These Are The 10 Whitest Cities In Iowa For 2018

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 2018:

1. Vinton (Photos | Jobs)
2. Manchester (Jobs)
3. Algona (Photos | Jobs)
4. Glenwood (Photos | Jobs)
5. Norwalk (Photos | Jobs)
6. Newton (Photos | Jobs)
7. Nevada (Photos | Jobs)
8. Winterset (Photos | Jobs)
9. Grimes (Photos | Jobs)
10. Independence (Photos | Jobs)

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.

How we determined the whitest places in Iowa for 2018

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, but being one of the whitest cities in Iowa means much more than just having a high percentage of folks who are of the Caucasian persuasion.

These are cities jam-packed with all the stuff white folks love, based on everyone’s favorite stereotypes. After breaking it down, we came up with following criteria to run on 82 cities:

• Percentage of population that’s white
• Whole Foods per capita
• Farmers markets per capita
• Vegan restaurants per capita
• Pottery Barns per capita
• Yoga studios per capita

Note: For the sake of getting reliable numbers, we counted places within a city’s border, as well as within a short driving distance.

All of these results are listed in a per capita basis, meaning number of stores per person in a state. Additionally, we limited the analysis to non-CDPs that have over 5,000 people.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 82 in each category, where 1 was the whitest.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a whiteness index.

And finally, we crowned the city with the highest whiteness index the ‘Whitest City In Iowa.’ We’re lookin’ at you, Vinton.

Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in whitebread central. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the places in the state from whitest to most diverse in Iowa.

1. Vinton

Population: 5,166
Percent White: 99.1%
More on Vinton: Write A Review | Data | Jobs

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.

2. Manchester

Population: 5,083
Percent White: 98.2%
More on Manchester: Write A Review | Data | Jobs

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.

3. Algona

Population: 5,496
Percent White: 97.1%
More on Algona: Write A Review | Data | Jobs

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.

4. Glenwood

Population: 5,233
Percent White: 96.5%
More on Glenwood: Write A Review | Data | Jobs

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.

5. Norwalk

Population: 9,944
Percent White: 96.0%
More on Norwalk: Write A Review | Data | Jobs

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.

6. Newton

Population: 15,090
Percent White: 95.1%
More on Newton: Write A Review | Data | Jobs

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.

7. Nevada

Population: 6,796
Percent White: 94.8%
More on Nevada: Write A Review | Data | Jobs

Nevada is a city in and the county seat of Story County, Iowa, United States. The population was 6,798 in the 2010 census, an increase from 6,658 in the 2000 census. It is also part of the Ames, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a part of the larger Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical Area. Eight miles west of Nevada is Ames which is much larger in population. Nonetheless, Nevada is the county seat with all Story County offices located there. The city’s name is pronounced differently from the state with the same name.

8. Winterset

Population: 5,158
Percent White: 94.8%
More on Winterset: Write A Review | Data | Jobs

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.

9. Grimes

Population: 10,422
Percent White: 94.8%
More on Grimes: Write A Review | Data | Jobs

Grimes is a city in Dallas and Polk counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 8,246 at the 2010 census. Grimes is part of the Des Moines-West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.

10. Independence

Population: 6,005
Percent White: 94.7%
More on Independence: Write A Review | Data | Jobs

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.

There You Have It – The Whitest of The White Bread In Iowa

Measuring both the locations with the highest percentage of white people, as well as the number of stereo-typically white venues, this list provides accurate information on the whitest places in Iowa.

For more Iowa reading , check out:

• 10 Worst Places To Live In Iowa
• 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Iowa
• 10 Safest Places In Iowa

Detailed List Of The Whitest Cities In Iowa for 2018

Rank	City	Population	Percent White
1
Vinton	5,166	99.1%
2
Manchester	5,083	98.2%
3
Algona	5,496	97.1%
4
Glenwood	5,233	96.5%
5
Norwalk	9,944	96.0%
6
Newton	15,090	95.1%
7
Nevada	6,796	94.8%
8
Winterset	5,158	94.8%
9
Grimes	10,422	94.8%
10
Independence	6,005	94.7%
11
Atlantic	6,817	94.4%
12
Decorah	7,985	94.3%
13
Centerville	5,404	94.1%
14
Indianola	15,343	94.0%
15
Boone	12,609	93.9%
16
De Witt	5,264	93.8%
17
Carroll	9,990	93.4%
18
Knoxville	7,236	93.4%
19
Oelwein	6,195	93.2%
20
Creston	7,877	93.1%
21
Spencer	11,172	93.1%
22
Pella	10,280	93.0%
23
Waverly	10,049	92.8%
24
Cherokee	5,113	92.7%
25
Oskaloosa	11,538	92.7%
26
Bondurant	5,079	92.5%
27
Marion	37,198	92.5%
28
Sheldon	5,015	92.3%
29
Altoona	16,692	92.3%
30
Maquoketa	6,025	92.2%
31
Clear Lake	7,644	91.9%
32
Ankeny	53,413	91.9%
33
Eldridge	6,122	91.7%
34
Red Oak	5,547	91.7%
35
Cedar Falls	40,828	91.3%
36
Clarinda	5,431	91.1%
37
Le Mars	9,826	91.0%
38
Harlan	5,008	90.8%
39
Johnston	19,491	90.8%
40
Mason City	27,546	90.5%
41
Asbury	5,201	90.2%
42
Orange City	6,153	90.0%
43
Iowa Falls	5,176	89.3%
44
Clinton	26,148	89.0%
45
Dubuque	58,535	88.9%
46
Waukee	16,955	88.8%
47
Fort Madison	10,769	88.4%
48
Charles City	7,496	88.1%
49
Grinnell	9,112	87.7%
50
Washington	7,368	87.3%
51
Urbandale	41,578	87.1%
52
Webster City	7,825	87.0%
53
Keokuk	10,628	86.5%
54
Shenandoah	5,030	86.3%
55
Anamosa	5,459	86.3%
56
Bettendorf	35,048	85.5%
57
Fort Dodge	24,626	85.5%
58
Burlington	25,492	85.4%
59
North Liberty	16,984	85.0%
60
Council Bluffs	62,326	85.0%
61
Pleasant Hill	9,406	84.9%
62
Clive	17,022	84.5%
63
Cedar Rapids	129,537	84.4%
64
Sioux Center	7,370	84.1%
65
Estherville	6,027	83.6%
66
West Des Moines	61,624	82.4%
67
Hiawatha	7,160	82.0%
68
Ames	64,073	81.0%
69
Mount Pleasant	8,491	80.0%
70
Ottumwa	24,709	79.8%
71
Iowa City	72,385	75.9%
72
Davenport	102,305	75.1%
73
Muscatine	23,909	74.8%
74
Coralville	20,078	73.9%
75
Waterloo	68,357	72.7%
76
Fairfield	9,942	72.5%
77
Sioux City	82,666	70.8%
78
Des Moines	212,859	67.8%
79
Marshalltown	27,637	63.6%
80
Perry	7,876	58.5%
81
Denison	8,326	48.5%
82
Storm Lake	10,768	40.5%