Woodbury County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,941, and was estimated to be 106,649 in 2025,

Woodbury County is included in the Sioux City metropolitan area.

History

Originally established in 1851 as Wahkaw County, the Iowa Legislature in 1853 changed the name to Woodbury County in honor of Levi Woodbury (1789–1851), a senator and governor of New Hampshire who served as a Supreme Court justice from 1844 until his death.

The first county seat of Wahkaw County was the now-extinct village of Thompsonville; when the Legislature changed the county name to Woodbury, the new county seat became Sergeant's Bluff (now Sergeant Bluff). The county seat was moved to Sioux City in 1856.

The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska (Ho-Chunk) owns reservation land in Woodbury County.

Geography

The county is on the western edge of Iowa, with its western border being the Missouri River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.56%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Iowa by total area.

Major highways

  • x20px Interstate 29
  • x20px Interstate 129
  • x20px U.S. Highway 20
  • x20px U.S. Highway 75
  • x20px U.S. Highway 77
  • x20px Iowa Highway 12
  • x20px Iowa Highway 31
  • x20px Iowa Highway 140
  • x20px Iowa Highway 141
  • x20px Iowa Highway 175

Transit

  • Sioux City Transit

Adjacent counties

  • Plymouth County (north)
  • Cherokee County (northeast)
  • Ida County (east)
  • Monona County (south)
  • Thurston County, Nebraska (southwest)
  • Dakota County, Nebraska (west)
  • Union County, South Dakota (northwest)

Demographics

As of the third quarter of 2025, the median home value in Woodbury County was $201,273.

As of the 2024 American Community Survey, there are 40,764 estimated households in Woodbury County with an average of 2.56 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $78,923. Approximately 13.7% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Woodbury County has an estimated 66.0% employment rate, with 27.5% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 87.8% holding a high school diploma. !! Pop. 1990 !! Pop. 2000 !! Pop. 2010 !!

|-

| White alone (NH)

| 97,036<br>(96.19%) || 90,943<br>(92.54%) || 86,821<br>(83.58%) || 79,282<br>(77.60%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |72,237<br>(68.19%)

|-

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 1,106<br>(1.10%) || 1,836<br>(1.87%) || 2,013<br>(1.94%) || 2,384<br>(2.33%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |5,076<br>(4.79%)

|-

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 1,169<br>(1.16%) || 1,478<br>(1.50%) || 1,529<br>(1.47%) || 1,789<br>(1.75%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |1,893<br>(1.79%)

|-

| Asian alone (NH)

| 314<br>(0.31%) || 1,236<br>(1.26%) || 2,490<br>(2.40%) || 2,395<br>(2.34%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |2,957<br>(2.79%)

|-

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

| — || — || 30<br>(0.03%) || 102<br>(0.10%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |651<br>(0.61%)

|-

| Other race alone (NH)

| 114<br>(0.11%) || 71<br>(0.07%) || 72<br>(0.07%) || 60<br>(0.06%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |358<br>(0.34%)

|-

| Mixed race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 1,454<br>(1.40%) || 2,167<br>(2.12%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |4,023<br>(3.80%)

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 1,145<br>(1.13%) || 2,712<br>(2.76%) || 9,468<br>(9.11%) || 13,993<br>(13.70%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |18,746<br>(17.69%)

|-

| Total

| 100,884<br>(100.00%) || 98,276<br>(100.00%) || 103,877<br>(100.00%) || 102,172<br>(100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |105,941<br>(100.00%)

|}

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 107,257 people, 40,764 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 43,701 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 83.3% White (65.8% NH White), 6.1% African American, 3.3% Native American, 3.1% Asian, 1.0% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 3.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 20.5% of the population.

2020 census

thumb|Population of Woodbury County from the U.S. census data

As of the 2020 census, there were 105,941 people, 39,904 households, and 25,784 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 42,701 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 72.49% White, 4.91% African American, 2.37% Native American, 2.84% Asian, 0.62% Pacific Islander, 7.70% from some other races and 9.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were % of the population.

The median age was 35.8 years; 26.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.5 males age 18 and over.

83.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 16.1% lived in rural areas.

There were 39,904 households, of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.7% were married-couple households, 20.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

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Communities

thumb|Terraces, conservation tillage and buffers save soil and improve water quality on this Woodbury County farm in 1999.

Cities

  • Anthon
  • Bronson
  • Correctionville
  • Cushing
  • Danbury
  • Hornick
  • Lawton
  • Moville
  • Oto
  • Pierson
  • Salix
  • Sergeant Bluff
  • Sioux City
  • Sloan
  • Smithland

Unincorporated communities

  • Climbing Hill (a census-designated place)
  • Discord
  • Dodds
  • German City
  • Grange
  • Holly Springs
  • Lozier
  • Lucky Valley
  • Luton
  • Midway
  • Owego
  • Peiro
  • Rock Branch
  • Snyder Grove
  • Wolfdale

Townships

  • Arlington
  • Banner
  • Concord
  • Floyd
  • Grange
  • Grant
  • Kedron
  • Lakeport
  • Liberty
  • Liston
  • Little Sioux
  • Miller
  • Morgan
  • Moville
  • Oto
  • Rock
  • Rutland
  • Sioux City
  • Sloan
  • Union
  • West Fork
  • Willow
  • Wolf Creek
  • Woodbury

Population ranking

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

† county seat

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Rank

! City/Town/etc.

! Municipal type

! Population<br>(2020 Census)

! Population<br>(2024 Estimate)

|- style="background:#FFFACD"

| 1

|† Sioux City (partially in Plymouth County)

| City

| 85,791 (85,797 total)

| 86,869 (86,875 total)

|- style="background:#FFFACD"

| 2

|Sergeant Bluff

| City

| 5,015

| 5,335

|- style="background:#FFFACD"

| 3

|Moville

| City

| 1,687

| 1,707

|- style="background:#FFFACD"

| 4

|Sloan

| City

| 1,042

| 1,078

|- style="background:#FFFACD"

| 5

|Lawton

| City

| 943

| 949

|- style="background:#FFFACD"

| 6

|Correctionville

| City

| 766

| 759

|- style="background:#FFFACD"

| 7

|Anthon

| City

| 545

| 534

|- style="background:#FFFACD"

| 8

|Pierson

| City

| 337

| 335

|- style="background:#FFFACD"

| 9

|Danbury

| City

| 320

| 315

|- style="background:#FFFACD"

| 10

|Salix

| City

| 295

| 303

|- style="background:#FFFACD"

| 11

|Bronson

| City

| 294

| 294

|- style="background:#FFFACD"

| 12

|Hornick

| City

| 255

| 255

|- style="background:#FFFACD"

| 13

|Cushing

| City

| 230

| 225

|- style="background:#FFFACD"

| 14

|Smithland

| City

| 181

| 184

|- style="background:#F0FFF0"

| 15

|Climbing Hill

| CDP

| 97

| 110

|- style="background:#FFFACD;"

| 16

|Oto

| City

| 72

| 65

|}

Education

School districts include:

  • Kingsley–Pierson Community School District, Kingsley
  • Lawton–Bronson Community School District, Lawton- Formed on July 1, 1966.
  • Maple Valley-Anthon Oto Community School District, Mapleton - Formed on July 1, 2012.
  • Odebolt–Arthur–Battle Creek–Ida Grove Community School District, Ida Grove - Formed on July 1, 2018.
  • River Valley Community School District, Correctionville - Formed on July 1, 1996.
  • Sergeant Bluff-Luton Community School District, Sergeant Bluff
  • Sioux City Community School District, Sioux City
  • Westwood Community School District, Sloan
  • Woodbury Central Community School District, Moville

Former school districts include:

  • Anthon–Oto Community School District - Merged into Maple Valley-Anthon Oto on July 1, 2012.
  • Battle Creek–Ida Grove Community School District - Merged into OABCIG on July 1, 2018.
  • Maple Valley Community School District - Merged into Maple Valley-Anthon Oto on July 1, 2012.

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Woodbury County, Iowa

References

Further reading

  • Lensch, R.A. (2006). Soil survey of Woodbury County, Iowa. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service

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