Article Table Of Contents
Across most of America, the African American and Hispanic communities comprise "most of the minority". We're not totally sure that's a term, but it's an accurate reflection of the state of race in America.
Asians are a "minority of the minority", generally. But not everywhere.
There are now over 17 million people who identify as Asian living in America, making up 5.6% of the total population. According to the most recent American Community Survey, the Asian population in Iowa is 78,532 - at 2.5% of the total population of Iowa.
And, unlike African Americans that fall under one group in the Census, Asian Americans have many sub-groups -- Chinese, Filipino, and Indian being the three largest sub-groups.
So, what how does the Asian population stratify across Iowa? Which cities and towns in Iowa have seen the greatest increase in their Asian population?
Here are the cities in Iowa with the largest Asian population in 2023:
Which city in Iowa had the largest Asian population? Storm Lake took the number one over all spot for the largest Asian in Iowa for 2023. 15.26% of Storm Lake identify as Asian.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked.
To see where Iowa ranked as a state on diversity, we have a ranking of the most diverse states in America.
And if you already knew these places were Asian, check out the best places to live in Iowa or the most diverse places in Iowa.
The 10 Most Asian Cities In Iowa For 2023
/10
Population: 11,166
% Asian: 15.26%
# Of Asian Residents: 1,704
Percent Change Since 2010: 143.78%
More on Storm Lake: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 65,522
% Asian: 10.51%
# Of Asian Residents: 6,888
Percent Change Since 2010: 37.29%
More on Ames: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 22,226
% Asian: 9.71%
# Of Asian Residents: 2,158
Percent Change Since 2010: 44.64%
More on Coralville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 9,653
% Asian: 8.48%
# Of Asian Residents: 819
Percent Change Since 2010: -18.75%
More on Fairfield: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 74,240
% Asian: 7.65%
# Of Asian Residents: 5,680
Percent Change Since 2010: 28.19%
More on Iowa City: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 213,545
% Asian: 7.09%
# Of Asian Residents: 15,142
Percent Change Since 2010: 74.17%
More on Des Moines: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 23,418
% Asian: 6.46%
# Of Asian Residents: 1,513
Percent Change Since 2010: 71.54%
More on Johnston: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 38,631
% Asian: 6.38%
# Of Asian Residents: 2,466
Percent Change Since 2010: 278.8%
More on Bettendorf: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 67,640
% Asian: 6.27%
# Of Asian Residents: 4,243
Percent Change Since 2010: 56.68%
More on West Des Moines: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 18,323
% Asian: 5.42%
# Of Asian Residents: 993
Percent Change Since 2010: 165.51%
More on Clive: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Iowa With The Largest Asian Population For 2023
We still believe in the accuracy of data -- especially from the census. So that's where we went to get the breakdown of race across Iowa.
That lead us to the Census's most recently available data, the 2017-2021 American Community Survey data from the US Census.
Specifically, we looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:
- Hispanic or Latino
- White alone*
- Black or African American alone*
- American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
- Asian alone*
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
- Some other race alone*
- Two or more races*
Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified as Asian alone.
We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 76 cities.
We then calculated the percent of residents that are Asian. The percentages ranked from 15.3% to 0.0%.
Finally, we ranked each city based on the percent of Asian population with a higher score being more Asian than a lower score. Storm Lake took the distinction of being the most Asian, while Winterset was the least Asian city. You can download the data here.
Read on for more information on how the cities in Iowa ranked by population of Asian residents or, for a more general take on diversity in America, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.
Summary: Asian Populations Across Iowa
If you're looking for a breakdown of Asian populations across Iowa according to the most recent data, this is an accurate list.
If you're curious enough, here are the least Asian places in Iowa:
- Winterset
- Independence
- Iowa Falls
For more Iowa reading, check out:
Table: Asian Population By City In Iowa
| Rank | City | % Asian |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Storm Lake | 15.26% |
| 2 | Ames | 10.51% |
| 3 | Coralville | 9.71% |
| 4 | Fairfield | 8.48% |
| 5 | Iowa City | 7.65% |
| 6 | Des Moines | 7.09% |
| 7 | Johnston | 6.46% |
| 8 | Bettendorf | 6.38% |
| 9 | West Des Moines | 6.27% |
| 10 | Clive | 5.42% |
| 11 | Webster City | 4.83% |
| 12 | Urbandale | 4.81% |
| 13 | Mount Pleasant | 4.8% |
| 14 | Waukee | 4.74% |
| 15 | Marshalltown | 4.67% |
| 16 | North Liberty | 4.41% |
| 17 | Cedar Falls | 4.36% |
| 18 | Denison | 4.31% |
| 19 | Grinnell | 4.1% |
| 20 | Clear Lake | 3.84% |
| 21 | Pleasant Hill | 3.61% |
| 22 | Hiawatha | 3.33% |
| 23 | Sioux City | 2.89% |
| 24 | Cedar Rapids | 2.71% |
| 25 | Waterloo | 2.52% |
| 26 | Ankeny | 2.48% |
| 27 | Charles City | 2.43% |
| 28 | Clarinda | 2.29% |
| 29 | Oskaloosa | 2.19% |
| 30 | Davenport | 2.16% |
| 31 | Anamosa | 2.16% |
| 32 | Pella | 2.03% |
| 33 | Waverly | 2.01% |
| 34 | Eldridge | 1.99% |
| 35 | Grimes | 1.98% |
| 36 | Fort Dodge | 1.94% |
| 37 | Marion | 1.77% |
| 38 | Ottumwa | 1.66% |
| 39 | Decorah | 1.64% |
| 40 | Indianola | 1.54% |
| 41 | Dubuque | 1.53% |
| 42 | Burlington | 1.31% |
| 43 | Sheldon | 1.13% |
| 44 | Sioux Center | 1.12% |
| 45 | Creston | 1.09% |
| 46 | Washington | 1.04% |
| 47 | Keokuk | 1.0% |
| 48 | Cherokee | 0.93% |
| 49 | Council Bluffs | 0.91% |
| 50 | Knoxville | 0.88% |
| 51 | Mason City | 0.78% |
| 52 | Spencer | 0.72% |
| 53 | Atlantic | 0.6% |
| 54 | Clinton | 0.6% |
| 55 | Altoona | 0.57% |
| 56 | Carroll | 0.56% |
| 57 | Norwalk | 0.53% |
| 58 | Muscatine | 0.51% |
| 59 | Algona | 0.5% |
| 60 | Le Mars | 0.47% |
| 61 | Red Oak | 0.41% |
| 62 | Perry | 0.23% |
| 63 | Newton | 0.12% |
| 64 | Orange City | 0.1% |
| 65 | Centerville | 0.09% |
| 66 | Estherville | 0.07% |
| 67 | Fort Madison | 0.04% |
| 68 | Glenwood | 0.04% |
| 69 | Boone | 0.01% |
| 70 | Nevada | 0.0% |
| 71 | Maquoketa | 0.0% |
| 72 | Manchester | 0.0% |
| 73 | Oelwein | 0.0% |
| 74 | Iowa Falls | 0.0% |
| 75 | Independence | 0.0% |
| 76 | Winterset | 0.0% |
