County profile

Carroll County

Iowa · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
20,594
Median household income
$72,930
People below poverty
7.9%
Median home value
$176,000

Income

The median income of households in Carroll County, Iowa was $72,930. An estimated 3.2% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 7.7% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 3.2
$10,000 to $14,999 3.8
$15,000 to $24,999 6.7
$25,000 to $34,999 7.1
$35,000 to $49,999 13.2
$50,000 to $74,999 18.8
$75,000 to $99,999 12.4
$100,000 to $149,999 21
$150,000 to $199,999 6
$200,000 or more 7.7

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 60873
Female 46818

An estimated 76.1% of households received earnings. An estimated 31.3% of households received Social Security and an estimated 22.7 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $23,248. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 76.1
Social Security 31.3
Retirement income 22.7
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 5.1
Cash public assistance income 1.2

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 7.9 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 5.5% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 8.2% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 9% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 7.9
Children under 18 years below poverty 5.5
People 65 years old and over below poverty 8.2
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 9

In 2020-2024, 5.9 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 23.4% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 45.4% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 12.5% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024, 97.2% had health insurance coverage and 2.8% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 71% and public coverage was 41.7%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 0.9%.


In 2020-2024, Carroll County, Iowa had a total population of 20,594 - 10,295 (50%) females and 10,299 (50%) males. The median age was 41.1 years. An estimated 24.4% of the population was under 18 years, 27.9% was 19 to 44 years, 24.5% was 45 to 64 years, and 21.2 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 673 552
5 to 9 623 691
10 to 14 862 618
15 to 19 714 694
20 to 24 581 547
25 to 29 549 528
30 to 34 620 632
35 to 39 616 425
40 to 44 549 702
45 to 49 586 494
50 to 54 561 540
55 to 59 667 616
60 to 64 766 827
65 to 69 801 716
70 to 74 381 530
75 to 79 282 446
80 to 84 204 268
85 and over 264 469

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 92.9% were White; 0.7% were Black or African American; 6.1% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0.2% were Asian; 0.3% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 5.2% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 3.5% of the people in Carroll County, Iowa were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 91.9% of the people in Carroll County, Iowa were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 8,801 households in Carroll County, Iowa. The average household size was 2.28 people.

Married-couple households made up 46.6% of the households in Carroll County, Iowa while cohabiting couple households made up 6.9% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 26.4% of all households, while 20.1% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 16.4% of households were male householders living alone, and 20.6% were female householders living alone, for a total of 37% of all households.

In Carroll County, Iowa, 24.3% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 34.1% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 46.6
Cohabiting Couples 6.9
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
20.1
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
26.4

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 52.6% of males and 50% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 37.3 25.3
Now married, except separated 52.6 50
Separated 0.3 0.8
Widowed 3.5 13
Divorced 6.2 11.1

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Carroll County, Iowa, 139 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 53.2% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 98.4% of the people living in Carroll County, Iowa were U.S. natives. 81.2% of the Carroll County, Iowa population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 1.6% of Carroll County, Iowa residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 48% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 49.5 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Carroll County, Iowa come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Carroll County, Iowa.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 78
Asia 11.5
Europe 0.9
Africa 0.6
Northern America 9
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024, 2 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 1.6% of people at least five years old; 0.8% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 1.6
Other Indo-European languages 0.4
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0
Other languages 0

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 90.4 % of the people at least one year old living in Carroll County, Iowa were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 90.4
Different house, same county 6.1
Different county, same state 1.6
Different state 1.7
Abroad 0.1

Education

In 2020-2024, 95.2 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 24% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 4.8% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Carroll County, Iowa was 4,867 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 338 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 3,858. College or graduate school enrollment was 671.

Educational Attainment of People in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 4.8
High school diploma or equivalency 38.4
Some college, no degree 18.9
Associate's degree 13.9
Bachelor's degree 17.9
Graduate or professional degree 6.1

Disability

In Carroll County, Iowa, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 12.9 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 2.3% of people under 18 years old, to 13.6% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 24% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Carroll County, Iowa, 65 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 33.8% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 77.2% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 13.4% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 9.4 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 8,203 77.2
Federal, state, or local government workers 1,424 13.4
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 996 9.4

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Carroll County, Iowa worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 6.5
Construction 5.8
Manufacturing 14.9
Wholesale trade 4.5
Retail trade 11.3
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 7.3
Information 1.8
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 8.1
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 4.9
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 22.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 5.3
Other Services, except public administration 3.8
Public administration 3.1

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 3,547 33.4
Service occupations 1,608 15.1
Sales and office occupations 2,257 21.2
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 1,063 10
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 2,156 20.3

Commuting to Work

An estimated 81.6% of Carroll County, Iowa workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 8% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 15.7 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 81.6
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 8
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.6
Walked 1.9
Other means 0.6
Worked from home 7.3

In 2020-2024, Carroll County, Iowa had a total of 9,560 housing units. Of these housing units, 86% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 13.2% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 0.9% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 86
Apartments in multi-unit structures 13.2
Mobile homes 0.9
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

4.3% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 29.7% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Carroll County, Iowa was 6.6 rooms, and of these housing units 70.7% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Carroll County, Iowa had 8,801 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 759 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 77.1% while renters occupied 22.9%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.42 and in renter-occupied houses it was 1.82.

2% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 15.4% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 4.9% and another 22% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Carroll County, Iowa:

House Heating Fuel Used in Carroll County, Iowa in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 74
Electricity 23.6
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0.8
All other fuels 0.7
No fuel used 0.9

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Carroll County, Iowa was $176,000.

Of the owner-occupied households, 51.2 % had a mortgage. 48.8% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,210 and for owners without a mortgage it was $542.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Carroll County, Iowa was $731. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.