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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 2023.
Here are the 10 whites places in Iowa for 2023:
What is the whitest city in Iowa for 2023? According to the most recent census data Winterset ranks as the whitest. 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:
The 10 Whitest Cities In Iowa For 2023
1. Winterset
/10
Population: 5,309
% White: 96.16%
More on Winterset: Real Estate | Data | Photos
2. Manchester
/10
Population: 5,077
% White: 95.63%
More on Manchester: Real Estate | Data
3. Cherokee
/10
Population: 5,141
% White: 95.58%
More on Cherokee: Real Estate | Data
4. Knoxville
/10
Population: 7,537
% White: 95.48%
More on Knoxville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
5. Centerville
/10
Population: 5,353
% White: 94.64%
More on Centerville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
6. Norwalk
/10
Population: 12,592
% White: 94.13%
More on Norwalk: Real Estate | Data | Photos
7. Glenwood
/10
Population: 5,224
% White: 93.86%
More on Glenwood: Real Estate | Data | Photos
8. Iowa Falls
/10
Population: 5,154
% White: 93.58%
More on Iowa Falls: Real Estate | Data | Photos
9. Carroll
/10
Population: 10,261
% White: 93.38%
More on Carroll: Real Estate | Data | Photos
10. Creston
/10
Population: 7,594
% White: 93.26%
More on Creston: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How we determined the whitest places in Iowa for 2023
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 76 cities.
We then calculated the percent of residents that are White. The percentages ranked from 96.2% to 35.7%.
Finally, we ranked each city based on the percent of White population with a higher score being more White than a lower score. Winterset took the distinction of being the most White, while Storm Lake was the least White city. You can download the data here.
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.
Summary: 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
- Marshalltown
For more Iowa reading, check out:
White Population By City In { state|title }}
| Rank | City | % White |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winterset | 96.16% |
| 2 | Manchester | 95.63% |
| 3 | Cherokee | 95.58% |
| 4 | Knoxville | 95.48% |
| 5 | Centerville | 94.64% |
| 6 | Norwalk | 94.13% |
| 7 | Glenwood | 93.86% |
| 8 | Iowa Falls | 93.58% |
| 9 | Carroll | 93.38% |
| 10 | Creston | 93.26% |
| 11 | Atlantic | 93.16% |
| 12 | Indianola | 93.14% |
| 13 | Orange City | 92.92% |
| 14 | Boone | 92.17% |
| 15 | Decorah | 92.08% |
| 16 | Pella | 92.07% |
| 17 | Oelwein | 91.71% |
| 18 | Independence | 91.56% |
| 19 | Algona | 91.47% |
| 20 | Maquoketa | 91.46% |
| 21 | Grimes | 91.38% |
| 22 | Spencer | 91.23% |
| 23 | Clear Lake | 91.23% |
| 24 | Red Oak | 90.85% |
| 25 | Marion | 90.7% |
| 26 | Newton | 90.36% |
| 27 | Ankeny | 90.27% |
| 28 | Nevada | 90.21% |
| 29 | Waverly | 89.95% |
| 30 | Cedar Falls | 89.4% |
| 31 | Oskaloosa | 89.35% |
| 32 | Altoona | 88.51% |
| 33 | Grinnell | 88.36% |
| 34 | Le Mars | 88.11% |
| 35 | Mason City | 87.54% |
| 36 | Keokuk | 87.34% |
| 37 | Dubuque | 86.89% |
| 38 | Fort Madison | 86.86% |
| 39 | Anamosa | 86.78% |
| 40 | Clinton | 86.26% |
| 41 | Sioux Center | 85.93% |
| 42 | Washington | 85.88% |
| 43 | Sheldon | 84.89% |
| 44 | Pleasant Hill | 84.56% |
| 45 | Charles City | 84.3% |
| 46 | Clarinda | 84.03% |
| 47 | Council Bluffs | 83.73% |
| 48 | Hiawatha | 83.52% |
| 49 | Bettendorf | 83.47% |
| 50 | Waukee | 83.23% |
| 51 | Urbandale | 81.99% |
| 52 | Burlington | 81.97% |
| 53 | Eldridge | 81.66% |
| 54 | Fort Dodge | 81.29% |
| 55 | Webster City | 80.6% |
| 56 | Clive | 80.51% |
| 57 | West Des Moines | 80.24% |
| 58 | Estherville | 79.83% |
| 59 | North Liberty | 79.39% |
| 60 | Cedar Rapids | 78.96% |
| 61 | Ames | 78.49% |
| 62 | Johnston | 78.3% |
| 63 | Mount Pleasant | 77.93% |
| 64 | Ottumwa | 74.76% |
| 65 | Iowa City | 73.76% |
| 66 | Davenport | 72.92% |
| 67 | Muscatine | 72.79% |
| 68 | Fairfield | 72.63% |
| 69 | Waterloo | 68.92% |
| 70 | Coralville | 67.36% |
| 71 | Sioux City | 65.04% |
| 72 | Des Moines | 63.46% |
| 73 | Perry | 61.32% |
| 74 | Marshalltown | 57.85% |
| 75 | Denison | 40.41% |
| 76 | Storm Lake | 35.66% |
