2024 population: 20,816 ( 10 from 2020)
Land area: 574.9 square miles
Population density: 36.2 persons per square mile

2024 Census data
White:	10,565	50.75%	7.8%
Black:	711	3.42%	13.2%
Indian:	34	0.16%	21.4%
Asian:	2,827	13.58%	9.2%
2+ races:	278	1.34%	26.9%
Hispanic:	6,401	30.75%	8.5%

Total non-White:	10,251	49.25%	9.5%

2020-2024 Components	Number	Rate
Births:	1,240	14.9
Deaths:	768	9.2
Net Migration:	-1,302	-15.6
Net Immigration:	799	9.6

Change in White population:	-899	-4.3
Change in Non-White pop.:	889	4.3

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

[Display all years]

Year:

Total population:

White:

Black:

Indian:

Asian:

2+ races:

Hispanic:

Total non-White:

2020
20,826
11,464	55.05%
628	3.02%
28	0.13%
2,588	12.43%
219	1.05%
5,899	28.33%
9,362	44.95%

2010
20,260
13,756	67.90%
497	2.45%
18	0.09%
1,214	5.99%
157	0.77%
4,608	22.74%
6,504	32.10%

2000
20,411
16,758	82.10%
61	0.30%
16	0.08%
871	4.27%
133	0.65%
2,560	12.54%
3,653	17.90%

1990
19,965
19,417	97.26%
39	0.20%
13	0.07%
388	1.94%
n/a
108	0.54%
548	2.74%

1980
20,774
20,637	99.34%
9	0.04%
5	0.02%
74	0.36%
n/a
37	0.18%
137	0.66%

1970
20,693
20,650	99.79%
8	0.04%
5	0.02%
15	0.07%
n/a
10	0.05%
43	0.21%

Decade:

Components:

Births:

Deaths:

Net Migration:

Net Immigration:

Change in White population:

Change in Non-White pop.:

Number	Rate
2010's
2,886	14.2
1,696	8.4
-2,567	-12.7
721	3.6

-2,292	-11.3
2,858	14.1

Number	Rate
2000's
2,463	12.1
1,720	8.4
-2,569	-12.6
1,113	5.5

-3,002	-14.7
2,851	14.0

Number	Rate
1990's
2,478	12.4
2,136	10.7
-1,305	-6.5
379	1.9

-2,659	-13.3
3,105	15.6

Number	Rate
1980's
2,983	14.4
2,359	11.4
-1,423	-6.8
n/a

-1,220	-5.9
411	2.0

Number	Rate
1970's
n/a
n/a
-848	-4.1
n/a

-13	-0.1
94	0.5

Age, Family & Household Data for Buena Vista County, IA

[Display all years]

Year:

Median Age:

Under 18:

Voting Age Population:

Over 65:

Households:

Persons Per HH:

Families (%HH):

Married Couples (%Fams):

Single Mothers (%Fams):

Non-Family (%HH):

2022
Number	Percent
35.6
5,438	26.1%
15,378	73.9%
3,375	16.2%

7,538
2.61

4,488	59.5%
3,602	80.3%
422	9.4%
3,050	40.5%

2010
Number	Percent
37.1
5,056	25.0%
15,204	75.0%
3,055	15.1%

7,522
2.56

5,027	66.8%
4,047	80.5%
426	8.5%
2,495	33.2%

2000
Number	Percent
36.5
5,174	25.3%
15,237	74.7%
3,439	16.8%

7,514
2.53

5,148	68.5%
4,400	85.5%
363	7.1%
2,366	31.5%

1990
Number	Percent
33.8
5,148	25.8%
14,817	74.2%
3,571	17.9%

7,530
2.49

5,262	69.9%
4,816	91.5%
246	4.7%
2,268	30.1%

1980
Number	Percent
32.4
5,416	26.1%
15,358	73.9%
3,383	16.3%

7,661
2.57

5,633	73.5%
5,167	91.7%
229	4.1%
2,028	26.5%

2022 Housing Data for Buena Vista County, IA

Household Income
Range	Number	%
Less than $10,000	146	1.9%
$10,000 to $14,999	182	2.4%
$15,000 to $19,999	279	3.7%
$20,000 to $24,999	304	4.0%
$25,000 to $29,999	262	3.5%
$30,000 to $34,999	339	4.5%
$35,000 to $39,999	317	4.2%
$40,000 to $44,999	328	4.4%
$45,000 to $49,999	535	7.1%
$50,000 to $59,999	1,020	13.5%
$60,000 to $74,999	687	9.1%
$75,000 to $99,999	1,029	13.7%
$100,000 to $124,999	649	8.6%
$125,000 to $149,999	499	6.6%
$150,000 to $199,999	581	7.7%
$200,000 or more	381	5.1%

Median Household Income	62,662
Per Capita Income	31,985

Cost of Living Index (100 = average)
Compared to state	91
Compared to U.S.	79

Welfare Households
	Number	%
SSI	285	3.8%
Public Assistance	216	2.9%
Public Asst. or Food Stamps	748	9.9%

Labor Force, Ages 25-64
	Number	%
Employed	6,959	75.9%
Unemployed	450	4.9%
In Armed Forces	0	0.0%

Total Labor Force	7,409	80.8%
Not in Labor Force	1,757	19.2%

Real Unemployment Rate		24.1%

Class of Worker
	Male	Female	% Male
Private Sector	4,051	3,355	54.7%
Non-Profit	218	528	29.2%
Self-Employed	785	260	75.1%

Local Government	314	457	40.7%
State Government	63	223	22.0%
Federal Government	44	35	55.7%

Total Private + Self	4,836	3,615	57.2%
Total Non-Profit + Govt.	639	1,243	34.0%
Total	5,475	4,858	53.0%

Pct. Govt.	11.0%

Occupation
	Number	%
Management, Business, Science, Arts	1,028	9.9%
Sales and Office Occupations	1,804	17.4%
Professional, Technical	1,539	14.9%
Service Occupations	1,266	12.2%
Farming, Forestry, Fishing	232	2.2%
All others	4,724	45.6%

White Collar		42.2%

Industry
	Number	%
Manufacturing	3,302	31.9%
Retail trade	1,396	13.5%
Educational services	1,182	11.4%
Health care and social assistance	897	8.7%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting	585	5.6%
Construction	584	5.6%
Other services	371	3.6%
Finance and insurance	310	3.0%
Accommodation and food services	309	3.0%
Professional, scientific, technical	305	2.9%
Transportation and warehousing	276	2.7%
Wholesale trade	207	2.0%
Public administration	204	2.0%
Administrative, support, waste mgmt.	164	1.6%
Arts, entertainment, recreation	75	0.7%
Utilities	72	0.7%
Real estate and rental and leasing	63	0.6%
Information	42	0.4%
Mining, quarrying, oil/gas extraction	17	0.2%

Hispanic Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Mexican	4,209	20.35%
Puerto Rican	20	0.10%
Cuban	403	1.95%
Dominican	0	0.00%

Total Central American	686	3.32%
Costa Rican	0	0.00%
Guatemalan	306	1.48%
Honduran	36	0.17%
Nicaraguan	0	0.00%
Panamanian	8	0.04%
Salvadoran	336	1.62%
Other Central American	0	0.00%

Total South American	16	0.08%
Argentinean	0	0.00%
Bolivian	0	0.00%
Chilean	0	0.00%
Colombian	3	0.01%
Ecuadorian	0	0.00%
Paraguayan	0	0.00%
Peruvian	0	0.00%
Uruguayan	0	0.00%
Venezuelan	13	0.06%
Other South American	0	0.00%

Other Hispanic	239	1.16%

Asian Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Hmong	861	4.16%
Laotian	644	3.11%
Burmese	326	1.58%
Vietnamese	200	0.97%
Korean	57	0.28%
Japanese	18	0.09%
Indian	3	0.01%
Filipino	3	0.01%

Language Spoken at Home
Language	Number	%
English	12,526	65.1%
Spanish	4,336	22.5%
Other Asian	1,765	9.2%
Other	314	1.6%
Vietnamese	185	1.0%
German, other Germanic	58	0.3%
Korean	26	0.1%
French, Haitian, Cajun	14	0.1%
Arabic	12	0.1%

Ancestry
Country	Number	%
German	5,054	24.4%
Irish	1,290	6.2%
English	938	4.5%
Swedish	851	4.1%
Norwegian	635	3.1%
Danish	437	2.1%
Czech	377	1.8%
Dutch	375	1.8%
American	373	1.8%
Scottish	198	1.0%
French	189	0.9%
European	176	0.9%
Italian	172	0.8%
Ethiopian	152	0.7%
Welsh	96	0.5%

Citizenship & Nativity
	Number	%
U.S. citizen	18,145	87.7%
Not a citizen	2,542	12.3%

Native	16,340	79.0%
Foreign-born	4,347	21.0%

Educational Attainment, Population 25 Years and Older
1,481	11.3%	1,216	9.3%	4,098	31.4%	3,436	26.3%	1,889	14.5%	935	7.2%
Average years of education: 12.3

Population 25 Years and Older
< 9 Years	1,481	11.3%
9-12 Years	1,216	9.3%
H.S. Grad or GED	4,098	31.4%
Some College	3,436	26.3%
Bach. Degree	1,889	14.5%
Grad Degree	935	7.2%
Average years of education: 12.3

Labor Force Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Year	Labor Force	Employed	Unemployed	Unemp. Rate	State Avg.
1990	10,028	9,760	268	2.7%	4.4%
1991	10,499	10,242	257	2.4%	4.7%
1992	10,897	10,623	274	2.5%	4.5%
1993	11,056	10,751	305	2.8%	4.1%
1994	11,226	10,923	303	2.7%	3.6%
1995	11,230	10,958	272	2.4%	3.5%
1996	11,228	10,956	272	2.4%	3.6%
1997	10,989	10,759	230	2.1%	3.1%
1998	10,967	10,741	226	2.1%	2.8%
1999	11,080	10,838	242	2.2%	2.7%

2000	10,273	10,028	245	2.4%	2.7%
2001	10,605	10,323	282	2.7%	3.3%
2002	10,593	10,255	338	3.2%	4.0%
2003	10,391	10,018	373	3.6%	4.4%
2004	10,338	9,928	410	4.0%	4.5%
2005	10,276	9,881	395	3.8%	4.3%
2006	10,499	10,158	341	3.2%	3.7%
2007	10,397	10,067	330	3.2%	3.7%
2008	10,648	10,268	380	3.6%	4.1%
2009	10,711	10,149	562	5.2%	6.4%

2010	11,391	10,842	549	4.8%	6.1%
2011	11,385	10,862	523	4.6%	5.6%
2012	11,272	10,801	471	4.2%	5.1%
2013	11,323	10,875	448	4.0%	4.7%
2014	11,481	11,027	454	4.0%	4.2%
2015	11,582	11,163	419	3.6%	3.7%
2016	11,571	11,167	404	3.5%	3.6%
2017	11,584	11,283	301	2.6%	3.1%
2018	11,618	11,368	250	2.2%	2.6%
2019	11,834	11,582	252	2.1%	2.8%

2020	11,643	11,217	426	3.7%	5.3%
2021	11,646	11,311	335	2.9%	3.8%
2022	11,802	11,527	275	2.3%	2.7%
2023	12,156	11,869	287	2.4%	2.9%
2024	11,173	10,883	290	2.6%	3.0%

Housing Data
	Number	%
Housing Units	8,197
Median Value	$138,100

Occupied	7,538	92.0%
Vacant	659	8.0%

Owned	5,280	70.0%
Rented	2,258	30.0%
Median Rent	$781

Single-Family Units	6,275	76.6%
Detached	6,025	73.5%
Attached	250	3.0%
Buldings with 5+ Units	1,181	14.4%
Mobile Homes	177	2.2%

Buena Vista County, IA

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

Age, Family & Household Data for Buena Vista County, IA

2022 Housing Data for Buena Vista County, IA

2022 Income & Employment Data for Buena Vista County, IA

2022 Ancestry, Citizenship & Language Data for Buena Vista County, IA

2022 Educational Attainment Data for Buena Vista County, IA

Historical Labor Force Data for Buena Vista County, IA