What is the population of Decorah city?

Decorah city has 7,597 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #53 of 1,026 in Iowa.

What is the median household income in Decorah city?

Median household income in Decorah city is $62,177 a year, 20.8% below the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in Decorah city?

Median gross rent is $788 a month and the median home value is $234,600, so rent absorbs about 15.2% of median household income.

Is Decorah city affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 3.8× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Decorah city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 15.2% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

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Iowa · Census place 19405

Decorah, IA population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Decorah, Iowa (Decorah, IA — Census place “Decorah city”) is 7,597 residents, ranking #53 of 1026 places in Iowa. Median household income is $62,177, the median home is worth $234,600 and median gross rent runs $788 a month. Looking for the Decorah Iowa ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Decorah, IA: 52101.

Population: 7,597Decorah city residents
Median household income: $62,177Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $234,600Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $788Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 36.5 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 64.7%Owner-occupied households

Decorah ZIP codes (Iowa)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Decorah.

The Decorah IA ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

52101

What the numbers mean in Decorah city

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Decorah city median would spend about 15.2% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 3.8× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 7.7% of residents and 64.7% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Decorah city, IA in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Decorah city is a mid-size town in Iowa, with 7,597 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #53 of 1,026 ranked by population — larger than 94% of them. The median age here is 36.5 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in Decorah city earn a median of $62,177 a year, 20.8% below the national figure of $78,538 and 8% below the $67,791 median for the 290 Iowa cities we cover. Median household income counts every pre-tax dollar arriving at an address — wages, self-employment, Social Security, pensions, interest and public assistance — for everyone living there, so multi-earner households pull the figure up even where individual pay is modest. Poverty reaches 7.7% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Decorah city is valued at $234,600, 22.7% below the national figure and 50% above the $156,300 peer median, while median gross rent runs $788 a month, 44% below the national figure, or roughly $9,456 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 15.2% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 3.8×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 64.7% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. The rent line includes utilities paid by the tenant, a definition worth remembering when comparing it against a landlord's quoted rate.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Compare with nearby places

Places of similar size in Iowa.

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Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Decorah city?: Decorah city has 7,597 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #53 of 1,026 in Iowa.
What is the median household income in Decorah city?: Median household income in Decorah city is $62,177 a year, 20.8% below the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Decorah city?: Median gross rent is $788 a month and the median home value is $234,600, so rent absorbs about 15.2% of median household income.
Is Decorah city affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 3.8× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Decorah city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 15.2% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Decorah city data?: All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.