county

O'Brien County, IA

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

AI Overview

O'Brien County is a small northwest Iowa county of 14,103 residents with a predominantly owner-occupied housing stock (77.3%) and low housing costs, with a median home value of $158,900 and median gross rent of $770/month. The labor market is notably tight, with unemployment at just 1.2% and a labor force participation rate of 64.4%, drawing from a workforce where 90.3% hold a high school diploma but only 22.5% have a bachelor's degree. Per capita GDP of $61,835 outpaces median worker earnings of $41,937, and the county posted modest population growth of 1.4% over five years against a median household income of $68,356.

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

Population

14,103

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$68,356

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+1.4% since 2018

O'Brien County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone12,358 (87.5%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race714 (5.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone487 (3.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone240 (1.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races158 (1.1%)
  • Asian Alone92 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish718
  2. 2.Arabic89
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic60
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island24
  5. 5.Other Indo-European11

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

54.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

4.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

664

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$61,835

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$34,346

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

1.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

13.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,802
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,250
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)862
  4. 4.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining676
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities419

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,533
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,400
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,250
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,015
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations951

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.87×)656
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 2.27×)366
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.84×)1,281
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.15×)1,886
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.02×)417

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$158,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$770/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

76.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999577 (13.1%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999496 (11.2%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999490 (11.1%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999405 (9.2%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999377 (8.5%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999342 (7.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

22.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

90.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

64.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$41,937

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

19.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,500 (79.3%)
  • Carpooled683 (9.8%)
  • Worked At Home493 (7.1%)
  • Walked181 (2.6%)
  • Other43 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit24 (0.3%)

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.