county

Union County, IA

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

AI Overview

Union County is a small rural Iowa county of 12,038 residents with a GDP per capita of $63,889 against median worker earnings of $36,761, suggesting a capital- or output-intensive local economy rather than a high-wage one. The workforce is largely high-school-educated—24.1% hold a bachelor's degree or higher—with a labor force participation rate of 59.8% and unemployment at 4.6%. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $117,800 and median gross rent of $683/month, though the county has shed 3.3% of its population over the past five years.

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

Population

12,038

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$57,772

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-3.3% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone11,131 (92.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races224 (1.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone196 (1.6%)
  • Some Other Race Alone173 (1.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race147 (1.2%)
  • Asian Alone106 (0.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic186
  2. 2.Spanish143
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)4
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic2

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

706

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$63,889

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$31,843

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

12.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,240
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)865
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)701
  4. 4.Construction (Group)437
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining378

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,801
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,254
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations915
  4. 4.Service Occupations827
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations630

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.47×)308
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.81×)999
  3. 3.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.51×)193
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.18×)310
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.07×)649

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$117,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$683/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

72.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999618 (16.7%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999292 (7.9%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999281 (7.6%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999258 (7.0%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999211 (5.7%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999202 (5.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

24.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

59.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,761

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

15.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,268 (80.0%)
  • Carpooled529 (9.9%)
  • Worked At Home247 (4.6%)
  • Walked246 (4.6%)
  • Other25 (0.5%)
  • Motorcycle16 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Union County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

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