county

Hardin County, IA

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

AI Overview

Hardin County is a small rural Iowa county of 16,729 residents with an economy centered on agriculture and related industries, reflected in a GDP per capita of $51,001 that outpaces median worker earnings of $39,523. The labor force is largely high-school educated—93.7% hold at least a diploma while only 21.2% hold a bachelor's degree—with a 3.7% unemployment rate and labor force participation of 61.3%. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $113,000 and median gross rent of $814/month, though the county posted a -2.3% population decline over five years and a median age of 45.4.

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

Population

16,729

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$65,069

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

45.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.3% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone15,160 (91.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone433 (2.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races324 (1.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race241 (1.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone180 (1.1%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone152 (0.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish548
  2. 2.Vietnamese50
  3. 3.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)38
  4. 4.Arabic35
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic30

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

860

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$51,001

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$33,765

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

8.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,810
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,157
  3. 3.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining934
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)825
  5. 5.Construction (Group)607

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,602
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,707
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,373
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,275
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,234

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 6.99×)919
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.44×)274
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.28×)1,148
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.18×)674
  5. 5.Manufacturing (LQ 1.07×)875

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$113,000

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$814/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

73.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999716 (13.8%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999569 (11.0%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999543 (10.5%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999397 (7.7%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999335 (6.5%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999294 (5.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

21.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

61.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$39,523

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.6 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone6,401 (79.4%)
  • Worked At Home659 (8.2%)
  • Carpooled406 (5.0%)
  • Walked394 (4.9%)
  • Other157 (1.9%)
  • Public Transit48 (0.6%)

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.