county

Mills County, IA

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

AI Overview

Mills County is a small, owner-occupied community of 14,563 residents along the western Iowa border, with a homeownership rate of 84.2% and median home values of $228,700—paired with median gross rent of just $888 per month. The labor force is tight and largely employed, with a 2.8% unemployment rate and median worker earnings of $50,027, though labor force participation stands at 63.1% and only 32.0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Population has edged down 2.6% over five years, and a median household income of $90,753 against a GDP per capita of $33,968 suggests a workforce that commutes outward—reflected in a mean commute of 25.6 minutes—rather than drawing on a deep local employment base.

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

Population

14,563

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$90,753

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.1 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.6% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone13,605 (93.4%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races407 (2.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race337 (2.3%)
  • Asian Alone82 (0.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone62 (0.4%)
  • Black or African American Alone59 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish143
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic37
  3. 3.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)35
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)12
  5. 5.Other Indo-European3

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,026

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$33,968

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$43,081

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

2.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

6.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,935
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)797
  3. 3.Construction (Group)617
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)575
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services531

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,921
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,205
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,071
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations871
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations861

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.66×)266
  2. 2.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.56×)173
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.50×)492
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.25×)602
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.25×)2,028

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$228,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$888/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

83.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999793 (17.6%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999698 (15.5%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999491 (10.9%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999346 (7.7%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999335 (7.4%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999323 (7.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

32.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

95.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

63.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$50,027

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.6 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,080 (72.7%)
  • Carpooled842 (12.1%)
  • Worked At Home705 (10.1%)
  • Walked317 (4.5%)
  • Other27 (0.4%)
  • Bicycle10 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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