U.S. Census Bureau's 2022 population projections: Iowa's 14th smallest county (Decatur) has fewer residents than it did in 1860

 

Iowa has 99 counties.

91.5% white Decatur County's population has decreased 70% since its 1900 peak of 18,115.  

 

Sources:  Wikipedia (1850-2020), U.S. Census Bureau (2022)

WHO, 2/4/2018 

There aren’t enough young people. There aren’t enough well-paying jobs. There aren’t as many workers needed on the family farm anymore. This is the situation in Decatur County, but it’s also what life is life in most of Iowa’s other counties, too. A recent state report found 79 of the state’s 99 counties are declining in population. 

Decatur County has the unfortunate distinction of being Iowa’s poorest county when you consider a variety of factors like income, poverty, and opportunities. The county that sits on the southern Iowa/northern Missouri border has just 8,200 people. That is less than half the people who lived there about 150 years ago.

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