Official Federal Data
Black Hawk County, Iowa
FIPS 19013 · Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA · Population 131,049
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$66,417 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.1% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$10B ▲
GDP
30.3% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$66,417 ▲
Per Capita
$37,541 ▲
Mean Household
$89,163 ▲
Poverty Rate
14.9% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Black Hawk County$66,417
Iowa$75,059
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 21.9%
18-34 · 27.1%
35-54 · 22.1%
55-64 · 11.2%
65+ · 17.7%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
92.9%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +3.3 pts
30.3%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 5.4 pts
11%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 3.1 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
131,049
Population
70,182
Labor Force
Employed
66,926
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.1% ▲ +0.3 pts YoY
Mean Commute 10 min below national avg
15.9 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.9%
Key Takeaways
- Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
- Elevated poverty: At 14.9%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 5.4 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 13,162 workers (23.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $80,252.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $10B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $90,678 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $20,719, a 4.4x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Goods-Producing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
16,022
Cluster Employment
1.56x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Machinery Manufacturing
11.17x 5,513
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
7.51x 1,137
Food Manufacturing
4.69x 3,781
Warehousing and Storage
2.48x 2,139
Printing and Related Support Activities
2.37x 370
Personal and Laundry Services
2.26x 1,619
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
2.14x 1,018
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
1.76x 2,742
1.56x 16,022
Health and Personal Care Retailers
1.52x 731
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.21x
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing
67 employed
0.29x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
230 employed
0.29x
Telecommunications
78 employed
0.31x
Computing Infrastructure Providers and Data Processing
69 employed
0.37x
Wood Product Manufacturing
67 employed
0.39x
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
459 employed
0.42x
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
117 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Machinery Manufacturing concentrates at 11.17x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$188,900 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$989 ▲
Rent/Mo
66.2% ▲
Owner-Occ
7.5% ▼
Vacancy
2.8x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$725/mo
1 Bedroom
$801/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,051/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,357/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,763/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,660/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.8x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
- Affordable rent tiers: 4 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,660/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
79,167 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 10 min below national avg
15.9 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.9%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
84.8%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
30.3% ▲
HS Diploma+
92.9% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
28,295/yr
9,271/yr
8,469/yr
4,028/yr
2,755/yr
2,365/yr
1,407/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
18.5%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
36.8%
Service
17.6%
Sales & Office
18.3%
Construction / Maint.
8.5%
Production / Transport
18.7%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 66,926 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 15.9-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 21,768 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Black Hawk County shows strong potential for machinery manufacturing attraction, with a 11.17x concentration and 5,513 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across machinery manufacturing, furniture and related product manufacturing, and food manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Black Hawk County, Iowa, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Black Hawk County, Iowa?
131,049 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Black Hawk County, Iowa?
$66,417 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Black Hawk County, Iowa?
4.1% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Black Hawk County, Iowa?
$10B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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