Story County, Iowa

Story County has a population of 100,466 and has grown 2.8% since the 2020 census. The median home is worth $258,700, about 3.7 times the county's median household income of $69,685.

Home price
$258,700
Income
$69,685
Population
100,466
Unemployment
4.8%

Housing

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

Median home price$258,700county
Median gross rent$1,018county
Median year homes here were built1984county
Share of homes built before 198046.8%county
Share of homes that are manufactured or mobile4.0%county
Share of homes that are vacant7.1%county
Share of occupied homes that are rented44.5%county
Share of homes held for seasonal or occasional use0.5%county
Typical monthly rent$1,142county
HUD fair market rent, 2-bed$1,153county
HUD fair market rent, 1-bed$1,026county
HUD fair market rent, 3-bed$1,601county
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$69,685county
Family health premium / yr$22,954(statewide)
Infant childcare / yr$9,605(statewide)
Regular gas price / gal$3.721(statewide)
Poverty rate18.2%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 home11.8%county
Unemployment rate4.8%county
Share of adults in the labor force66.8%county
Share of workers who are self-employed4.5%county
Share of workers employed by government27.9%county
Share of workers in the largest industry35.2%county
Economic output per resident$77,540county

Taxes

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

Property tax rate1.40%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 time17.8 mincounty
Miles to nearest airport with airline service34 micounty
Passengers boarding at the nearest airline airport1555454county
Miles to nearest general aviation field2.4 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 station69 micounty
Households without a vehicle5.8%county
Traffic deaths8.0county
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 higher54.8%county
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma or higher97.4%county
Public schools in the county26county
Public school enrollment11665county
Students per full-time teacher14.7county
Free lunch eligible27.9%county
Elementary schools13county
Middle schools5county
High schools5county
Institutions granting bachelor's degrees or above1county
Share of local colleges that are public50.0%county
Two-year institutions1county
Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution2.0 micounty

Health

Primary care physicians64county
Medicare-certified hospitals in this county2county
Hospitals here with an emergency department2county
Average CMS star rating of hospitals here4county
Fine particulate matter7.7 µgcounty
Without health insurance4.2%county
Adults who were food insecure in the past year10.9%county
Adults who received food assistance in the past year8.1%county
Frequent mental distress15.9%county
No leisure-time physical activity19.7%county
Diagnosed diabetes7.6%county

Place

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

Population100,466county
Land area in square miles573county
People per square mile of land175.0county
Supermarkets and grocery stores15county
Convenience stores3county
Share living far from a food store17.6%county
Share living in a low-income, low-access tract14.5%county
Population change since 2020+2.8%county
Natural change per 1,000 residents2county
Net international migration per 1,000 residents5county
Median age26.9 yrscounty
Share of residents under 1816.2%county
Share of residents 65 and over13.2%county
Share of households that are one person34.0%county
Share of residents born outside the United States8.6%county
Second languages11.1%county
Share of residents on a religious body’s rolls34.4%county
Congregations per 100,000 residents107county
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents-8county
Households that moved in3,311county
Households that moved away3,755county
Average income of arriving households$49,828county
Average income of departing households$57,550county
Homes authorised per 1,000 existing homes4county
Housing units authorised in the latest year185county
Share of permitted homes in multifamily buildings27.0%county
Violent crime rate243(statewide)

Weather

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

Avg. annual temperature50.6°Fcounty
Annual precipitation40.0 incounty
Annual snowfall37.1 incounty
Average daily solar energy4.00 kWh/m²county
Days reaching 90°F13 dayscounty
Days at or below freezing123 dayscounty

Gardening

Plant hardiness zoneZone 5acounty
Frost-free days167 dayscounty
Average last spring frostApr 26county
Average first fall frostOct 10county

Utilities

Average monthly electric bill$140county
Electric utilities serving this county4county
Electricity price per kWh14.3¢county
Household electricity use867 kWhcounty
Residential natural gas price$14.86(statewide)
Homes heated by electricity29.0%county
Homes heated by utility gas62.6%county
Homes heated by propane6.7%county
Homes heated by fuel oil0.1%county
Homes heated by wood0.2%county
Households with broadband80.4%county

Risk

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

Riverine flood risk69.1county
Coastal flood risk0.0county
Drought risk96.4county
Landslide risk43.6county
Hail risk86.8county
Earthquake risk34.8county
Tornado risk91.3county
Tropical cyclone risk14.4county
Extreme heat risk13.0county
Winter weather risk90.2county
Strong wind risk69.9county
Wildfire risk30.3county

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 teams1county
Second-tier college football teams0county
Affiliated minor league baseball teams0county
AHL teams based here0county
ECHL teams based here0county

Figures marked county are measured for Story 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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