county

Decatur County, IA

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

AI Overview

Decatur County is a small rural Iowa county of 7,669 residents with an economy reflected in a per capita GDP of $27,974 and median worker earnings of $32,879, pointing to a predominantly lower-wage workforce. The labor force participation rate of 59.3% is relatively modest, with 24.3% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and unemployment sits at 3.2%. Housing costs are low—median home value of $109,500 and median gross rent of $663/month—though the county has shed 4.7% of its population over the past five years and carries a 15.2% poverty rate.

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

Population

7,669

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$59,044

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

36.1 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-4.7% since 2018

Decatur County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone7,121 (91.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races234 (3.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race122 (1.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone107 (1.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone102 (1.3%)
  • Asian Alone56 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic285
  2. 2.Spanish86
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island21
  4. 4.Korean19
  5. 5.Other Indo-European12

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

360

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$27,974

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$27,508

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,166
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)521
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)443
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services309
  5. 5.Construction (Group)308

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,375
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations764
  3. 3.Service Occupations652
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations556
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations452

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.77×)211
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.48×)516
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.37×)333
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.27×)1,038
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.15×)190

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$109,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$663/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

69.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999263 (12.3%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999227 (10.7%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999167 (7.8%)
  • $60,000 to $69,999137 (6.4%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999123 (5.8%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999119 (5.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

24.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

59.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$32,879

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

22.5 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

9.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone2,832 (75.0%)
  • Carpooled386 (10.2%)
  • Walked295 (7.8%)
  • Worked At Home228 (6.0%)
  • Other34 (0.9%)
  • Public Transit0 (0.0%)

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.