Iowa's population has always been dwarfed by our neighbors. Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin all have higher populations. However, Iowa's population did increase in the past decade. According to World Population Review, in 2010 the population of the Hawkeye State was 3,046,355. In 2020, the population rose modestly to 3,167,974. Out of 50 states, Iowa ranks 30th in the overall population. Big thanks to Pete Hanson from our sister station in Minnesota for the idea to do the research.

That said, Iowa is not known for having big cities. Des Moines population (as of 2019) is 215,636 and Cedar Rapids, Iowa's second-largest city, has a population of 130,405 (according to World Population Review).

Iowa's known for farms, ag, and... tiny towns

Iowa has tons of blink and you'll miss 'em cities. But have you ever visited one of the state's least populated towns? Using the data once again from World Population Review, I have a list of our 25 smallest cities population-wise.

Iowa's 25 Smallest towns according to the 2020 census

  • Charter Oak (458)
  • Stacyville (455)
  • Ocheyedan (455)
  • Lamont (453)
  • Thompson (449)
  • Martensdale (449)
  • Klemme (449)
  • Alleman (446)
  • Farragut (444)
  • Bayard (443)
  • Titonka (439)
  • Riverdale (437)
  • Miles (435)
  • Marquette (431)
  • Denmark (429)
  • Conesville (429)
  • Birmingham (425)
  • Little Rock (423)
  • Galva (419)
  • Lawler (413)
  • Plainfield (412)
  • Ashton (412)
  • Mystic (411)
  • Bussey (409)
  • Andrew (406)

Iowa's economy is STRONG

Back in the 1980's the economy bottomed out during the farm crisis, Iowa's economy bottomed out. Since then, despite strong dependence on ag, Iowa's economy has become one of the strongest in the nation. This has led to an increase in population as opportunities in agriculture have grown.

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As far as native Iowans vs. Iowa transplants goes, World Population Review breaks our population down,

When breaking down Iowa's population, 72.2% were born in the state, 23.2% were born in a different state, 0.5% were born in Puerto Rico or abroad to American parents and 4.1% were foreign-born.

Of the states we border, I mentioned above the ones that have us beat in population. Iowa does have a higher population than South Dakota (896,581) and Nebraska (1.9 million).

Hilarious Iowa DOT Signs

Anyone else share a sense of humor with a state's Department of Transportation? Just me? Well, every Monday the Iowa Department of Transportation puts up a sometimes hilarious, sometimes straightforward message on their road signs across the state. This is called "message Monday" and Iowa DOT tries to entertain and educate drivers through these signs. Here are just a few of our favorites.

Iowa’s Top 10 Most Common Snakes

 

 

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