Demographics of Decorah city, Iowa

Decorah city, Iowa had 7,417 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: −165 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Decorah city, in four figures

7,417
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 7,535 ±37.; −2.2%
Change since July 2020: −165 people.; 39.5 ±4.3
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $64,366 ±$4,690
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Decorah city, Iowa's population shrank 2.2% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Decorah city, Iowa's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Decorah city, Iowa's population shrank 2.2% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Decorah city, Iowa's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	7,582	100.0	100.0
2021	7,606	100.3	100.2
2022	7,620	100.5	100.7
2023	7,451	98.3	101.6
2024	7,390	97.5	102.5
2025	7,417	97.8	103.1

Population of Decorah city, Iowa on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	7,582	—
2021	7,606	+24
2022	7,620	+14
2023	7,451	−169
2024	7,390	−61
2025	7,417	+27

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 39.5 ±4.3: for men 37.7 ±4.7 and for women 40.6 ±4.5. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Decorah city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	Iowa	United States
Under 5	248 ±97	3.3% ±1.3	5.9% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	688 ±152	9.1% ±2.0	17.0% ±0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	1,773 ±230	23.5% ±3.1	10.0% ±0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	1,531 ±205	20.3% ±2.7	25.1% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	1,488 ±207	19.7% ±2.7	23.9% ±0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	1,807 ±216	24.0% ±2.9	18.1% ±0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $64,366 ±$4,690, and income per person $35,743 ±$4,806, in 2024 dollars. The median is $75,059 ±$418 in Iowa and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Decorah city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	Iowa	United States
Under $25,000	476 ±132	15.7% ±4.3	13.9% ±0.2	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	692 ±167	22.8% ±5.3	18.5% ±0.3	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	578 ±161	19.0% ±5.2	17.5% ±0.3	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	470 ±132	15.5% ±4.3	14.0% ±0.3	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	497 ±122	16.4% ±3.9	18.7% ±0.3	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	165 ±77	5.4% ±2.5	8.8% ±0.2	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	160 ±68	5.3% ±2.2	8.6% ±0.2	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Decorah city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	Iowa	United States
All ages	478 ±176	8.1% ±3.0	11.1% ±0.2	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	0 to 72	0% to 7.8%	12.9% ±0.3	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	236 ±106	8.1% ±3.6	11.4% ±0.3	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	215 ±103	10.6% ±4.9	8.8% ±0.2	11.0% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Decorah city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Decorah city	Iowa	United States
Housing units	3,433 ±171	1,437,699 ±523	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	88.5% ±2.2	91.5% ±0.3	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	11.5% ±4.4	8.5% ±0.3	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	61.5% ±4.8	71.7% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	38.5% ±5.9	28.3% ±0.3	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$244,500 ±$15,919	$208,000 ±$1,141	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$853 ±$65	$972 ±$6	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1964 ±6	1972 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Decorah city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	Iowa	United States
Hispanic or Latino	284 ±93	3.8% ±1.2	7.3% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	6,769 ±136	89.8% ±1.8	82.3% ±0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	31 to 131	0.4% to 1.7%	3.8% ±0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	98 ±47	1.3% ±0.6	2.5% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	0 to 73	0% to 1.0%	0.2% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 15	0% to 0.2%	0.2% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	0 to 15	0% to 0.2%	0.3% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	273 ±89	3.6% ±1.2	3.5% ±0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Decorah city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	Iowa	United States
Born in the state	3,976 ±293	52.8% ±3.9	69.6% ±0.2	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	3,101 ±288	41.2% ±3.8	23.8% ±0.2	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	0 to 84	< 0.1% to 1.1%	0.7% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	416 ±117	5.5% ±1.6	5.9% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	28 to 124	0.4% to 1.6%	2.6% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	340 ±108	4.5% ±1.4	3.3% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Decorah city among the places of Iowa

53rd of 86 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the Iowa page.

Places of Iowa near Decorah city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Sioux Center city	8,454 ±26
Denison city	8,260 ±24
Perry city	7,985 ±21
Webster City city	7,769 ±24
Clear Lake city	7,607 ±20
Decorah city	7,535 ±37
Knoxville city	7,473 ±27
Creston city	7,435 ±36
Washington city	7,290 ±43
Charles City city	7,232 ±33
Hiawatha city	7,206 ±37

Rankings this appears in

No. 2 Places in Iowa by median age
No. 18 Places in Iowa by foreign-born share
No. 20 Places in Iowa by per capita income
No. 25 Places in Iowa by median home value
No. 29 Places in Iowa by poverty rate
No. 30 Places in Iowa by median household income

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026