Spirit Lake, Iowa demographics

Spirit Lake, IA demographics: median age 40.4; 26.8% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Spirit Lake city, Iowa · Incorporated city · GEOID 1974415. The survey estimates a population of 5,518 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Spirit Lake is 40.4 years, with a 90% margin of error of 5.1 years. There are 2,716 households (±183). 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	40.4 ±5.1	38.6 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 5,518
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Under 18	1,077 ±176	19.5% ±3.2 pp	22.9%	22.0%
18–34	1,407 ±282	25.5% ±5.1 pp	22.5%	22.8%
35–64	1,817 ±284	32.9% ±5.1 pp	36.5%	38.0%
65 and older	1,217 ±208	22.1% ±3.8 pp	18.1%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 5,518
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Male	2,805 ±160	50.8% ±2.9 pp	50.2%	49.5%
Female	2,713 ±161	49.2% ±2.9 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: 5,518
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
White alone	5,035 ±124	91.2% ±2.2 pp	84.1%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	6 ±5 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	3.9%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	0 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	11 ±23 · low precision	0.2% ±0.4 pp · low precision	2.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.2%
Some other race alone	29 ±49 · low precision	0.5% ±0.9 pp · low precision	2.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	437 ±129	7.9% ±2.3 pp	6.6%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 5,518
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	5,316 ±99	96.3% ±1.8 pp	92.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	202 ±96	3.7% ±1.7 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: 2,716
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Married-couple family	1,155 ±105	42.5% ±2.6 pp	48.3%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	79 ±65 · low precision	2.9% ±2.4 pp · low precision	4.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	65 ±55 · low precision	2.4% ±2.0 pp · low precision	9.0%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	1,208 ±241	44.5% ±8.4 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	209 ±123 · low precision	7.7% ±4.5 pp · low precision	7.6%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 2,716
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Households with people under 18	702 ±95	25.8% ±3.0 pp	28.5%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	2,014 ±208	74.2% ±5.8 pp	71.5%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 2,716
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	1,208 ±241	44.5% ±8.4 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Two-person households	724 ±160	26.7% ±5.6 pp	36.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	380 ±123	14.0% ±4.4 pp	12.9%	15.3%
Four-person households	257 ±99	9.5% ±3.6 pp	11.4%	12.6%
Five-person households	117 ±67 · low precision	4.3% ±2.4 pp · low precision	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	30 ±48 · low precision	1.1% ±1.8 pp · low precision	1.9%	2.2%
Seven or more people	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.8 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: 5,518
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Native	5,429 ±59	98.4% ±1.0 pp	94.1%	85.9%
Foreign born	89 ±54 · low precision	1.6% ±1.0 pp · low precision	5.9%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 5,174
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
English only	5,054 ±126	97.7% ±1.6 pp	90.9%	77.7%
Spanish	98 ±71 · low precision	1.9% ±1.4 pp · low precision	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	18 ±21 · low precision	0.3% ±0.4 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	0 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±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	0 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±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	4 ±10 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	0 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 pp · low precision	1.0%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±0.3 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: 3,742
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	214 ±133 · low precision	5.7% ±3.6 pp · low precision	6.7%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	1,314 ±230	35.1% ±5.8 pp	30.0%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	828 ±221	22.1% ±5.8 pp	19.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	385 ±132	10.3% ±3.5 pp	12.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	728 ±151	19.5% ±3.9 pp	20.9%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	273 ±99	7.3% ±2.6 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: 5,431
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Same house	4,407 ±292	81.1% ±5.3 pp	87.1%	87.7%
Moved within same county	565 ±314 · low precision	10.4% ±5.8 pp · low precision	6.7%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	404 ±228 · low precision	7.4% ±4.2 pp · low precision	3.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	42 ±40 · low precision	0.8% ±0.7 pp · low precision	2.2%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	13 ±17 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 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

1.7% of Spirit Lake residents (±1.5 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 5.0% in Iowa and 8.4% nationally. 88.3% 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	Spirit Lake	Iowa	U.S.	Compared with Iowa
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	1.7% ±1.5 pp · low precision	5.0%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	88.3% ±5.2 pp	88.9%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	8.2% ±2.9 pp	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 Spirit Lake . 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 Spirit Lake housing and cost context or return to the city profile.