Pottawattamie County, Iowa

Pottawattamie County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. At the 2020 census, its population was 93,667, and was estimated to be 92,996 in 2025, making it the tenth-most populous county in Iowa. The county takes its name from the Potawatomi Native American tribe. The county seat and the largest city is Council Bluffs.

Pottawattamie County is included in the Omaha–Council Bluffs, NE–IA metropolitan statistical area.

History Pottawattamie County was formed on January 15, 1851 and organized on September 21, 1848.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.82%) is water. It is the second-largest county in Iowa by total area after Kossuth County. Pottawattamie County is located within Iowa's Loess Hills and was the site of Kanesville along the Mormon Trail.

In 2023, Pottawattamie County had the highest corn production in Iowa and the U.S., with over 47 million bushels produced.

Due to movement of the Missouri River and a Supreme Court ruling, part of the county, Carter Lake, actually lies on the far side of the Missouri River. This part of the county cannot be reached by road without entering Nebraska; no direct bridge exists.

Major highways

Interstate 29 Interstate 80 Interstate 480 Interstate 680 Interstate 880 U.S. Highway 6 U.S. Highway 59 U.S. Highway 275 Iowa Highway 83 Iowa Highway 92 Iowa Highway 165 Iowa Highway 191 Iowa Highway 192

Adjacent counties

Harrison County (north) Shelby County (northeast) Cass County (east) Montgomery County (southeast) Mills County (south) Sarpy County, Nebraska (southwest) Douglas County, Nebraska (west) Washington County, Nebraska (northwest)

National protected area DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

As of the second quarter of 2025, the median home value in Pottawattamie County was $236,314.

As of the 2024 American Community Survey, there are 37,530 estimated households in Pottawattamie County with an average of 2.44 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $73,074. Approximately 17.4% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Pottawattamie County has an estimated 59.5% employment rate, with 21.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 89.7% holding a high school diploma. There were 40,327 housing units at an average density of .

The median age in the county was 39.7 years.

+Pottawattamie County, Iowa – racial and ethnic composition Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) Pop. 1980 Pop. 1990 Pop. 2000 Pop. 2010 White alone (NH) 84,419(97.53%) 80,148(97.00%) 82,667(94.26%) 83,609(89.75%) 79,181(84.53%) Black or African American alone (NH) 438(0.51%) 453(0.55%) 658(0.75%) 1,216(1.31%) 1,836(1.96%) Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 171(0.20%) 222(0.27%) 280(0.32%) 334(0.36%) 391(0.42%) Asian alone (NH) 227(0.26%) 272(0.33%) 421(0.48%) 549(0.59%) 773(0.83%) Pacific Islander alone (NH) — — 14(0.02%) 25(0.03%) 76(0.08%) Other race alone (NH) 99(0.11%) 17(0.02%) 33(0.04%) 36(0.04%) 278(0.30%) Mixed race or multiracial (NH) — — 739(0.84%) 1,238(1.33%) 3,472(3.71%) Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1,207(1.39%) 1,516(1.83%) 2,892(3.30%) 6,151(6.60%) 7,660(8.18%) Total 86,561(100.00%) 82,628(100.00%) 87,704(100.00%) 93,158(100.00%) 93,667(100.00%)

2024 estimate As of the 2024 estimate, there were 93,529 people, 37,530 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 40,327 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.3% White (84.4% NH White), 2.1% African American, 0.9% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 10.1% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 93,667 people, 37,284 households, and 24,169 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 39,852 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 86.83% White, 2.02% African American, 0.70% Native American, 0.84% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 3.62% from some other races and 5.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 8.18% of the population.

The median age was 40.1 years. 23.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.3 males age 18 and over.

73.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 26.9% lived in rural areas.

There were 37,284 households in the county, of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.0% were married-couple households, 19.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Of the county's 39,852 housing units, 6.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 67.6% were owner-occupied and 32.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.7%.

2010 census As of the 2010 census, there were 93,158 people, 36,775 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 39,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.92% White, 1.36% African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.71% from some other races and 1.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6.60% of the population.

2000 census As of the 2000 census, there were 87,704 people, 33,844 households and 23,623 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 35,761 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.98% White, 0.77% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.27% from some other races and 1.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.30% of the population.

There were 33,844 households, of which 32.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.60% were married couples living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present and 30.20% were non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.03.

26.00% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males.

The median household income was $40,089 and the median family income was $47,105. Males had a median income of $31,642 and females $24,243. The per capita income was $19,275. About 6.40% of families and 8.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.00% of those under age 18 and 6.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities Cities

Avoca Carson Carter Lake Council Bluffs Crescent Hancock Macedonia McClelland Minden Neola Oakland Treynor Underwood Walnut

Unincorporated communities Dumfries Honey Creek Kemling

Census-designated places Bentley Loveland Weston

Townships

Belknap Boomer Carson Center Crescent Garner Grove Hardin Hazel Dell James Kane Keg Creek Knox Lake Layton Lewis Lincoln Macedonia Minden Neola Norwalk Pleasant Rockford Silver Creek Valley Washington Waveland Wright York

Population ranking The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Pottawattamie County.

† county seat

Rank City/Town/etc. Municipal type Population(2020 Census) Population(2024 Estimate) 1† Council Bluffs City 62,799 62,665 2Carter Lake City 3,791 3,752 3Avoca City 1,683 1,685 4Oakland City 1,524 1,519 5Treynor City 1,032 1,104 6Underwood City 954 973 7Neola City 918 917 8Carson City 766 772 9Walnut City 747 728 10Crescent City 628 626 11Minden City 600 581 12Macedonia City 267 266 13Hancock City 200 199 14Bentley CDP 93 185 15Weston CDP 78 167 16McClelland City 146 147 17Loveland CDP 36 46 18Shelby (Mostly in Shelby County) City 11 (727 total) 11 (730 total)

Law enforcement Pottawattamie County is served by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff's Office consisting of 51 sworn deputies, 13 reserve deputies, 92 detention officers and eight civilian support staff. Its headquarters is located in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Politics Pottawattamie County is a strongly Republican county. The county last backed a Democratic presidential candidate in 1964 as the party won nationally by a landslide and only voted Democratic in four other elections prior to that. Some recent elections were more competitive, with Barack Obama losing the county in 2008 by less than 1,000 votes. However, Donald Trump won the county by 21% in 2016, by 17% in 2020, and by 20% in 2024.

Education School districts include: - Text list

Atlantic Community School District, Atlantic AHSTW Community School District, Avoca Council Bluffs Community School District, Council Bluffs Glenwood Community School District, Glenwood Griswold Community School District, Griswold Lewis Central Community School District, Council Bluffs Missouri Valley Community School District, Missouri Valley Red Oak Community School District, Red Oak Riverside Community School District, Carson Treynor Community School District, Treynor Tri-Center Community School District, Neola Underwood Community School District, Underwood

There is also a state-operated school, Iowa School for the Deaf.

Former school districts: - Text list A-H-S-T Community School District, Avoca Walnut Community School District, Walnut

Notable people

Nina Korgan (1916—2009), women’s fast-pitch softball pitcher

Pottawattamie County, Iowa

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