ExecutivePulse
Official Federal Data

Worth County, Iowa

FIPS 19195 · Mason City, IA · Population 7,350
9 Sources Updated June 22, 2026
$78,008
Median Income
$80,734 national
3%
Unemployment
4% national
$485M
GDP
19.1%
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Small population: 7,350 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
$78,008
Per Capita
$39,261
Mean Household
$91,205
Poverty Rate
8.2% approx.
Median Income Comparison
Worth County$78,008
Iowa$75,059
National$80,734

Population Profile

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
65+: 22.9% (1,684 residents) 55-64: 14.4% (1,062 residents) 35-54: 24.6% (1,805 residents) 18-34: 17.4% (1,279 residents) Under 18: 20.7% (1,520 residents) 44 Median Age
Cohorts
Under 18 · 20.7%
18-34 · 17.4%
35-54 · 24.6%
55-64 · 14.4%
65+ · 22.9%
Race & Ethnicity
White94.6%
Black or African American0.8%
Asian0.6%
Hispanic or Latino(any race)3.5%
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+
93.6%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +4.0 pts
19.1%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 16.6 pts
4.7%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 9.4 pts

Employment Overview

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
7,350
Population
4,062
Labor Force
Employed
3,918
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3% ▲ +0.4 pts YoY
Mean Commute 5 min below national avg
21.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
11.3%
Key Takeaways
  • Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 16.6 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
  • Aging population: Median age of 44 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

$485M
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · CAGDP1 Regional GDP

Top Industries by Employment

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2025 Annual
Top industries by employment in Worth County, Iowa, with employment, share of top sectors, and average wage
IndustryEmploymentShare of Top 10Avg Wage
1Manufacturing
596 48.8%
$64,189
2Health Care and Social Assistance
196 16.0%
$37,326
3Retail Trade
148 12.1%
$23,337
4Wholesale Trade
116 9.5%
$72,213
5Construction
101 8.3%
$55,179
6Other Services (except Public Administration)
51 4.2%
$51,729
7Information
14 1.1%
$34,612
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Key Takeaways
  • Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 596 workers (48.8% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $64,189.
  • Economic scale: Regional GDP of $485M (2024).
  • Wage stratification: Wholesale Trade averages $72,213 while Retail Trade averages $23,337, a 3.1x 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.

Location Quotient Analysis

Concentrated Industries
Source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector · Location Quotient vs. national employment share
Same source as the Top Industries table above, sub-sector view surfaces the specialization the supersector view masks (e.g., Plastics & Rubber Manufacturing inside the Manufacturing supersector).
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
5.53x
85
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods
2.49x
80
2.23x
741
Repair and Maintenance
1.73x
37

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
741
Cluster Employment
2.23x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
5.53x 85
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods
2.49x 80
2.23x 741
Repair and Maintenance
1.73x 37

Attraction Opportunities

LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
Key Takeaways
  • Top specialization: Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers concentrates at 5.53x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
  • Cluster depth: 4 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.
Worth County's Top Sectors by Workforce Share
Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of total private-sector employment across all NAICS supersectors. Hover for exact employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2025 Annual · Private sector, NAICS supersectors

Housing & Affordability

Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026

Housing Overview

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$145,800
Median Home Value vs 2019
$758
Rent/Mo
83.2%
Owner-Occ
8.5%
Vacancy
1.9x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average

HUD Fair Market Rents

Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$682/mo
1 Bedroom
$700/mo
2 Bedroom
$919/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,278/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,364/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,950/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
  • Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 1.9x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
  • High home ownership: 83.2% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
  • Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,950/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
4,146
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 5 min below national avg
21.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
11.3%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
88.3%
of prime-age population
Labor force participation rate: 69.7% of working-age population (18-64) 70% Participation
▲ vs 2019

Education & Talent Pipeline

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
19.1%
HS Diploma+
93.6%
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
28,295/yr
University of Iowa 9,271/yr
Iowa State University 8,469/yr
Des Moines Area Community College 4,028/yr
University of Northern Iowa 2,755/yr
Kirkwood Community College 2,365/yr
Iowa Western Community College 1,407/yr

Aging Workforce

Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
25.6%
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
34.9%
Service
14.4%
Sales & Office
15.1%
Construction / Maint.
12.3%
Production / Transport
23.3%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 3,918 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
  • Succession risk is real: 25.6% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
  • Short commutes: 21.4-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

Worth County shows strong potential for gasoline stations and fuel dealers attraction, with a 5.53x concentration and 85 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 25.6% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The interconnected base across gasoline stations and fuel dealers, merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods, and 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
Illustrative example

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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 Worth County, Iowa, from federal data sources.

What is the population of Worth County, Iowa?

7,350 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the median household income in Worth County, Iowa?

$78,008 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Worth County, Iowa?

3% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).

What is the GDP of Worth County, Iowa?

$485M (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).