert Kennedy (0.789%)
    Independent Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Iowa went to Donald J. Trump with 55.7% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (42.5%), followed by Robert Kennedy (0.789%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Iowa for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

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Senator Elections

US Senators from Iowa

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Iowa.
Chuck Grassley
Senator from Iowa3
Assumed office on January 3, 1981
Joni Ernst
Senator from Iowa2
Assumed office on January 3, 2015

Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst are the senators currently representing Iowa.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in Iowa over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

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Education

In 2023, universities in Iowa City, IA awarded 9,889 degrees. The student population of Iowa City, IA in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 13,338 male students and 16,807 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Iowa City, IA are White (7,288 and 77.6%), Hispanic or Latino (748 and 7.97%), Asian (462 and 4.92%), and Two or More Races (297 and 3.16%).

The largest universities in Iowa City, IA by number of degrees awarded are University of Iowa (9,815 and 99.3%) and PCI Academy-Iowa City (74 and 0.748%).

The most popular majors in Iowa City, IA are General Finance (494 and 5%), General Business Administration & Management (491 and 4.97%), and Organizational Leadership (453 and 4.58%).

The median tuition cost in Iowa City, IA for a public four year colleges is $9,016 for in-state students and $30,979 for out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University
Measure

In 2023 in Iowa City, IA, the percentage of applicants admitted was 84.7%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 23.3%. The number of students enrolled in 2023 was 30,145 (44.2% men and 55.8% 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.

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Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2023 there were 30,145 students enrolled in Iowa City, IA, 44.2% men and 55.8% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 21,588 records, of which 56.3% were women and 43.7% men.

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Completions

Concentrations

Most Common
  1. General Finance
    391 degrees awarded
  2. Behavioral Sciences
    327 degrees awarded
  3. Kinesiology & Exercise Science
    397 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Iowa City, IA was General Finance with 391 degrees awarded.

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

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Universities

Gender
Race
Largest Universities by degrees awarded
  1. University of Iowa
    9,815 degrees awarded
  2. PCI Academy-Iowa City
    74 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was University of Iowa with 9,815 degrees awarded.

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Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 4,438 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Iowa City, IA, which is 0.814 times less than the 5,451 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 7,288 degrees mean that there were 9.74 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 748 degrees awarded.

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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.

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Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Public, 4-year or above ($9,016) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($1,948) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($950) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

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

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Housing & Living

The median property value in Iowa City, IA was $293,600 in 2024, which is 0.882 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $280,400 to $293,600, a 4.71% increase. The homeownership rate in Iowa City, IA is 61.2%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Iowa City, IA have an average commute time of 19.9 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Iowa City, IA is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$293,600
Median Property Value 2024
±$5,934
$44,246
Median Property Taxes
±$1,293

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 Iowa City, IA the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

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

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Rent vs Own

61.2%
Homeownership
2024
63.9%
Homeowners with Mortgage
2024

In 2024, 61.2% of the housing units in Iowa City, IA were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 60.5%.

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

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Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.
$75,088
Median Household Income
± $2,437
72.3k
Number of Households
± 2,034

In 2024, the median household income of the 72.3k households in Iowa City, IA grew to $75,088 from the previous year's value of $74,142.

The following chart displays the households in Iowa City, 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.

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Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Iowa City, IA is from Iowa.
0.441
2023 Wage GINI in Iowa
0.442
2022 Wage GINI in Iowa

In 2023, the income inequality in Iowa was 0.441 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.304% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Iowa was lower than than the national average of 0.476. 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.

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Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024
  1. Drove Alone (66.6%)
  2. Worked At Home (13.2%)
  3. Walked (7.48%)

In 2024, 66.6% of workers in Iowa City, IA drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (13.2%) and those who walked to work (7.48%).

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.

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Commute Time

19.9 minutes
Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Iowa City, IA have a shorter commute time (19.9 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.78% of the workforce in Iowa City, IA have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

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

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Car Ownership

2 cars
Average Number

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

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Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

15.9% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Iowa City, IA (27.2k out of 171k 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 Iowa City, IA is White, followed by Black 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.

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Health

94.9% of the population of Iowa City, IA has health coverage, with 58.2% on employee plans, 11.6% on Medicaid, 10.9% on Medicare, 13.5% on non-group plans, and 0.716% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Iowa see 1,385 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,385 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1411 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 466 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.6% were men and 50.4% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Iowa.
1,385 to 1
Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Iowa

Primary care physicians in Iowa see an average of 1,385 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,385 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Iowa in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

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Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 22.5% under 18 years, 31.2% between 18 and 34 years, 32.5% between 35 and 64 years, and 13.8% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.6% were men and 50.4% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

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Uninsured People

5.08%
Uninsured
58.2%
Employer Coverage
11.6%
Medicaid
10.9%
Medicare
13.5%
Non-Group
0.716%
Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Iowa City, IA declined by 5.5% from 5.37% to 5.08%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Iowa City, IA changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

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