Buchanan County, Iowa

Buchanan County has a population of 20,694 and has grown 1.6% since the 2020 census. The median home is worth $176,000, about 2.3 times the county's median household income of $78,236.

Home price
$176,000
Income
$78,236
Population
20,694
Unemployment
2.8%

Housing

Home values, rent, property taxes, insurance and how local prices relate to local incomes.

Median home price$176,000county
Median gross rent$848county
Median year homes here were built1973county
Share of homes built before 198061.0%county
Share of homes that are manufactured or mobile4.0%county
Share of homes that are vacant7.7%county
Share of occupied homes that are rented17.9%county
Share of homes held for seasonal or occasional use2.2%county
Typical monthly rent$1,176(statewide)
HUD fair market rent, 2-bed$942county
HUD fair market rent, 1-bed$718county
HUD fair market rent, 3-bed$1,281county
Home insurance / yr$2,902(statewide)

Money

Household earnings and buying power. Adjusted income restates local income using the statewide cost-of-living index.

Cost of living89.7(statewide)
Median household income$78,236county
Family health premium / yr$22,954(statewide)
Infant childcare / yr$9,605(statewide)
Regular gas price / gal$3.721(statewide)
Poverty rate8.6%county

Jobs

What people here do for work, who they work for, whether they work from home, and how much of the local economy sits in one industry.

Workers who work from home8.4%county
Unemployment rate2.8%county
Share of adults in the labor force67.9%county
Share of workers who are self-employed9.2%county
Share of workers employed by government11.8%county
Share of workers in the largest industry22.3%county
Economic output per resident$52,528county

Taxes

State tax rules that can affect take-home pay, investments and everyday purchases.

Property tax rate1.36%county
Top state income tax3.80%(statewide)
Capital gains tax3.80%(statewide)
Combined sales tax6.94%(statewide)

Transportation

Distance to air travel and how people get around locally. Distances are straight-line from the county's population-weighted centre, so driving is further.

Mean commute time23.5 mincounty
Miles to nearest airport with airline service26 micounty
Passengers boarding at the nearest airline airport12006county
Miles to nearest general aviation field3.1 micounty
Airports with airline service located here0county
General aviation airfields located here1county
Passenger train stations and the railway network0county
Miles to the nearest passenger rail station99 micounty
Households without a vehicle6.6%county
Traffic deaths9.7county
Change in traffic deaths per 100,000-3.6(statewide)

Schools

Public schools and colleges counted where they actually sit, plus the education level of adults who live here. Students per teacher is a staffing measure, not a quality ranking.

Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher22.4%county
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma or higher94.1%county
Public schools in the county17county
Public school enrollment3231county
Students per full-time teacher14.6county
Free lunch eligible28.8%county
Elementary schools11county
Middle schools2county
High schools3county
Institutions granting bachelor's degrees or above0county
Two-year institutions0county
Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution23 micounty

Health

Primary care physicians39county
Medicare-certified hospitals in this county2county
Hospitals here with an emergency department1county
Average CMS star rating of hospitals here3(statewide)
Fine particulate matter8.3 µgcounty
Without health insurance6.7%county
Adults who were food insecure in the past year10.4%county
Adults who received food assistance in the past year8.4%county
Frequent mental distress14.0%county
No leisure-time physical activity24.6%county
Diagnosed diabetes11.7%county

Place

Who lives here and what the place is like: population, age, migration, safety and civic profile.

Population20,694county
Land area in square miles571county
People per square mile of land36.2county
Supermarkets and grocery stores4county
Convenience stores0county
Share living far from a food store5.2%county
Share living in a low-income, low-access tract0.0%county
Population change since 2020+1.6%county
Natural change per 1,000 residents2county
Net international migration per 1,000 residents1county
Median age40.3 yrscounty
Share of residents under 1825.4%county
Share of residents 65 and over18.6%county
Share of households that are one person28.1%county
Share of residents born outside the United States1.3%county
Second languages4.0%county
Share of residents on a religious body’s rolls51.6%county
Congregations per 100,000 residents209county
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents6county
Households that moved in415county
Households that moved away500county
Average income of arriving households$56,540county
Average income of departing households$50,036county
Homes authorised per 1,000 existing homes7county
Housing units authorised in the latest year62county
Share of permitted homes in multifamily buildings6.5%county
Violent crime rate243(statewide)

Weather

Measured annual temperature, precipitation and snowfall. These are climate facts, not a ranking.

Avg. annual temperature48.4°Fcounty
Annual precipitation36.5 incounty
Annual snowfall38.6 incounty
Average daily solar energy3.89 kWh/m²county
Days reaching 90°F8 dayscounty
Days at or below freezing145 dayscounty

Gardening

Plant hardiness zoneZone 5acounty
Frost-free days159 dayscounty
Average last spring frostApr 29county
Average first fall frostOct 5county

Utilities

Average monthly electric bill$128county
Electric utilities serving this county5county
Electricity price per kWh13.8¢county
Household electricity use791 kWhcounty
Residential natural gas price$14.86(statewide)
Homes heated by electricity22.8%county
Homes heated by utility gas51.7%county
Homes heated by propane20.5%county
Homes heated by fuel oil0.3%county
Homes heated by wood2.8%county
Households with broadband87.1%county

Risk

Relative exposure to air pollution and natural hazards. Higher values indicate more measured risk, not a prediction.

Riverine flood risk38.6county
Coastal flood risk0.0county
Drought risk81.1county
Landslide risk25.3county
Hail risk74.0county
Earthquake risk16.7county
Tornado risk37.5county
Tropical cyclone risk12.4county
Extreme heat risk24.7county
Winter weather risk48.6county
Strong wind risk48.2county
Wildfire risk7.2county

Sports

Major pro teams based here0county
NFL teams based here0county
NBA teams based here0county
MLB teams based here0county
NHL teams based here0county
MLS soccer teams based here0county
Top-division college football teams0county
Second-tier college football teams0county
Affiliated minor league baseball teams0county
AHL teams based here0county
ECHL teams based here0county

Figures marked county are measured for Buchanan County directly. The rest are published at state level only and show the Iowa figure — see methodology for each source and its limits.

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