county

Wayne County, IA

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

AI Overview

Wayne County is a small rural Iowa county of 6,518 residents with a modest 1.6% population gain over five years, anchored by an economy where median worker earnings run $40,137 against a median home value of just $102,300 and median gross rent of $660 per month. The workforce of roughly 3,800 active participants carries a 2.0% unemployment rate, though labor force participation is limited at 58.7% and only 16.0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. At a GDP per capita of $36,096 and an 80.9% homeownership rate, the county reflects a low-cost, ownership-oriented community with a 15.0% poverty rate indicating persistent income constraints alongside its affordability.

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

Population

6,518

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$61,964

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+1.6% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone6,145 (94.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races190 (2.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race158 (2.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone13 (0.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone12 (0.2%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone8 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic410
  2. 2.Spanish51
  3. 3.Other Indo-European25
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island18
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)6

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

26.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

51.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

22.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

292

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$36,096

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$34,623

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

2.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

15.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance530
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)469
  3. 3.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining416
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)385
  5. 5.Construction (Group)314

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,035
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations693
  3. 3.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations474
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations428
  5. 5.Service Occupations358

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 8.09×)371
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.72×)114
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.62×)462
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.57×)312
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.14×)357

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$102,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$660/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

80.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,999193 (9.3%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999172 (8.3%)
  • $40,000 to $49,999162 (7.8%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999161 (7.8%)
  • $50,000 to $59,999160 (7.7%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999158 (7.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

16.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

58.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$40,137

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.4 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone2,211 (75.8%)
  • Carpooled322 (11.0%)
  • Worked At Home182 (6.2%)
  • Walked159 (5.4%)
  • Other33 (1.1%)
  • Taxi11 (0.4%)

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.