Cities in Iowa by average household size

North Liberty, IA had the highest average household size of 41 cities in 2021, at 2.8 persons per household. Mason City, IA had the lowest, at 2.1 persons per household. The median was 2.4 persons per household and the figure for Iowa was 2.4 persons per household. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest2.8North Liberty, IA

Lowest2.1Mason City, IA

Median2.441 cities

Iowa2.4History

All cities, 2021

persons per household. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25010: average household size of occupied housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2021 persons per household
1	North Liberty, IA	2.8
2	Altoona, IA	2.7
3	Pleasant Hill, IA	2.7
4	Storm Lake, IA	2.7
4	Urbandale, IA	2.7
6	Clive, IA	2.6
7	Marshalltown, IA	2.6
8	Grimes, IA	2.6
8	Norwalk, IA	2.6
10	Ankeny, IA	2.6
10	Sioux City, IA	2.6
12	Muscatine, IA	2.5
13	Waukee, IA	2.5
14	Bettendorf, IA	2.5
15	Johnston, IA	2.5
16	Boone, IA	2.5
17	Marion, IA	2.5
18	Cedar Falls, IA	2.4
18	Le Mars, IA	2.4
20	Newton, IA	2.4
21	Council Bluffs, IA	2.4
21	Des Moines, IA	2.4
21	Indianola, IA	2.4
21	Ottumwa, IA	2.4
21	Waverly, IA	2.4
26	Davenport, IA	2.4
26	Oskaloosa, IA	2.4
26	Pella, IA	2.4
29	Clinton, IA	2.3
30	Cedar Rapids, IA	2.3
30	Waterloo, IA	2.3
32	Coralville, IA	2.3
33	Iowa City, IA	2.3
34	Dubuque, IA	2.2
35	Ames, IA	2.2
36	Carroll, IA	2.2
36	Spencer, IA	2.2
36	West Des Moines, IA	2.2
39	Burlington, IA	2.2
40	Fort Dodge, IA	2.1
41	Mason City, IA	2.1

Other periods

2024
2023
2022
2021

About this ranking

Average number of persons per private household. EU countries: EU-SILC. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate of people in households divided by occupied housing units, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Covers private households only; people living in institutions or other group quarters are excluded. EU-SILC figures refer to the survey year. The EU and US surveys differ, so their figures are not strictly comparable.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25010: average household size of occupied housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25010.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25010: average household size of occupied housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in Iowa by average household size, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25010.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25010: average household size of occupied housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by average household size, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25010.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-household-size/iowa-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25010: average household size of occupied housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in Iowa by average household size, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25010.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-household-size/iowa-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25010: average household size of occupied housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by average household size, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25010.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-household-size/iowa-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_iowa_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25010: average household size of occupied housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by average household size, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25010.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-household-size/iowa-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25010: average household size of occupied housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25010.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25010: average household size of occupied housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by average household size, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25010.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-household-size/iowa-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-household-size/iowa-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25010: average household size of occupied housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25010.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which city has the highest average household size?

North Liberty, IA, with 2.8 persons per household in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest average household size?

Mason City, IA, with 2.1 persons per household in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25010: average household size of occupied housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.