Data / Rankings / Households / Cities in Iowa

Cities in Iowa by households

Des Moines, IA had the highest households of 41 cities in 2021, at 86,992. Waverly, IA had the lowest, at 3,689. The median was 10,098 and the figure for Iowa was 1.28 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest86,992Des Moines, IA
Lowest3,689Waverly, IA
Median10,09841 cities
Iowa1,275,893History

All cities, 2021

Des Moines, IA: 86,992 countDes Moines, IA86,992Cedar Rapids, IA: 57,637 countCedar Rapids, IA57,637Davenport, IA: 41,882 countDavenport, IA41,882Sioux City, IA: 32,051 countSioux City, IA32,051West Des Moines, IA: 30,775 countWest Des Moines, IA30,775Iowa City, IA: 30,380 countIowa City, IA30,380Waterloo, IA: 28,912 countWaterloo, IA28,912Ankeny, IA: 25,591 countAnkeny, IA25,591Council Bluffs, IA: 25,282 countCouncil Bluffs, IA25,282Dubuque, IA: 24,850 countDubuque, IA24,850Ames, IA: 24,633 countAmes, IA24,633Urbandale, IA: 16,829 countUrbandale, IA16,829Marion, IA: 16,638 countMarion, IA16,638Bettendorf, IA: 15,311 countBettendorf, IA15,311Cedar Falls, IA: 15,254 countCedar Falls, IA15,254Mason City, IA: 12,744 countMason City, IA12,744Burlington, IA: 10,936 countBurlington, IA10,936Fort Dodge, IA: 10,437 countFort Dodge, IA10,437Clinton, IA: 10,356 countClinton, IA10,356Ottumwa, IA: 10,279 countOttumwa, IA10,279Marshalltown, IA: 10,098 countMarshalltown, IA10,098Waukee, IA: 9,289 countWaukee, IA9,289Coralville, IA: 9,259 countCoralville, IA9,259Johnston, IA: 9,256 countJohnston, IA9,256Muscatine, IA: 9,210 countMuscatine, IA9,210North Liberty, IA: 7,276 countNorth Liberty, IA7,276Altoona, IA: 7,159 countAltoona, IA7,159Clive, IA: 6,959 countClive, IA6,959Newton, IA: 6,337 countNewton, IA6,337Indianola, IA: 5,878 countIndianola, IA5,878Grimes, IA: 5,736 countGrimes, IA5,736Spencer, IA: 5,027 countSpencer, IA5,027Boone, IA: 4,995 countBoone, IA4,995Norwalk, IA: 4,818 countNorwalk, IA4,818Oskaloosa, IA: 4,648 countOskaloosa, IA4,648Carroll, IA: 4,562 countCarroll, IA4,562Le Mars, IA: 4,231 countLe Mars, IA4,231Storm Lake, IA: 3,884 countStorm Lake, IA3,884Pella, IA: 3,833 countPella, IA3,833Pleasant Hill, IA: 3,766 countPleasant Hill, IA3,766Waverly, IA: 3,689 countWaverly, IA3,689Des Moines, IA: 86,992 countDes Moines, IA86,992Cedar Rapids, IA: 57,637 countCedar Rapids, IA57,637Davenport, IA: 41,882 countDavenport, IA41,882Sioux City, IA: 32,051 countSioux City, IA32,051West Des Moines, IA: 30,775 countWest Des Moines, IA30,775Iowa City, IA: 30,380 countIowa City, IA30,380Waterloo, IA: 28,912 countWaterloo, IA28,912Ankeny, IA: 25,591 countAnkeny, IA25,591Council Bluffs, IA: 25,282 countCouncil Bluffs, IA25,282Dubuque, IA: 24,850 countDubuque, IA24,850Ames, IA: 24,633 countAmes, IA24,633Urbandale, IA: 16,829 countUrbandale, IA16,829Marion, IA: 16,638 countMarion, IA16,638Bettendorf, IA: 15,311 countBettendorf, IA15,311Cedar Falls, IA: 15,254 countCedar Falls, IA15,254Mason City, IA: 12,744 countMason City, IA12,744Burlington, IA: 10,936 countBurlington, IA10,936Fort Dodge, IA: 10,437 countFort Dodge, IA10,437Clinton, IA: 10,356 countClinton, IA10,356Ottumwa, IA: 10,279 countOttumwa, IA10,279Marshalltown, IA: 10,098 countMarshalltown, IA10,098Waukee, IA: 9,289 countWaukee, IA9,289Coralville, IA: 9,259 countCoralville, IA9,259Johnston, IA: 9,256 countJohnston, IA9,256Muscatine, IA: 9,210 countMuscatine, IA9,210North Liberty, IA: 7,276 countNorth Liberty, IA7,276Altoona, IA: 7,159 countAltoona, IA7,159Clive, IA: 6,959 countClive, IA6,959Newton, IA: 6,337 countNewton, IA6,337Indianola, IA: 5,878 countIndianola, IA5,878Grimes, IA: 5,736 countGrimes, IA5,736Spencer, IA: 5,027 countSpencer, IA5,027Boone, IA: 4,995 countBoone, IA4,995Norwalk, IA: 4,818 countNorwalk, IA4,818Oskaloosa, IA: 4,648 countOskaloosa, IA4,648Carroll, IA: 4,562 countCarroll, IA4,562Le Mars, IA: 4,231 countLe Mars, IA4,231Storm Lake, IA: 3,884 countStorm Lake, IA3,884Pella, IA: 3,833 countPella, IA3,833Pleasant Hill, IA: 3,766 countPleasant Hill, IA3,766Waverly, IA: 3,689 countWaverly, IA3,689
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
count
1Des Moines, IA86,992
2Cedar Rapids, IA57,637
3Davenport, IA41,882
4Sioux City, IA32,051
5West Des Moines, IA30,775
6Iowa City, IA30,380
7Waterloo, IA28,912
8Ankeny, IA25,591
9Council Bluffs, IA25,282
10Dubuque, IA24,850
11Ames, IA24,633
12Urbandale, IA16,829
13Marion, IA16,638
14Bettendorf, IA15,311
15Cedar Falls, IA15,254
16Mason City, IA12,744
17Burlington, IA10,936
18Fort Dodge, IA10,437
19Clinton, IA10,356
20Ottumwa, IA10,279
21Marshalltown, IA10,098
22Waukee, IA9,289
23Coralville, IA9,259
24Johnston, IA9,256
25Muscatine, IA9,210
26North Liberty, IA7,276
27Altoona, IA7,159
28Clive, IA6,959
29Newton, IA6,337
30Indianola, IA5,878
31Grimes, IA5,736
32Spencer, IA5,027
33Boone, IA4,995
34Norwalk, IA4,818
35Oskaloosa, IA4,648
36Carroll, IA4,562
37Le Mars, IA4,231
38Storm Lake, IA3,884
39Pella, IA3,833
40Pleasant Hill, IA3,766
41Waverly, IA3,689

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of households, which equals the number of occupied housing units. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

People living in group quarters, such as college dormitories, nursing homes and prisons, are not in households.

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 B25003: occupied housing units (households), 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-b25003.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 B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in Iowa by households, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by households, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/iowa-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in Iowa by households, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/iowa-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by households, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/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 B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by households, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/iowa-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), 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-b25003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by households, 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-b25003.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/iowa-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/iowa-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), 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-b25003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest households?

Des Moines, IA, with 86,992 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest households?

Waverly, IA, with 3,689 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 B25003: occupied housing units (households), US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Households: other rankings

Cities in Iowa: more rankings