Data / Rankings / Foreign-born population share / Cities in Iowa

Cities in Iowa by foreign-born share of the population

Storm Lake, IA had the highest foreign-born share of the population of 41 cities in 2023, at 31.6%. Boone, IA had the lowest, at 0.3%. The median was 5.2% and the figure for Iowa was 5.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest31.6Storm Lake, IA
Lowest0.3Boone, IA
Median5.241 cities
Iowa5.7History

All cities, 2023

Storm Lake, IA: 31.6 %Storm Lake, IA31.6Marshalltown, IA: 19.1 %Marshalltown, IA19.1Coralville, IA: 15.7 %Coralville, IA15.7Clive, IA: 14.6 %Clive, IA14.6Des Moines, IA: 14 %Des Moines, IA14Waukee, IA: 13 %Waukee, IA13Ottumwa, IA: 12.3 %Ottumwa, IA12.3Iowa City, IA: 12.2 %Iowa City, IA12.2Sioux City, IA: 11.7 %Sioux City, IA11.7West Des Moines, IA: 11.3 %West Des Moines, IA11.3Ames, IA: 10.9 %Ames, IA10.9Waterloo, IA: 9.5 %Waterloo, IA9.5Urbandale, IA: 9.5 %Urbandale, IA9.5Johnston, IA: 8.9 %Johnston, IA8.9North Liberty, IA: 8.5 %North Liberty, IA8.5Muscatine, IA: 8.2 %Muscatine, IA8.2Cedar Rapids, IA: 7.1 %Cedar Rapids, IA7.1Bettendorf, IA: 6.8 %Bettendorf, IA6.8Le Mars, IA: 6.7 %Le Mars, IA6.7Grimes, IA: 6.2 %Grimes, IA6.2Altoona, IA: 5.2 %Altoona, IA5.2Ankeny, IA: 5 %Ankeny, IA5Pleasant Hill, IA: 4.8 %Pleasant Hill, IA4.8Council Bluffs, IA: 4.7 %Council Bluffs, IA4.7Fort Dodge, IA: 4.6 %Fort Dodge, IA4.6Davenport, IA: 4.6 %Davenport, IA4.6Newton, IA: 4.5 %Newton, IA4.5Cedar Falls, IA: 4.1 %Cedar Falls, IA4.1Dubuque, IA: 4.1 %Dubuque, IA4.1Pella, IA: 3.4 %Pella, IA3.4Burlington, IA: 3.2 %Burlington, IA3.2Marion, IA: 3.1 %Marion, IA3.1Waverly, IA: 2.8 %Waverly, IA2.8Carroll, IA: 2.6 %Carroll, IA2.6Mason City, IA: 2.5 %Mason City, IA2.5Oskaloosa, IA: 2.4 %Oskaloosa, IA2.4Indianola, IA: 2.2 %Indianola, IA2.2Clinton, IA: 2 %Clinton, IA2Spencer, IA: 1.3 %Spencer, IA1.3Norwalk, IA: 0.7 %Norwalk, IA0.7Boone, IA: 0.3 %Boone, IA0.3Storm Lake, IA: 31.6 %Storm Lake, IA31.6Marshalltown, IA: 19.1 %Marshalltown, IA19.1Coralville, IA: 15.7 %Coralville, IA15.7Clive, IA: 14.6 %Clive, IA14.6Des Moines, IA: 14 %Des Moines, IA14Waukee, IA: 13 %Waukee, IA13Ottumwa, IA: 12.3 %Ottumwa, IA12.3Iowa City, IA: 12.2 %Iowa City, IA12.2Sioux City, IA: 11.7 %Sioux City, IA11.7West Des Moines, IA: 11.3 %West Des Moines, IA11.3Ames, IA: 10.9 %Ames, IA10.9Waterloo, IA: 9.5 %Waterloo, IA9.5Urbandale, IA: 9.5 %Urbandale, IA9.5Johnston, IA: 8.9 %Johnston, IA8.9North Liberty, IA: 8.5 %North Liberty, IA8.5Muscatine, IA: 8.2 %Muscatine, IA8.2Cedar Rapids, IA: 7.1 %Cedar Rapids, IA7.1Bettendorf, IA: 6.8 %Bettendorf, IA6.8Le Mars, IA: 6.7 %Le Mars, IA6.7Grimes, IA: 6.2 %Grimes, IA6.2Altoona, IA: 5.2 %Altoona, IA5.2Ankeny, IA: 5 %Ankeny, IA5Pleasant Hill, IA: 4.8 %Pleasant Hill, IA4.8Council Bluffs, IA: 4.7 %Council Bluffs, IA4.7Fort Dodge, IA: 4.6 %Fort Dodge, IA4.6Davenport, IA: 4.6 %Davenport, IA4.6Newton, IA: 4.5 %Newton, IA4.5Cedar Falls, IA: 4.1 %Cedar Falls, IA4.1Dubuque, IA: 4.1 %Dubuque, IA4.1Pella, IA: 3.4 %Pella, IA3.4Burlington, IA: 3.2 %Burlington, IA3.2Marion, IA: 3.1 %Marion, IA3.1Waverly, IA: 2.8 %Waverly, IA2.8Carroll, IA: 2.6 %Carroll, IA2.6Mason City, IA: 2.5 %Mason City, IA2.5Oskaloosa, IA: 2.4 %Oskaloosa, IA2.4Indianola, IA: 2.2 %Indianola, IA2.2Clinton, IA: 2 %Clinton, IA2Spencer, IA: 1.3 %Spencer, IA1.3Norwalk, IA: 0.7 %Norwalk, IA0.7Boone, IA: 0.3 %Boone, IA0.3
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Storm Lake, IA31.6-0.4 pts
2Marshalltown, IA19.1+0.4 pts
3Coralville, IA15.7+0.4 pts
4Clive, IA14.6+1.5 pts
5Des Moines, IA14+0.3 pts
6Waukee, IA13+1.7 pts
7Ottumwa, IA12.3+1.1 pts
8Iowa City, IA12.2-1.5 pts
9Sioux City, IA11.7+0.4 pts
10West Des Moines, IA11.3+0.5 pts
11Ames, IA10.9-1 pts
12Waterloo, IA9.5+0.3 pts
13Urbandale, IA9.5+0.2 pts
14Johnston, IA8.9+0.3 pts
15North Liberty, IA8.5+0.1 pts
16Muscatine, IA8.2+1 pts
17Cedar Rapids, IA7.1+0.3 pts
18Bettendorf, IA6.8+0.5 pts
19Le Mars, IA6.7-0 pts
20Grimes, IA6.2+0.5 pts
21Altoona, IA5.2+0.6 pts
22Ankeny, IA50 pts
23Pleasant Hill, IA4.8+0.4 pts
24Council Bluffs, IA4.7-0.3 pts
25Fort Dodge, IA4.6+1.1 pts
26Davenport, IA4.6-0.1 pts
27Newton, IA4.5+0.3 pts
28Cedar Falls, IA4.1-0.8 pts
28Dubuque, IA4.1+0.1 pts
30Pella, IA3.4+0.2 pts
31Burlington, IA3.2+0.5 pts
32Marion, IA3.1+0.1 pts
33Waverly, IA2.8-1.3 pts
34Carroll, IA2.6-0.6 pts
35Mason City, IA2.5+0.1 pts
36Oskaloosa, IA2.4+0.1 pts
37Indianola, IA2.2-0.1 pts
38Clinton, IA2-0.1 pts
39Spencer, IA1.3+0.2 pts
40Norwalk, IA0.70 pts
41Boone, IA0.3-0.2 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People born outside the country where they live, as a percentage of the total population.

More on how it is measured
  • United States: people who were not US citizens at birth, including naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, temporary migrants and unauthorized immigrants; American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.
  • EU countries: residents on 1 January whose country of birth is not the reporting country (Eurostat).
  • England and Wales: usual residents born outside the United Kingdom, Census 2021.

Based on place of birth, not nationality: a naturalized citizen counts as foreign born. In the United States people born in Puerto Rico, the US island areas or abroad to American parents count as native; in the EU everyone born outside the reporting country counts as foreign born, including people born in another EU country or abroad to national parents. Not comparable with foreign_population_share, which counts foreign nationals in Spain and the EU.

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 B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b05002.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 B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in Iowa by foreign-born share of the population, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b05002.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by foreign-born share of the population, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b05002.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population/iowa-cities?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in Iowa by foreign-born share of the population, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b05002.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population/iowa-cities?period=2023.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by foreign-born share of the population, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b05002.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population/iowa-cities?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_iowa_by_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by foreign-born share of the population, 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b05002.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population/iowa-cities?period=2023. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b05002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by foreign-born share of the population, 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b05002.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population/iowa-cities?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population/iowa-cities?period=2023.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b05002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in Iowa by foreign-born share of the population using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest foreign-born share of the population?

Storm Lake, IA, with 31.6% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest foreign-born share of the population?

Boone, IA, with 0.3% in 2023.

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 B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Foreign-born population share: other rankings

Cities in Iowa: more rankings