county

Dickinson County, IA

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

AI Overview

Dickinson County is a small lakeside county in northwest Iowa with a population of 17,844 that grew 4.6% over five years, driven heavily by tourism and recreation along the Iowa Great Lakes corridor. The labor force is tight—unemployment sits at just 2.4%—with 32.3% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher and median worker earnings of $40,961, reflecting a mix of seasonal and year-round employment. Housing costs remain relatively accessible at a $251,600 median home value and $930/month median rent, supported by a 77.5% homeownership rate, a 6.3% poverty rate, and a GDP per capita of $61,320.

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

Population

17,844

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$75,432

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

48.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+4.6% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone16,965 (94.3%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races469 (2.6%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race384 (2.1%)
  • Asian Alone83 (0.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone73 (0.4%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone10 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish187
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic71
  3. 3.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)69
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic31
  5. 5.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)24

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

53.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

27.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,159

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$61,320

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$47,165

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

2.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

6.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,000
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,927
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)992
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services726
  5. 5.Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing707

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,486
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations2,008
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,808
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,371
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations689

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.21×)328
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.76×)1,629
  3. 3.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.11×)239
  4. 4.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.10×)683
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.07×)471

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$251,600

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$930/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

77.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $500,000 to $749,999973 (14.2%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999905 (13.2%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999766 (11.2%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999648 (9.5%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999611 (8.9%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999412 (6.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

32.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

97.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

64.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$40,961

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

16.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone7,174 (77.7%)
  • Worked At Home965 (10.5%)
  • Carpooled741 (8.0%)
  • Walked223 (2.4%)
  • Other107 (1.2%)
  • Motorcycle14 (0.2%)

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.