Iowa City, Iowa demographics

Iowa City, IA demographics: median age 26.2; 60.5% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Iowa City city, Iowa · Incorporated city · GEOID 1938595. The survey estimates a population of 75,752 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Iowa City is 26.2 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.6 years. There are 30,816 households (±641). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	26.2 ±0.6	38.6 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 75,752
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Under 18	10,817 ±674	14.3% ±0.9 pp	22.9%	22.0%
18–34	36,247 ±1,481	47.8% ±2.0 pp	22.5%	22.8%
35–64	19,334 ±849	25.5% ±1.1 pp	36.5%	38.0%
65 and older	9,354 ±597	12.3% ±0.8 pp	18.1%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 75,752
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Male	37,038 ±670	48.9% ±0.9 pp	50.2%	49.5%
Female	38,714 ±671	51.1% ±0.9 pp	49.8%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 75,752
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
White alone	55,006 ±1,094	72.6% ±1.4 pp	84.1%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	7,213 ±858	9.5% ±1.1 pp	3.9%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	134 ±103 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	5,395 ±602	7.1% ±0.8 pp	2.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±24 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.2%
Some other race alone	2,081 ±601	2.7% ±0.8 pp	2.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	5,923 ±761	7.8% ±1.0 pp	6.6%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 75,752
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	69,648 ±625	91.9% ±0.8 pp	92.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	6,104 ±620	8.1% ±0.8 pp	7.3%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 30,816
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Married-couple family	9,906 ±564	32.1% ±1.7 pp	48.3%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	664 ±168	2.2% ±0.5 pp	4.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,893 ±323	6.1% ±1.0 pp	9.0%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	11,595 ±761	37.6% ±2.3 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	6,758 ±615	21.9% ±1.9 pp	7.6%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 30,816
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Households with people under 18	5,311 ±395	17.2% ±1.2 pp	28.5%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	25,505 ±731	82.8% ±1.6 pp	71.5%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 30,816
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	11,595 ±761	37.6% ±2.3 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Two-person households	10,697 ±627	34.7% ±1.9 pp	36.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	4,523 ±556	14.7% ±1.8 pp	12.9%	15.3%
Four-person households	2,429 ±292	7.9% ±0.9 pp	11.4%	12.6%
Five-person households	943 ±210	3.1% ±0.7 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	318 ±144	1.0% ±0.5 pp	1.9%	2.2%
Seven or more people	311 ±123	1.0% ±0.4 pp	1.0%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 75,752
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Native	66,546 ±857	87.8% ±1.1 pp	94.1%	85.9%
Foreign born	9,206 ±861	12.2% ±1.1 pp	5.9%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 72,584
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
English only	59,367 ±860	81.8% ±1.1 pp	90.9%	77.7%
Spanish	3,718 ±602	5.1% ±0.8 pp	4.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	1,266 ±442	1.7% ±0.6 pp	0.3%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	265 ±145 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	466 ±184	0.6% ±0.3 pp	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	944 ±322	1.3% ±0.4 pp	0.6%	2.0%
Korean	636 ±277	0.9% ±0.4 pp	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	1,343 ±319	1.9% ±0.4 pp	0.3%	1.1%
Vietnamese	716 ±328	1.0% ±0.5 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	0 ±24 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	800 ±281	1.1% ±0.4 pp	1.0%	1.1%
Arabic	1,944 ±571	2.7% ±0.8 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	1,119 ±523	1.5% ±0.7 pp	0.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 39,445
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	1,379 ±306	3.5% ±0.8 pp	6.7%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	5,389 ±587	13.7% ±1.5 pp	30.0%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	6,123 ±615	15.5% ±1.5 pp	19.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	2,675 ±394	6.8% ±1.0 pp	12.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	12,115 ±752	30.7% ±1.8 pp	20.9%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	11,764 ±884	29.8% ±2.2 pp	10.5%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 75,211
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Same house	51,689 ±1,386	68.7% ±1.8 pp	87.1%	87.7%
Moved within same county	11,790 ±1,202	15.7% ±1.6 pp	6.7%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	6,147 ±746	8.2% ±1.0 pp	3.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	4,792 ±507	6.4% ±0.7 pp	2.2%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	793 ±356	1.1% ±0.5 pp	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

4.5% of Iowa City residents (±0.8 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 5.0% in Iowa and 8.4% nationally. 86.1% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Iowa City	Iowa	U.S.	Compared with Iowa
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.5% ±0.8 pp	5.0%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	86.1% ±1.6 pp	88.9%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	3.4% ±0.5 pp	6.5%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Iowa City . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Iowa City housing and cost context or return to the city profile.