The 10 Iowa Cities With The Largest Native American Population For 2023


We used data and science to determine the cities in Iowa with the largest Native American population.

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Editor’s Note: We updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the cities in Iowa with the largest Native American population.

There are three major races in America that come to most of our minds right away:

  1. White
  2. Hispanic
  3. African American

But those are only the major races, there's a whole bunch of other races people are interested in knowing about.

And today, we are going to look at the percent of the population in Iowa that are Native American.

Native Americans are not a major portion of the current American Population, but they are still very important.

There are now over 2 million people who identify as Native American living in America, making up .65% of the total population. According to the most recent American Community Survey, the Native American population in Iowa is 7,337 - at 0.2% of the total population of Iowa.

So, what how does the Native American population stratify across Iowa? Which cities and towns in Iowa have seen the greatest increase in their Native American population?

The 10 Cities In Iowa With The Largest Native American Population For 2023

  1. Sioux City
  2. Clarinda
  3. Waverly
  4. Red Oak
  5. Mount Pleasant
  6. Anamosa
  7. Mason City
  8. Marshalltown
  9. Council Bluffs
  10. Le Mars

Which city in Iowa had the largest Native American population?

Sioux City took the number one over all spot for the largest Native American population in Iowa for 2023. 1.81% of Sioux City identify as Native American.

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 Native American, check out the best places to live in Iowa or the most diverse places in Iowa.

For more Iowa reading, check out:

Cities In Iowa With The Largest Native American Population For 2023

Sioux City, IA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 85,081
% Native American: 1.81%
# Of Native American Residents: 1,543
Percent Change Since 2010: 5.76%
More on Sioux City: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Clarinda, IA

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,498
% Native American: 0.73%
# Of Native American Residents: 40
Percent Change Since 2010: -44.44%
More on Clarinda: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Waverly, IA

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 10,278
% Native American: 0.6%
# Of Native American Residents: 62
Percent Change Since 2010: 148.0%
More on Waverly: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Red Oak, IA

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,576
% Native American: 0.56%
# Of Native American Residents: 31
Percent Change Since 2010: inf%
More on Red Oak: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Mount Pleasant, IA

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 8,996
% Native American: 0.44%
# Of Native American Residents: 40
Percent Change Since 2010: 3900.0%
More on Mount Pleasant: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Anamosa, IA

Source: Wikipedia
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,332
% Native American: 0.39%
# Of Native American Residents: 21
Percent Change Since 2010: -51.16%
More on Anamosa: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Mason City, IA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 27,385
% Native American: 0.37%
# Of Native American Residents: 101
Percent Change Since 2010: 10.99%
More on Mason City: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Marshalltown, IA

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 27,570
% Native American: 0.29%
# Of Native American Residents: 80
Percent Change Since 2010: -43.26%
More on Marshalltown: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Council Bluffs, IA

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 62,617
% Native American: 0.28%
# Of Native American Residents: 178
Percent Change Since 2010: 14.84%
More on Council Bluffs: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Le Mars, IA

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 10,462
% Native American: 0.28%
# Of Native American Residents: 29
Percent Change Since 2010: 222.22%
More on Le Mars: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Iowa With The Largest Native American 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*
* Not Hispanic or latino

Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified 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 percent of residents that are American Indian and Alaska Native. The percentages ranked from 1.81% to 0.0%.

Finally, we ranked each city based on the percent of 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 Algona was the least Native American city.

Read on for more information on how the cities in Iowa ranked by population of American Indian and Alaska Native residents or, for a more general take on diversity in America, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.

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.

If you're curious enough, here are the least Native American places in Iowa:

  1. Algona
  2. North Liberty
  3. Nevada

For more Iowa reading, check out:

What Are The Most Native American Places In Iowa?

Rank City % Native American Population
1 Sioux City 1.81% 85,081
2 Clarinda 0.73% 5,498
3 Waverly 0.6% 10,278
4 Red Oak 0.56% 5,576
5 Mount Pleasant 0.44% 8,996
6 Anamosa 0.39% 5,332
7 Mason City 0.37% 27,385
8 Marshalltown 0.29% 27,570
9 Council Bluffs 0.28% 62,617
10 Le Mars 0.28% 10,462
11 Coralville 0.27% 22,226
12 Fort Dodge 0.27% 24,826
13 Dubuque 0.23% 59,379
14 Estherville 0.22% 5,904
15 Davenport 0.22% 101,725
16 Spencer 0.21% 11,292
17 Winterset 0.21% 5,309
18 Waterloo 0.2% 67,695
19 Atlantic 0.19% 6,795
20 Clinton 0.18% 24,651
21 Des Moines 0.18% 213,545
22 Urbandale 0.17% 45,037
23 Sheldon 0.16% 5,475
24 Newton 0.16% 15,688
25 Burlington 0.16% 24,160
26 Muscatine 0.16% 23,759
27 Pella 0.15% 10,414
28 Cedar Rapids 0.15% 136,512
29 Independence 0.15% 6,088
30 Pleasant Hill 0.15% 10,203
31 Indianola 0.14% 15,544
32 Oskaloosa 0.13% 11,552
33 Iowa City 0.12% 74,240
34 Ames 0.12% 65,522
35 Clive 0.11% 18,323
36 Cedar Falls 0.1% 40,500
37 Oelwein 0.1% 5,961
38 Ankeny 0.1% 66,346
39 Johnston 0.09% 23,418
40 Fort Madison 0.08% 10,340
41 Storm Lake 0.06% 11,166
42 Sioux Center 0.06% 8,090
43 Grimes 0.06% 14,842
44 West Des Moines 0.06% 67,640
45 Bettendorf 0.05% 38,631
46 Perry 0.05% 7,836
47 Clear Lake 0.03% 7,673
48 Maquoketa 0.02% 6,123
49 Carroll 0.0% 10,261
50 Boone 0.0% 12,509
51 Centerville 0.0% 5,353
52 Charles City 0.0% 7,399
53 Washington 0.0% 7,314
54 Waukee 0.0% 23,441
55 Cherokee 0.0% 5,141
56 Webster City 0.0% 7,825
57 Ottumwa 0.0% 25,379
58 Norwalk 0.0% 12,592
59 Orange City 0.0% 6,214
60 Grinnell 0.0% 9,481
61 Hiawatha 0.0% 7,184
62 Glenwood 0.0% 5,224
63 Altoona 0.0% 19,345
64 Iowa Falls 0.0% 5,154
65 Keokuk 0.0% 9,977
66 Knoxville 0.0% 7,537
67 Fairfield 0.0% 9,653
68 Manchester 0.0% 5,077
69 Marion 0.0% 41,023
70 Eldridge 0.0% 6,634
71 Denison 0.0% 8,323
72 Decorah 0.0% 7,767
73 Creston 0.0% 7,594
74 Nevada 0.0% 7,017
75 North Liberty 0.0% 19,976
76 Algona 0.0% 5,407

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About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

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