Lee County, Iowa Demographics

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

Lee 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
    Less healthy than 92% of counties in Iowa
  • C
    Income Below average
    Less wealthy than 91% of counties in Iowa
  • D
    Education Well below average
    Less educated than 84% of counties in Iowa

Source: Map AI Methodology

Lee County
Click a county to open it Explore the map →
Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Lee County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Population 32,893 3,204,793 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 61.1 57.0 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) -0.83% 0.41% 0.59%
Median age 41.6 36.8 37.3
Households 14,323 1,308,457 130,235,071

Population in Lee County declined by 8.0% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 32,893 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Lee County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Lee County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 21.7% of residents. That is 2.8 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 50.0% of the people living in Lee County and men 50.0%.

How many residents match a customer profile?

Who to count

Residents matching this profile

32,893

100% of everyone living in Lee County

Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.

Economy

Lee County has a the economy index of C, which means it is somewhat prosperous.

Metric Lee County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $62,330 $75,133 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 4.30% 3.99% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 4.4% 3.6% 5.2%

The median household income in Lee County is about 17% lower than in Iowa.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Lee County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $171,484 $153,425 $248,835
Median rent $834 $971 $1,407
Homeownership rate 76.3% 71.7% 65.2%

The median home price in Lee County is about 17.1 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $834 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Lee County spend about 32 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 133 hours, about 5.5 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Lee County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 16.0 17.0 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 32.0 33.9 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 133 141 187
Estimated yearly cost $4,128 $4,382 $5,790
Work from home 6.1% 11.3% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 2,289 4,993 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 292 606 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 Lee County is 16 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

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

Metric Lee County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 19.0% 27.9% 31.6%
Average household size 2.21 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

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

Metric Lee County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 76.9 79.2 78.3
Self-rated poor health 15.1% 13.6% 16.3%
Smokers 20.3% 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 →

Lee County, IA Compared With Nearby Counties

How Lee County, IA compares with the 2 counties closest to it.

Area Population Median household income Median home price Commute
Lee County, IA 32,893 $62,330 #3/3 $171,484 #1/3 16.0 min #3/3
Henry County, IA 20,002 $67,907 $107,954 13.4 min
Des Moines County, IA 38,487 $63,600 $24,305 13.7 min

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Lee County, Iowa.

How big is Lee County, Iowa by population?

About 32,893 people live in Lee County, Iowa, in 14,323 households of 2.2 people on average. The median age is 41.6, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 4 years.

Is Lee County, Iowa mostly urban or rural?

Averaged over its land area, Lee County, Iowa has 61 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 Lee County, Iowa?

The median home costs 2.8 times the median household income ($171,484 against $62,330), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $834 a month takes about 16% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

How educated are people in Lee County, Iowa?

19.0% of adults in Lee County, Iowa hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 5), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.

Analyze any area in the US

Get local demographics for any address, aggregated by drive time or radius, on the interactive map.

Explore the map →