county

Mahaska County, IA

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

AI Overview

Mahaska County is a small rural Iowa county of about 22,000 residents with an economy oriented toward manufacturing and agriculture, reflecting a labor force where 94% hold at least a high school diploma but only 23% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The county's unemployment rate sits at 3.3% with median worker earnings of $39,512 and a labor force participation rate of 66.9%, supported by low housing costs — a median home value of $140,900 and median gross rent of $821 per month. Population has declined slightly by 0.7% over five years, and a median household income of $70,940 alongside an 11.9% poverty rate point to a middle-income community with pockets of economic stress.

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

Population

22,045

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$70,940

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-0.7% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone20,310 (92.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races715 (3.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone293 (1.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race240 (1.1%)
  • Asian Alone229 (1.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone151 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish239
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island172
  3. 3.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)33
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic20
  5. 5.Korean20

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

972

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$38,776

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$35,035

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)2,735
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,288
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,496
  4. 4.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining737
  5. 5.Construction (Group)634

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,815
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,513
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,964
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,406
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,249

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 4.71×)845
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 2.56×)2,868
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.16×)1,424
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.14×)605
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 0.92×)714

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$140,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$821/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

68.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999730 (12.3%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999689 (11.6%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999664 (11.2%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999556 (9.4%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999434 (7.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999407 (6.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

23.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

66.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$39,512

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

18.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone8,667 (80.3%)
  • Carpooled938 (8.7%)
  • Worked At Home810 (7.5%)
  • Walked324 (3.0%)
  • Other27 (0.3%)
  • Public Transit18 (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.