Most Native American places in Iowa research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to research the Iowa cities with the highest percentage of Native American residents for 2025. The data comes from the American Community Survey 2019-2023 vintage, which breaks down race by origin.
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The city with the highest percentage of Native Americans is Sioux City. 1.48% of people in Sioux City are Native Americans.
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The city with the lowest percentage of Native Americans is Winterset. 0.00% of people in Winterset are Native American.
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The city with the most Native Americans is Sioux City. 1,269 people in Sioux City are Native American.
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The city with the fewest Native Americans is Winterset. 0 people in Winterset are Native American.
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The United States has 1,751,338 Native Americans and is 0.53% Native American.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Cities In Iowa With The Largest Native American Population For 2025
Which city in Iowa had the largest Native American population? The place with the largest Native American population in Iowa for 2025 is Sioux City. 1.48 of Sioux City identify as Native American.
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 Native American, check out the best places to live in Iowa or the most diverse places in Iowa.
Read below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked.
Cities In Iowa With The Largest Native American Population For 2025
/10
Population: 85,651
# Of Native American Residents: 1,269
% Native American: 1.48%
More on Sioux City: Data
/10
Population: 5,878
# Of Native American Residents: 56
% Native American: 0.95%
More on Oelwein: Data
/10
Population: 11,393
# Of Native American Residents: 63
% Native American: 0.55%
More on Spencer: Data
/10
Population: 5,542
# Of Native American Residents: 29
% Native American: 0.52%
More on Red Oak: Data
/10
Population: 5,366
# Of Native American Residents: 27
% Native American: 0.5%
More on Clarinda: Data
/10
Population: 5,553
# Of Native American Residents: 20
% Native American: 0.36%
More on Anamosa: Data
/10
Population: 5,386
# Of Native American Residents: 18
% Native American: 0.33%
More on Sheldon: Data
/10
Population: 9,093
# Of Native American Residents: 27
% Native American: 0.3%
More on Mount Pleasant: Data
/10
Population: 6,312
# Of Native American Residents: 18
% Native American: 0.29%
More on Orange City: Data
/10
Population: 27,491
# Of Native American Residents: 72
% Native American: 0.26%
More on Marshalltown: Data
Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Iowa With The Largest Native American Population For 2025
We still believe in the accuracy of data — especially from the Census. So that’s where we went to get the race breakdown across Iowa.
We used Saturday Night Science to analyze the Census’s most recently available data, the 2019-2023 American Community Survey data.
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 identifying as American Indian and Alaska Native alone.
We limited our analysis to places with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 76 cities.
We then calculated the percentage of residents that are American Indian and Alaska Native. The percentages ranked from 1.48 to 0.00.
Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage of the American Indian and Alaska Native population, with a higher score being more American Indian and Alaska Native than a lower score. Sioux City took the distinction of being the most American Indian and Alaska Native, while Winterset was the least Native American city.
We updated this article for 2025. This article is our tenth time ranking the cities in Iowa with the largest Native American population.
Summary: Native American Populations Across Iowa
If you’re looking for a breakdown of Native American populations across Iowa according to the most recent data, this is an accurate list.
The most Native American cities in Iowa are Sioux City, Oelwein, Spencer, Red Oak, Clarinda, Anamosa, Sheldon, Mount Pleasant, Orange City, and Marshalltown.
If you’re curious enough, here are the least Native American places in Iowa:
- Winterset
- Independence
- Hiawatha
For more Iowa reading, check out:
Most Native American Places In Iowa
| Rank | City | Population | Native American Population | % Native American |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sioux City | 85,651 | 1,269 | 1.48% |
| 2 | Oelwein | 5,878 | 56 | 0.95% |
| 3 | Spencer | 11,393 | 63 | 0.55% |
| 4 | Red Oak | 5,542 | 29 | 0.52% |
| 5 | Clarinda | 5,366 | 27 | 0.5% |
| 6 | Anamosa | 5,553 | 20 | 0.36% |
| 7 | Sheldon | 5,386 | 18 | 0.33% |
| 8 | Mount Pleasant | 9,093 | 27 | 0.3% |
| 9 | Orange City | 6,312 | 18 | 0.29% |
| 10 | Marshalltown | 27,491 | 72 | 0.26% |
| 11 | Mason City | 27,135 | 67 | 0.25% |
| 12 | Atlantic | 6,773 | 15 | 0.22% |
| 13 | Fort Dodge | 24,788 | 51 | 0.21% |
| 14 | Estherville | 5,865 | 12 | 0.2% |
| 15 | Coralville | 22,846 | 43 | 0.19% |
| 16 | Davenport | 101,083 | 169 | 0.17% |
| 17 | Pella | 10,624 | 17 | 0.16% |
| 18 | Council Bluffs | 62,564 | 100 | 0.16% |
| 19 | Dubuque | 59,271 | 94 | 0.16% |
| 20 | Burlington | 23,800 | 35 | 0.15% |
| 21 | Waterloo | 66,947 | 95 | 0.14% |
| 22 | Ames | 66,112 | 88 | 0.13% |
| 23 | Centerville | 5,377 | 7 | 0.13% |
| 24 | Storm Lake | 11,275 | 14 | 0.12% |
| 25 | Muscatine | 23,567 | 28 | 0.12% |
| 26 | Des Moines | 212,464 | 243 | 0.11% |
| 27 | Cedar Rapids | 136,859 | 151 | 0.11% |
| 28 | Urbandale | 46,026 | 50 | 0.11% |
| 29 | Altoona | 20,592 | 22 | 0.11% |
| 30 | Clive | 18,776 | 19 | 0.1% |
| 31 | Nevada | 6,952 | 7 | 0.1% |
| 32 | Norwalk | 13,610 | 12 | 0.09% |
| 33 | Keokuk | 9,748 | 7 | 0.07% |
| 34 | Marion | 41,690 | 29 | 0.07% |
| 35 | Johnston | 24,196 | 16 | 0.07% |
| 36 | Iowa City | 75,264 | 49 | 0.07% |
| 37 | Bettendorf | 39,297 | 25 | 0.06% |
| 38 | Oskaloosa | 11,492 | 7 | 0.06% |
| 39 | Fairfield | 9,438 | 5 | 0.05% |
| 40 | Indianola | 15,918 | 8 | 0.05% |
| 41 | Sioux Center | 8,335 | 4 | 0.05% |
| 42 | Newton | 15,696 | 7 | 0.04% |
| 43 | Ankeny | 70,542 | 27 | 0.04% |
| 44 | Clinton | 24,425 | 9 | 0.04% |
| 45 | North Liberty | 20,782 | 6 | 0.03% |
| 46 | Knoxville | 7,493 | 2 | 0.03% |
| 47 | Cedar Falls | 40,662 | 10 | 0.02% |
| 48 | Pleasant Hill | 10,796 | 2 | 0.02% |
| 49 | Maquoketa | 6,105 | 1 | 0.02% |
| 50 | Ottumwa | 25,352 | 4 | 0.02% |
| 51 | West Des Moines | 69,893 | 10 | 0.01% |
| 52 | Le Mars | 10,597 | 1 | 0.01% |
| 53 | Perry | 7,928 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 54 | Waverly | 10,446 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 55 | Webster City | 7,769 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 56 | Washington | 7,314 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 57 | Waukee | 26,974 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 58 | Algona | 5,414 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 59 | Manchester | 5,144 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 60 | Iowa Falls | 5,062 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 61 | Boone | 12,445 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 62 | Carroll | 10,261 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 63 | Charles City | 7,321 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 64 | Cherokee | 5,157 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 65 | Clear Lake | 7,603 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 66 | Creston | 7,466 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 67 | Decorah | 7,597 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 68 | Denison | 8,247 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 69 | Eldridge | 6,743 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 70 | Fort Madison | 10,221 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 71 | Glenwood | 5,118 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 72 | Grimes | 15,810 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 73 | Grinnell | 9,527 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 74 | Hiawatha | 7,178 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 75 | Independence | 6,149 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 76 | Winterset | 5,384 | 0 | 0.0% |