You’re at your local Whole Foods shopping for kale chips and asparagus water, trying to work out if you’ll have time to stop at the Pottery Barn before you head to your yoga class taught by a girl named Sage. It hits you: you’re leading the whitest life imaginable.
But does that mean the city you live in is one of the whitest places in Iowa?
Don’t worry, we’ve figured it out for you. Using actual census data combined with our favorite white people stereotypes (as confirmed by the internet), we can determine which cities are the whitest of the white in Hawkeye State.
After analyzing cities with populations greater than 5,000, we came up with this list as the whitest cities in Iowa for 2019.
- Vinton (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Manchester (Homes For Sale)
- Algona (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Winterset (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Norwalk (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Carroll (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Indianola (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Independence (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Glenwood (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Newton (Photos | Homes For Sale)
If you’re wondering, Storm Lake is the least white city of all those we measured.
Read on below to see where your hometown ranked and why. Or check out the whitest states in America and the most diverse states in America.
For more Iowa reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Live In Iowa
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Iowa
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In Iowa
How we determined the whitest places in Iowa for 2019
In order to rank the whitest places in Iowa, we had to determine what measurable criteria defines whiteness.
Obviously we had to count how many white people living there, specifically the percentage of white people living in each city in Iowa.
Specifically, we looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:
- Hispanic or Latino
- White alone*
- Black or African American alone*
- American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
- Asian alone*
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
- Some other race alone*
- Two or more races*
Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified as White alone.
We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 77 cities.
We then calculated the percent of residents that are White. The percentages ranked from 99.1% to 39.2%.
Finally, we ranked each city based on the percent of White population with a higher score being more White than a lower score. Vinton took the distinction of being the most White, while Storm Lake was the least White city.
Read on for more information on how the cities in Iowa ranked by population of White residents or, for a more general take on diversity in America, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.
/10
Population: 5,141
% White: 99.14%
More on Vinton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Vinton is a city in Benton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,257 in the 2010 census, an increase from 5,102 in the 2000 census. It is also part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area. Vinton is the county seat of Benton County.
/10
Population: 5,047
% White: 98.51%
More on Manchester: Real Estate | Data
Manchester is a city in Delaware County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,179 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Delaware County. Manchester is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 20 and State Highway 13, and is the largest community in Delaware County.
/10
Population: 5,488
% White: 96.94%
More on Algona: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Algona is a city in and the county seat of Kossuth County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,560 at the 2010 census. Ambrose A. Call State Park is located two miles southwest of the city.
/10
Population: 5,157
% White: 96.66%
More on Winterset: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Winterset is a city in Madison County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,190 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Madison County. Winterset is part of the Des Moines West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winterset is the birthplace of actor John Wayne.
/10
Population: 10,179
% White: 96.33%
More on Norwalk: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Norwalk is a city in Warren County, with some small portions extending into Polk County, in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 8,945 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Des Moines-West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located just south of the Des Moines International Airport.
/10
Population: 9,937
% White: 95.27%
More on Carroll: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Carroll is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, Iowa, United States, located along the Middle Raccoon River. The population was 10,103 in the 2010 census, down from three people in the 10,106 population in the 2000 census.
/10
Population: 15,489
% White: 95.24%
More on Indianola: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Indianola is a city in Warren County, Iowa, United States, 18 miles south of Des Moines, Iowa. The population was 14,782 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Warren County.
/10
Population: 6,013
% White: 94.68%
More on Independence: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Independence is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,966 in the 2010 census, a decline from 6,014 in the 2000 census.
/10
Population: 5,271
% White: 94.42%
More on Glenwood: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Glenwood is a city in and the county seat of Mills County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,269 in the 2010 census, a decline from 5,358 in the 2000 census.
/10
Population: 15,085
% White: 94.35%
More on Newton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Newton is the county seat and most populous city in Jasper County, Iowa, United States. Located 30 miles east of Des Moines, Newton is in Central Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 15,254. It is the home of Iowa Speedway, Maytag Dairy Farms, and the Iowa Sculpture Festival.
There You Have It – White Populations Across Iowa
Measuring the locations with the highest percentage of white people, this list provides accurate information on the whitest places in Iowa according to the most recent data.
If you’re curious enough, here are the least White places in Iowa:
- Storm Lake
- Denison
- Perry
For more Iowa reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Whitest Cities In Iowa
| Rank | City | % White |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vinton | 99.14% |
| 2 | Manchester | 98.51% |
| 3 | Algona | 96.94% |
| 4 | Winterset | 96.66% |
| 5 | Norwalk | 96.33% |
| 6 | Carroll | 95.27% |
| 7 | Indianola | 95.24% |
| 8 | Independence | 94.68% |
| 9 | Glenwood | 94.42% |
| 10 | Newton | 94.35% |
| 11 | Atlantic | 94.25% |
| 12 | Knoxville | 94.17% |
| 13 | Oelwein | 93.81% |
| 14 | Decorah | 93.78% |
| 15 | Centerville | 93.55% |
| 16 | Maquoketa | 93.2% |
| 17 | Clear Lake | 93.18% |
| 18 | Spencer | 92.98% |
| 19 | Nevada | 92.83% |
| 20 | Cherokee | 92.59% |
| 21 | Pella | 92.52% |
| 22 | Boone | 92.35% |
| 23 | Grimes | 92.19% |
| 24 | Ankeny | 92.16% |
| 25 | Altoona | 92.13% |
| 26 | Waverly | 92.0% |
| 27 | Creston | 91.98% |
| 28 | Oskaloosa | 91.91% |
| 29 | Sheldon | 91.72% |
| 30 | Clarinda | 91.71% |
| 31 | Marion | 91.64% |
| 32 | Red Oak | 91.43% |
| 33 | Eldridge | 90.84% |
| 34 | Johnston | 90.61% |
| 35 | Cedar Falls | 90.34% |
| 36 | Iowa Falls | 90.34% |
| 37 | Le Mars | 89.82% |
| 38 | Mason City | 89.51% |
| 39 | Waukee | 89.13% |
| 40 | Orange City | 89.07% |
| 41 | Dubuque | 88.94% |
| 42 | Clinton | 88.88% |
| 43 | Charles City | 87.76% |
| 44 | Washington | 87.59% |
| 45 | Grinnell | 87.56% |
| 46 | Keokuk | 87.26% |
| 47 | Fort Madison | 86.92% |
| 48 | North Liberty | 86.63% |
| 49 | Pleasant Hill | 86.58% |
| 50 | Urbandale | 86.42% |
| 51 | Sioux Center | 85.79% |
| 52 | Anamosa | 85.72% |
| 53 | Bettendorf | 85.58% |
| 54 | Fort Dodge | 84.67% |
| 55 | Burlington | 84.67% |
| 56 | Council Bluffs | 84.63% |
| 57 | Webster City | 83.65% |
| 58 | Cedar Rapids | 83.56% |
| 59 | Clive | 83.45% |
| 60 | Estherville | 83.27% |
| 61 | Hiawatha | 82.08% |
| 62 | West Des Moines | 81.97% |
| 63 | Mount Pleasant | 80.36% |
| 64 | Ames | 80.18% |
| 65 | Ottumwa | 78.19% |
| 66 | Iowa City | 75.71% |
| 67 | Davenport | 74.66% |
| 68 | Muscatine | 73.87% |
| 69 | Waterloo | 72.21% |
| 70 | Fairfield | 70.51% |
| 71 | Coralville | 70.43% |
| 72 | Sioux City | 70.1% |
| 73 | Des Moines | 66.5% |
| 74 | Marshalltown | 61.98% |
| 75 | Perry | 56.74% |
| 76 | Denison | 45.75% |
| 77 | Storm Lake | 39.2% |
