county

Shelby County, IA

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

AI Overview

Shelby County is a small agricultural-rooted county in western Iowa with a population of 11,757 and virtually flat recent growth of +0.5% over five years. The labor force of roughly 7,500 carries a 3.3% unemployment rate, median worker earnings of $41,937, and a relatively modest educational attainment rate of 23.3% with bachelor's degrees, though high school completion reaches 95.3%. Housing costs remain low—median home value of $156,200 and median rent of $810/month—against a median household income of $72,738 and a GDP per capita of $69,434, with a homeownership rate of 77.8% and a short mean commute of 18.5 minutes reflecting the county's rural character.

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

Population

11,757

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$72,738

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

44.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.5% since 2018

Shelby County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone10,854 (92.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races283 (2.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race235 (2.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone212 (1.8%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone101 (0.9%)
  • Asian Alone56 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish203
  2. 2.Other Indo-European6
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)2
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic1

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

54.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

784

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$69,434

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$38,805

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

8.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,347
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)659
  3. 3.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining611
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)554
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities544

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,163
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,167
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,126
  4. 4.Service Occupations724
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations531

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 6.51×)605
  2. 2.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.51×)516
  3. 3.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.33×)178
  4. 4.Manufacturing (LQ 1.20×)696
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.09×)694

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$156,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$810/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

77.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,999529 (13.9%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999481 (12.7%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999387 (10.2%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999380 (10.0%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999335 (8.8%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999233 (6.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

23.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

95.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

63.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$41,937

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

18.5 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,294 (75.6%)
  • Worked At Home729 (12.8%)
  • Walked322 (5.7%)
  • Carpooled250 (4.4%)
  • Other50 (0.9%)
  • Public Transit29 (0.5%)

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.