Wapello County, Iowa Demographics

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

Wapello 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 95% of counties in Iowa
  • C
    Income Below average
    Less wealthy than 93% of counties in Iowa
  • D
    Education Well below average

Source: Map AI Methodology

Wapello County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Wapello County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Population 35,362 3,204,793 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 81.2 57.0 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) 0.04% 0.41% 0.59%
Median age 38.1 36.8 37.3
Households 13,997 1,308,457 130,235,071

Population in Wapello County declined by 0.3% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 35,362 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Wapello County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Wapello County is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 21.0% of residents. That is 1.2 points below 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 49.6% of the people living in Wapello County and men 50.4%.

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Economy

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

Metric Wapello County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $64,636 $75,133 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 5.46% 3.99% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 4.3% 3.6% 5.2%

The median household income in Wapello County is about 14% lower than in Iowa.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Wapello County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $83,500 $153,425 $248,835
Median rent $920 $971 $1,407
Homeownership rate 68.4% 71.7% 65.2%

The median home price in Wapello County is about 7.6 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $920 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Wapello County spend about 28 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 116 hours, about 4.8 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Wapello County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 13.9 17.0 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 27.8 33.9 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 116 141 187
Estimated yearly cost $3,592 $4,382 $5,790
Work from home 5.5% 11.3% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 2,662 4,993 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 563 606 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 Wapello County is 14 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

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

Metric Wapello County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 16.7% 27.9% 31.6%
Average household size 2.47 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

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

Metric Wapello County Iowa Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 77.3 79.2 78.3
Self-rated poor health 16.3% 13.6% 16.3%
Smokers 20.0% 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 →

Wapello County, IA Compared With Nearby Counties

How Wapello County, IA compares with the 1 counties closest to it.

Area Population Median household income Median home price Commute
Wapello County, IA 35,362 $64,636 #2/2 $83,500 #2/2 13.9 min #1/2
Mahaska County, IA 22,021 $71,408 $202,419 15.9 min

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Wapello County, Iowa.

How big is Wapello County, Iowa by population?

About 35,362 people live in Wapello County, Iowa, in 13,997 households of 2.5 people on average. The median age is 38.1, close to the U.S. median of 37.3.

How densely populated is Wapello County, Iowa?

Averaged over its land area, Wapello County, Iowa has 81 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 Wapello County, Iowa?

The median home costs 1.3 times the median household income ($83,500 against $64,636), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $920 a month takes about 17% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

What share of adults in Wapello County, Iowa have a college degree?

16.7% of adults in Wapello County, Iowa hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 6), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.

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