county

Tama County, IA

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

AI Overview

Tama County, Iowa is a small rural county of roughly 17,000 residents with an economy anchored in agriculture and related industries, reflected in a median household income of $70,781 and a GDP per capita of $39,353. The labor force of about 10,500 workers carries a 4.0% unemployment rate, with 91.5% holding a high school diploma but only 19.4% holding a bachelor's degree, and median worker earnings of $41,038 suggest a largely blue-collar workforce. Housing costs remain low—median home value of $139,900 and median gross rent of $865/month—though the county posted a slight population decline of 0.9% over five years, and a poverty rate of 15.4% sits above typical rural Iowa benchmarks.

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

Population

16,982

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$70,781

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-0.9% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone13,459 (79.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,167 (6.9%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone1,029 (6.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races524 (3.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone360 (2.1%)
  • Black or African American Alone207 (1.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,129
  2. 2.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)57
  3. 3.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)26
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic24
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island6

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

4.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,018

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$39,353

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$34,094

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,669
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,211
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)901
  4. 4.Construction (Group)764
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services556

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,393
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,620
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,552
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,270
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,122

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.90×)497
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.65×)303
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.48×)1,173
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.37×)756
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.07×)498

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$139,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$865/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

76.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999636 (12.5%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999568 (11.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999507 (9.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999426 (8.3%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999387 (7.6%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999380 (7.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

19.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

61.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$41,038

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

22.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone6,234 (78.9%)
  • Carpooled808 (10.2%)
  • Worked At Home689 (8.7%)
  • Walked127 (1.6%)
  • Bicycle13 (0.2%)
  • Motorcycle12 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Tama County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.