This is the beginning of what will turn into more charts and graphs, but these stand alone and are worth posting now.
In the 2010 census, Iowa’s 947 incorporated places break down like this: Population 0-499, 490; 500-999, 174; 1000-4999, 203; 5000-9999, 42; 10,000-plus, 38. Those numbers by percentage:
So about half of Iowa’s cities have a population under 500, and 7 in 10 are under 1000. But when it comes to where people live, that statistic is flipped on its head:
- While more than half of Iowa’s incorporated places have a population under 500, they contain only 3% of the people in the state.
- Nearly half of Iowans live in cities above 10,000.
- Only 1 in 5 Iowans are truly rural/live “out in the country.” (Defined as total state population minus combined population of all incorporated places.)