county

Cherokee County, IA

Demographic and economic profile of Cherokee County, IA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Cherokee County is a small, agriculture-rooted Iowa county of 11,587 residents with a modest 1.0% population gain over five years and a median age of 44. The labor force participation rate stands at 65.2%, unemployment is low at 3.0%, and median worker earnings of $37,143 align closely with per capita income of $37,174, though only 21.6% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Housing remains affordable—median home value of $145,100 and median gross rent of $711/month—while a GDP per capita of $67,548 suggests output running well above personal income levels.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

11,587

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$71,269

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

44.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+1.0% since 2018

Cherokee County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone10,394 (89.6%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race611 (5.3%)
  • Black or African American Alone202 (1.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races202 (1.7%)
  • Some Other Race Alone148 (1.3%)
  • Asian Alone43 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish529
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island47
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic30
  4. 4.Arabic12
  5. 5.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)10

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

53.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

24.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

728

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$67,548

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$37,174

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,423
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,128
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)744
  4. 4.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining586
  5. 5.Construction (Group)527

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,135
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,214
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,179
  4. 4.Service Occupations828
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations641

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.68×)541
  2. 2.Retail Trade (LQ 1.69×)1,099
  3. 3.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.56×)215
  4. 4.Manufacturing (LQ 1.28×)761
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.12×)461

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$145,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$711/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

75.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999553 (14.5%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999456 (12.0%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999304 (8.0%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999292 (7.7%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999287 (7.5%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999259 (6.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

21.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

65.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,143

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

16.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,588 (77.9%)
  • Worked At Home505 (8.6%)
  • Carpooled457 (7.8%)
  • Walked224 (3.8%)
  • Public Transit44 (0.7%)
  • Other41 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.