Cerro Gordo County, Iowa Demographics

Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.

Cerro Gordo County, IA Population Density Map and Area Scores

Area Score

Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.

  • B
    Health Around average
    Healthier than 80% of counties in Iowa
  • B
    Income Around average
  • D
    Education Well below average
    Better educated than 81% of counties in Iowa

Source: Map AI Methodology

Cerro Gordo County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Cerro Gordo County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Population 42,632 3,204,793 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 74.2 57.0 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) -0.19% 0.41% 0.59%
Median age 42.7 36.8 37.3
Households 19,538 1,308,457 130,235,071

Population in Cerro Gordo County declined by 2.9% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 42,632 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Cerro Gordo County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Cerro Gordo County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 21.6% of residents. That is 3.9 points above Iowa as a whole.

Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Iowa, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.

Male and female share

Women are 51.0% of the people living in Cerro Gordo County and men 49.0%.

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42,632

100% of everyone living in Cerro Gordo County

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Economy

Cerro Gordo County has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.

Metric Cerro Gordo County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $68,649 $75,133 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 4.57% 3.99% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 2.6% 3.6% 5.2%

The median household income in Cerro Gordo County is about 9% lower than in Iowa.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Cerro Gordo County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $57,820 $153,425 $248,835
Median rent $849 $971 $1,407
Homeownership rate 70.4% 71.7% 65.2%

The median home price in Cerro Gordo County is about 5.7 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $849 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Cerro Gordo County spend about 26 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 108 hours, about 4.5 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Cerro Gordo County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 13.0 17.0 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 26.0 33.9 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 108 141 187
Estimated yearly cost $3,354 $4,382 $5,790
Work from home 7.2% 11.3% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 3,354 4,993 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 755 606 1,355

Fastest commutes among counties in Iowa: Sioux County (10.1 min), Union County (10.4 min), Cass County (10.6 min).
Slowest: Monroe County (30.4 min), Madison County (30.1 min), Mills County (26.7 min).

The average commute time in Cerro Gordo County is 13 minutes, shorter than the 17 minutes in Iowa.

Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.

Commute and transport details →

Education & Households

Cerro Gordo County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.

Metric Cerro Gordo County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 22.0% 27.9% 31.6%
Average household size 2.12 2.37 2.53

Highest education index among counties in Iowa: Johnson County (0.4), Dallas County (0.4), Story County (0.4).
Lowest: Crawford County (0.2), Wayne County (0.2), Louisa County (0.2).

Health

Cerro Gordo County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.

Metric Cerro Gordo County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 80.4 79.2 78.3
Self-rated poor health 12.5% 13.6% 16.3%
Smokers 16.7% 17.6% 19.0%

Highest health index among counties in Iowa: Johnson County (0.8), Story County (0.8), Winneshiek County (0.8).
Lowest: Davis County (0.8), Wayne County (0.8), Appanoose County (0.8).

Full health data →

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Cerro Gordo County, Iowa.

What is the population of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa?

About 42,632 people live in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, in 19,538 households of 2.1 people on average. The median age is 42.7, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 5 years.

Is Cerro Gordo County, Iowa mostly urban or rural?

Averaged over its land area, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa has 74 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is close to the U.S. average of 86.

How affordable is housing in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa?

The median home costs 0.8 times the median household income ($57,820 against $68,649), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $849 a month takes about 15% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

Is unemployment high in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa?

Unemployment in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa is only 2.6%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.

How educated are people in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa?

22.0% of adults in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 5), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.

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