Sheldon, Iowa demographics

Sheldon, IA demographics: median age 37.6; 20.8% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Sheldon city, Iowa · Incorporated city · GEOID 1972390. The survey estimates a population of 5,474 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Sheldon is 37.6 years, with a 90% margin of error of 2.0 years. There are 2,195 households (±176). 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	37.6 ±2.0	38.6 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 5,474
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Under 18	1,263 ±232	23.1% ±4.2 pp	22.9%	22.0%
18–34	1,333 ±233	24.4% ±4.2 pp	22.5%	22.8%
35–64	1,941 ±313	35.5% ±5.7 pp	36.5%	38.0%
65 and older	937 ±207	17.1% ±3.8 pp	18.1%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 5,474
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Male	2,638 ±168	48.2% ±2.9 pp	50.2%	49.5%
Female	2,836 ±162	51.8% ±2.8 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: 5,474
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
White alone	4,189 ±215	76.5% ±3.7 pp	84.1%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	143 ±115 · low precision	2.6% ±2.1 pp · low precision	3.9%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	39 ±52 · low precision	0.7% ±0.9 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	73 ±41 · low precision	1.3% ±0.7 pp · low precision	2.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	22 ±10	0.4% ±0.2 pp	0.2%	0.2%
Some other race alone	416 ±120	7.6% ±2.2 pp	2.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	592 ±227	10.8% ±4.1 pp	6.6%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 5,474
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	4,536 ±146	82.9% ±2.2 pp	92.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	938 ±103	17.1% ±1.9 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: 2,195
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Married-couple family	1,242 ±191	56.6% ±7.4 pp	48.3%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	52 ±54 · low precision	2.4% ±2.5 pp · low precision	4.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	109 ±73 · low precision	5.0% ±3.3 pp · low precision	9.0%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	647 ±195	29.5% ±8.6 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	145 ±96 · low precision	6.6% ±4.3 pp · low precision	7.6%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 2,195
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Households with people under 18	581 ±153	26.5% ±6.6 pp	28.5%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	1,614 ±266	73.5% ±10.6 pp	71.5%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 2,195
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	647 ±195	29.5% ±8.6 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Two-person households	914 ±205	41.6% ±8.7 pp	36.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	168 ±100 · low precision	7.7% ±4.5 pp · low precision	12.9%	15.3%
Four-person households	334 ±124	15.2% ±5.5 pp	11.4%	12.6%
Five-person households	132 ±74 · low precision	6.0% ±3.3 pp · low precision	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±1.0 pp · low precision	1.9%	2.2%
Seven or more people	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±1.0 pp · low precision	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: 5,474
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Native	4,952 ±186	90.5% ±3.0 pp	94.1%	85.9%
Foreign born	522 ±154	9.5% ±2.8 pp	5.9%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 5,059
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
English only	4,274 ±305	84.5% ±5.4 pp	90.9%	77.7%
Spanish	634 ±224	12.5% ±4.4 pp	4.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	0 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	0 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	0 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	7 ±15 · low precision	0.1% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.6%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	11 ±16 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	1.1%
Vietnamese	0 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	0 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	23 ±39 · low precision	0.5% ±0.8 pp · low precision	1.0%	1.1%
Arabic	110 ±89 · low precision	2.2% ±1.8 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	0 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	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: 3,743
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	556 ±256	14.9% ±6.8 pp	6.7%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	1,301 ±299	34.8% ±7.7 pp	30.0%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	489 ±166	13.1% ±4.4 pp	19.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	619 ±170	16.5% ±4.4 pp	12.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	587 ±177	15.7% ±4.6 pp	20.9%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	191 ±107 · low precision	5.1% ±2.8 pp · low precision	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: 5,450
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Same house	4,247 ±435	77.9% ±7.8 pp	87.1%	87.7%
Moved within same county	464 ±344 · low precision	8.5% ±6.3 pp · low precision	6.7%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	443 ±243 · low precision	8.1% ±4.5 pp · low precision	3.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	259 ±138 · low precision	4.8% ±2.5 pp · low precision	2.2%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	37 ±41 · low precision	0.7% ±0.8 pp · low precision	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

3.0% of Sheldon residents (±2.1 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 5.0% in Iowa and 8.4% nationally. 95.3% 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	Sheldon	Iowa	U.S.	Compared with Iowa
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	3.0% ±2.1 pp · low precision	5.0%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	95.3% ±3.1 pp	88.9%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	4.3% ±2.3 pp · low precision	6.5%	6.2%	Not statistically different

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 Sheldon . 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 Sheldon housing and cost context or return to the city profile.