Story County, IA
Demographic and economic profile of Story County, IA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.
AI Overview
Story County's economy centers on education and public-sector activity, reflected in a workforce where 53.3% hold a bachelor's degree or higher—well above national norms—and a median age of just 26.9 years, consistent with a large student population at Iowa State University. The labor force of roughly 67,500 carries a median worker earnings figure of $26,985 against a median household income of $69,685, with housing remaining relatively accessible at a median home value of $243,600 and median rent of $1,019/month. The county grew 1.7% over five years, posts a GDP per capita of $59,927, and records a poverty rate of 18.6%, likely elevated by the student population skewing lower-income household counts.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page
Population Growth (5-year)
+1.7% since 2018
Story County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.
Demographics
Race & Ethnicity
- White Alone82,831 (82.4%)
- Asian Alone6,641 (6.6%)
- Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races3,292 (3.3%)
- Black or African American Alone2,796 (2.8%)
- Two Races Including Some Other Race2,512 (2.5%)
- Some Other Race Alone1,819 (1.8%)
Top Languages Spoken at Home
- 1.Spanish2,153
- 2.Other Indo-European2,041
- 3.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)1,644
- 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island1,021
- 5.Korean1,002
Economy
Cost of Living Index
—
Not yet cached
Top Industries
- 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance19,265
- 2.Retail Trade (Group)6,262
- 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services5,411
- 4.Manufacturing (Group)5,009
- 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services4,536
Top Occupations
- 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations25,566
- 2.Sales & Office Occupations9,879
- 3.Service Occupations9,842
- 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations5,669
- 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations3,716
Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)
- 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.68×)1,410
- 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.51×)18,569
- 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.03×)5,886
- 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.01×)4,673
- 5.Manufacturing (LQ 0.96×)5,031
Housing
Education
Workforce
Similar Locations
5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.
More on FDI Connect
Compare Story County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.
Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.