Official Federal Data
Guthrie County, Iowa
FIPS 19077 · Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA · Population 10,688
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$77,711 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.5% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$753M ▲
GDP
25% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Small population: 10,688 residents. These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year estimates, which carry a wide margin of error for places under 20,000 people. Read each value as an approximate range, and treat year-over-year changes as indicative rather than exact. A small shift can reflect survey sampling, not a real change on the ground.
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
$77,711 ▲
Per Capita
$43,480 ▲
Mean Household
$100,744 ▲
Poverty Rate
9.9% ▲approx.
Median Income Comparison
Guthrie County$77,711
Iowa$75,059
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 21.2%
18-34 · 16%
35-54 · 23.4%
55-64 · 15.2%
65+ · 24.2%
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+
95.9%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +6.3 pts
25%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 10.7 pts
8%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 6.1 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
10,688
Population
5,472
Labor Force
Employed
5,288
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.5% ▲ +0.5 pts YoY
Mean Commute 1 min above national avg
27.1 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
11.8%
Key Takeaways
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 10.7 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
- Aging population: Median age of 47 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Retail Trade employs 295 workers (19.7% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $29,943.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $753M (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $121,556 while Retail Trade averages $29,943, a 4.1x 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
Health Care & Social Assistance Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
294
Cluster Employment
4.15x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
4.15x 294
Repair and Maintenance
1.62x 49
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
1.52x 45
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Nursing and Residential Care Facilities concentrates at 4.15x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- Cluster depth: 3 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
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
$180,100 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$845 ▲
Rent/Mo
84% ▲
Owner-Occ
20.8% ▼
Vacancy
2.3x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,063/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,109/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,318/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,794/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,841/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,943/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.3x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
- High home ownership: 84% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
- Elevated vacancy: 20.8% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
- Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,943/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.
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
5,828 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 1 min above national avg
27.1 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
11.8%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
86.4%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
25% ▲
HS Diploma+
95.9% ▲
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
27.9%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
39.3%
Service
13.7%
Sales & Office
21.3%
Construction / Maint.
13.8%
Production / Transport
11.9%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 5,288 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Succession risk is real: 27.9% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
- 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
Guthrie County shows meaningful potential for nursing and residential care facilities attraction, with a 4.15x concentration and 294 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 27.9% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.
The interconnected base across nursing and residential care facilities, repair and maintenance, and religious, grantmaking, civic, professional orgs 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 Guthrie County, Iowa, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Guthrie County, Iowa?
10,688 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Guthrie County, Iowa?
$77,711 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Guthrie County, Iowa?
3.5% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Guthrie County, Iowa?
$753M (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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