Prairie City, IA

Census Place

2024 Population

1,711

US Senator

Chuck Grassley

Republican Party

US Senator

Joni Ernst

Republican Party

2024 Median Age

2.7% 1-year decrease

2024 Poverty Rate

3.45%

147% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$78,295

0.0332% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$190,600

Population & Diversity

Prairie City, IA is home to a population of 1.71k people, from which 99.6% are citizens.

As of 2024, 1.05% of Prairie City, IA residents were born outside of the country (18 people).

In 2024, there were 61.1 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (1.65k people) in Prairie City, IA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 27 Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) and 13 Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

99.6%

2024 Citizenship

99.8%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 99.6% of Prairie City, IA residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Prairie City, IA was 99.8%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

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

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Prairie City, IA

White (Non-Hispanic)
1.65k ± 267
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
27 ± 28
Two Races Including Other (Hispanic)
13 ± 13

1.05%

Hispanic Population

18 people

1.05% of the people in Prairie City, IA are hispanic (18 people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Prairie City, 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

1.05%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

18 people

0.728%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

12 people

As of 2024, 1.05% of Prairie City, IA residents (18 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 Prairie City, IA was 0.728%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

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

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
30 ± 20
Gulf War (2001-)
23 ± 26
Gulf War (1990s)
22 ± 21

Prairie City, IA has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.3 times greater than any other conflict.

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

Economy

The economy of Prairie City, IA employs 845 people. In 2024, the largest industries in Prairie City, IA were Finance & Insurance (134 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (116 people), and Retail Trade (112 people), and the highest paying industries were Public Administration ($92,500), Construction ($75,000), and Finance & Insurance ($74,167).

Employment

Occupations

845

2024 Value

± 121

1.81%

1 Year growth

± 19.7%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Prairie City, IA grew at a rate of 1.81%, from 830 employees to 845 employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Prairie City, IA, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (95 people), Sales & Related Occupations (93 people), and Business & Financial Operations Occupations (88 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Prairie City, 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

845

2024 Value

± 121

1.81%

1 Year growth

± 19.7%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Prairie City, IA grew at a rate of 1.81%, from 830 employees to 845 employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Prairie City, IA, are Finance & Insurance (134 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (116 people), and Retail Trade (112 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Prairie City, IA, though some of these residents may live in Prairie City, IA and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$58,571

Median earning men ± $7,230

$47,470

Median earning women ± $2,626

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($111,389), Public Administration ($92,500), and Construction ($75,893).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Manufacturing ($66,058), Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($57,750), and Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($50,667).

Housing & Living

The median property value in Prairie City, IA was $190,600 in 2024, which is 0.573 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $177,400 to $190,600, a 7.44% increase. The homeownership rate in Prairie City, IA is 76.6%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Prairie City, IA have an average commute time of 26.4 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Prairie City, IA is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

Housing

Property

$190,600

Median Property Value 2024

±$19,724

$500

Median Property Taxes

±$85

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

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

Rent vs Own

76.6%

Homeownership

2024

59.9%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 76.6% of the housing units in Prairie City, IA were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 76.9%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Prairie City, 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.

$78,295

Median Household Income

± $9,711

653

Number of Households

± 100

In 2024, the median household income of the 653 households in Prairie City, IA grew to $78,295 from the previous year's value of $78,269.

The following chart displays the households in Prairie 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 $60k - $75k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Prairie City, 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%)
Worked At Home (15.8%)
Carpooled (4.79%)

In 2024, 76% of workers in Prairie City, IA drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (15.8%) and those who carpooled to work (4.79%).

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

26.4 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Prairie City, IA have a longer commute time (26.4 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 0.284% of the workforce in Prairie City, IA have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

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

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

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

Poverty

Poverty & Diversity

3.45% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Prairie City, IA (59 out of 1.71k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 35 - 44, followed by Males 35 - 44 and then Females 65 - 74.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Prairie City, IA is White, followed by Black and Native American.

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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