Cerro Gordo County, Iowa Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. The estimated population of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa is 43,185 people, with a median age of 44.2.

We can look at the total population in Cerro Gordo County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
43,185
+1.2%
+0.12%
2020
42,672
 -0.38% -
2019
42,834
 -0.35% -
2018
42,984
 -0.35% -
2017
43,134
 - -

Population of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
89.5%
91.2%
 -1.86%
Black/African American
1.7%
1.7%
 0.00%
Native
0.2%
0.3%
 -33.33%
Hispanic
5.2%
4.6%
 +13.04%
Asian
1.2%
1.1%
 +9.09%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0.2%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
1.9%
1%
 +90.00%
Other
0.1%
0%
 0.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 44.2 0% 41.8 +0.48% 46.1 -0.22%
2020 44.2 -0.23% 41.6 +0.48% 46.2 -0.86%
2019 44.3 -0.45% 41.4 -2.13% 46.6 +0.65%
2018 44.5 0% 42.3 -0.94% 46.3 +0.87%
2017 44.5 - 42.7 - 45.9 -

The median age of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 2,445 -9.36% 2,437 0.33% 2,218 2,428
10 to 19 2,666 +13.3% 2,346 +3.63% 3,037 2,420
20 to 29 2,440 +2.43% 2,460 -3.95% 2,498 2,358
30 to 39 2,375 +5.63% 2,207 +2.68% 2,508 2,252
40 to 49 2,528 -9.4% 2,598 -10.98% 2,287 2,297
50 to 59 3,196 -8.07% 3,433 -16.17% 2,945 2,908
60 to 69 2,964 +10.78% 3,055 +18.43% 3,282 3,648
70+ 2,397 +7.01% 3,587 -1.38% 2,565 3,534

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa is $58,271.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Cerro Gordo County.

  • Under 25
    $41,250.00
  • 25 to 44
    $70,784.00
  • 45 to 64
    $62,922.00
  • 65 and over
    $44,510.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Cerro Gordo County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Cerro Gordo County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa is currently $77,837.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

4.94% of households in Cerro Gordo County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Cerro Gordo County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    16.95%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    25.17%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    20.84%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    13.56%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    13.95%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    4.60%
  • $200,000 or more
    4.94%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Cerro Gordo County is $35,115.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Cerro Gordo County by the total population of Cerro Gordo County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Cerro Gordo County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    8.77%
  • Bachelor's degree
    27.85%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    11.72%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    49.78%
  • Less than high school diploma
    1.87%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Cerro Gordo County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Cerro Gordo County over the age of 16 is 35,155.

Of those people, a total of 66.20% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Cerro Gordo County is 63.90%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 2,073 69.40% 6.90%
20 to 24 years 2,274 87.70% 3.60%
25 to 29 years 2,582 91.90% 2.90%
30 to 34 years 2,433 84.60% 3.30%
35 to 44 years 4,616 91.10% 4.40%
45 to 54 years 4,978 87.10% 2.70%
55 to 59 years 3,170 76.00% 2.60%
60 to 64 years 3,797 67.80% 2.70%
65 to 74 years 5,275 27.90% 1.40%
75 years and over 3,957 10.00% 4.30%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Cerro Gordo County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 32,924 66.20% 3.00%
Black or African American 595 61.00% 3.00%
American Indian and Alaska Native 103 43.70% 0.00%
Asian 402 63.70% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 48 60.40% 31.00%
Other 253 54.50% 17.40%
Two or more races 830 77.10% 11.70%
Hispanic or Latino 1,520 80.30% 9.60%
Not Hispanic or Latino 32,207 65.80% 3.00%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Cerro Gordo County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Cerro Gordo County is 22,462, with median earnings of $36,669.00.

Women in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa earning approximately 66.50% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 22,462 $36,669.00
Male 11,562 $46,494.00
Female 10,900 $30,914.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 2,370 $58,841.00
Business and Financial 573 $52,946.00
Computer and Mathematical 198 $59,000.00
Architecture and Engineering 239 $74,313.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 247 $44,657.00
Community and Social Service 425 $44,522.00
Legal 137 $74,563.00
Educational and Library 1,004 $47,212.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 229 $10,337.00
Healthcare Practitioners 1,454 $65,000.00
Healthcare Support 1,040 $29,792.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 129 $59,063.00
Law Enforcement 139 $81,141.00
Food Preparation and Serving 1,385 $13,398.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 841 $25,433.00
Personal Care and Service 623 $15,885.00
Sales 2,604 $30,909.00
Office and Administrative Support 2,059 $32,785.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 190 $30,417.00
Construction and Extraction 1,056 $47,943.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 713 $45,482.00
Production 1,906 $37,994.00
Transportation and Material Moving 1,312 $45,650.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 1,516 $62,905.00 854 $54,435.00
Business and Financial 227 $80,063.00 346 $45,600.00
Computer and Mathematical 142 $58,250.00 56 $78,750.00
Architecture and Engineering 177 $74,614.00 62 $73,281.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 93 $57,841.00 154 $44,315.00
Community and Social Service 219 $41,635.00 206 $44,853.00
Legal 88 $78,500.00 49 $61,641.00
Educational and Library 254 $58,490.00 750 $23,152.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 89 $12,159.00 140 $9,769.00
Healthcare Practitioners 329 $102,917.00 1,125 $60,893.00
Healthcare Support 93 $31,712.00 947 $27,353.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 89 $65,792.00 40 $18,500.00
Law Enforcement 139 $81,141.00 0 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 465 $23,698.00 920 $12,885.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 444 $26,774.00 397 $20,677.00
Personal Care and Service 110 $20,781.00 513 $15,365.00
Sales 1,258 $55,119.00 1,346 $14,236.00
Office and Administrative Support 369 $44,135.00 1,690 $32,008.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 130 $45,156.00 60 $4,286.00
Construction and Extraction 1,016 $48,156.00 40 $21,875.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 691 $45,768.00 22 $43,553.00
Production 1,283 $39,726.00 623 $35,526.00
Transportation and Material Moving 1,154 $51,607.00 158 $40,286.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 19,569 households in Cerro Gordo County, with an average household size of 2.16 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 11,521 families in Cerro Gordo County with an average family size of 2.79 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 9,047 755 1,719 8,048
Average Household Size 2.81 2.98 3.05 1.15
Total Families 9,047 755 1,719 0
Average Household Size 2.8 2.51 2.82 0

Poverty

Of the 11,521 families in Cerro Gordo County, 5.70% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Cerro Gordo County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 22,589 housing units in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 19,569 86.63%
Vacant 3,020 13.37%

24.41% of the total 22,589 housing units in Cerro Gordo County are rental units. This is approximately 5,515 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 13,724 are occupied by the owner - or 60.76% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Cerro Gordo County is $762.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Cerro Gordo County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    330
  • Less than $500
    784
  • $500 to $999
    3,832
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    615
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    103
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    66
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    13
  • $3,000 or more
    102

Property Value

The median value of a property in Cerro Gordo County is $133,400.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Cerro Gordo County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    985
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    3,743
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    3,066
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    1,777
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    2,341
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    1,174
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    501
  • $1,000,000 or more
    137

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Cerro Gordo County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Cerro Gordo County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    6,977
  • 1940 to 1949
    1,801
  • 1950 to 1959
    3,540
  • 1960 to 1969
    2,025
  • 1970 to 1979
    3,182
  • 1980 to 1989
    1,453
  • 1990 to 1999
    1,419
  • 2000 to 2009
    1,404
  • 2010 to 2013
    640
  • 2014 or later
    148

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Cerro Gordo County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    1,022
  • 1 vehicle available
    6,671
  • 2 vehicles available
    7,688
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    4,188

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Cerro Gordo County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Cerro Gordo County that commute to work in a particular way.

16.6 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Cerro Gordo County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    1,163
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    5,088
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    4,969
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    3,177
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    2,599
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    770
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    993
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    288
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    267
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    648
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    244
  • 90 or more minutes
    344

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Cerro Gordo County, Iowa in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa

We have data for 26 places in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.