City · Pottawattamie County, Iowa

Council Bluffs, Iowa

Council Bluffs is a city in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, part of the Omaha, NE-IA metro area. It has 62,586 residents. Council Bluffs, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 55 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,111 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #258 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an airport (low), average commute time (low) and homicide rate (low). It ranks worst on broadband subscriptions (low), violent crime rate (high) and median Air Quality Index (high).

55Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,111 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #258 of 281 in IA
Population: 62,586 (2020-2024)
Land area: 43 mi²
Density: 1,456.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 1916860

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety48#8,118/15,637
Economy38#9,643/15,631
Housing87#1,959/14,977
Health33#10,527/15,609
Healthcare64#5,694/15,650
Environment78#3,331/15,453
Education28#11,304/15,649
Infrastructure59#6,455/15,650
Community41#9,278/15,651
Leisure & amenities53#7,337/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Council Bluffs, Iowa ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Pottawattamie County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Distance to an airport · low7 mi
99/100Iowa 44 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauPottawattamie County value
Average commute time · low17.9 min
94/100Iowa 19.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Iowa 2.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataPottawattamie County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.1 µg/m³
88/100Iowa 7.1 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyPottawattamie County value
Drought exposure · low4%
87/100Iowa 13%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAPottawattamie County value
Flu vaccinations · high53.0%
87/100Iowa 51.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePottawattamie County value

Weaknesses

Broadband subscriptions · low84.7%
9/100Iowa 88.8%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Violent crime rate · high414 /100k
16/100Iowa 234 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationPottawattamie County value
Median Air Quality Index · high49
17/1002023U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyPottawattamie County value
Adult smoking · high18.9%
18/100Iowa 16.4%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Property crime rate · high1,741 /100k
20/100Iowa 1,172 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationPottawattamie County value
Effective property tax rate · high1.51%
21/100Iowa 1.33%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedImproving
1.5 /1k (2021) → 8.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+454%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
76.2% (2015-2019) → 84.7% (2020-2024)
+8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
16.8% (2015-2019) → 22.3% (2020-2024)
+5.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$53,524 (2015-2019) → $64,578 (2020-2024)
+21%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.2× (2015-2019) → 2.7× (2020-2024)
+19%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
18.9% (2015-2019) → 21.5% (2020-2024)
+2.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Council Bluffs, Iowa improved on 5 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved5

Property tax−0.5 points2.01% → 1.51%
Commute−1.4 min19.3 min → 17.9 min
Broadband+8.5 points76.2% → 84.7%
Bachelor's++2.6 points18.9% → 21.5%
Household income+21%$53,524 → $64,578

Declined3

Child poverty+5.6 points16.8% → 22.3%
Poverty+2.2 points12.8% → 15.1%
Price / income+0.4×2.2× → 2.7×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Council Bluffs, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.3 min2015-2019	17.9 min2020-2024	−1.4 min	Improved	65%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.9%2015-2019	21.5%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Improved	48%
Broadband subscriptions	76.2%2015-2019	84.7%2020-2024	+8.5 points	Improved	52%
Child poverty rate	16.8%2015-2019	22.3%2020-2024	+5.6 points	Declined	19%
Effective property tax rate	2.01%2015-2019	1.51%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Improved	91%
High school diploma or higher	87.0%2015-2019	88.5%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.4×	Declined	53%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4162015-2019	0.4282020-2024	+0.012	Within the margin of error	40%
Median household income	$53,5242015-2019	$64,5782020-2024	+21%	Improved	34%
Poverty rate	12.8%2015-2019	15.1%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Declined	25%
Public transit commuters	0.9%2015-2019	0.8%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Rent as share of income	27.8%2015-2019	28.0%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Rent-burdened households	44.5%2015-2019	45.3%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	53%
Unemployment rate	4.3%2015-2019	4.2%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.8%2015-2019	7.0%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	57%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Council Bluffs, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Council Bluffs, Iowa in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Council Bluffs, Iowa itself moved −1.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

62,586 residents (±40)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

26,023 households (±419)

Council Bluffs, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k18%4,781
$25k–50k20%5,244
$50k–75k18%4,805

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

26,023 households (±419)

Council Bluffs, Iowa
Iowa share

Own63%16,433
Rent37%9,590

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

29,722 workers (±679)

Council Bluffs, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone80%23,737
Carpool7.1%2,124
Public transit0.8%†250

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Omaha, NE-IA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Pottawattamie County, the county holding most of Council Bluffs's residents.

Pottawattamie County has 1,920 employer establishments, 206 for every 10,000 residents (0.83× the US rate of 248; 0.79× Iowa's), with 32,384 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,319. The Census Bureau also counts 5,603 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,920; 5,603 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 206; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 32,384
Average annual pay: $50,319; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Pottawattamie County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	148	15.9	1.02×About typical	1,006	$60,324	499
Restaurants and other eating places	140	15	0.82×About typical	3,026	$18,618	21
Ambulatory health care services	121	13	0.62×Fewer than typical	1,372	$63,256	183
Truck transportation	100	10.7	2.12×More than typical	816	$58,733	176
Lessors of real estate	80	8.6	0.70×Fewer than typical	290	$40,590	676
Services to buildings and dwellings	70	7.5	1.11×About typical	391	$45,675	345
Limited-service restaurants	69	7.4	0.92×About typical	1,544	$16,252	6
Religious organizations	58	6.2	1.12×About typical	263	$22,806	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	57	6.1	1.21×About typical	346	$43,084	89
Full-service restaurants	56	6	0.78×Fewer than typical	1,256	$21,365	9
Construction of buildings	53	5.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	327	$61,361	186
Building equipment contractors	48	5.1	0.85×About typical	548	$63,274	53

Rank places for an industry Open Pottawattamie County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 93,351 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $2.6M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Council Bluffs, Iowa: $41.69 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $2.6M; +928% vs FY2025
Per resident: $41.69; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Agricultural Marketing Service$3.2M100%
U.S. Marshals Service$46.6K1.8%
Department of Veterans Affairs$21.7K0.8%
U.S. Geological Survey$5,6800.2%
Drug Enforcement Administration$1930.0%

Top recipients

JBS USA FOOD COMPANY$3.2M100%
RJH CONSULTANTS, INC.$1.1M42%
JOHNSON CONTROLS SECURITY SOLUTIONS LLC$46.6K1.8%
HGM ASSOCIATES, INC$36.6K1.4%
N L C PARTNERS, L.L.C$21.7K0.8%

Spending by fiscal year

850.1KFY2017
400KFY2018
14.5MFY2019
18.5MFY2020
22.4MFY2021
3.9MFY2022
-210.7KFY2023
204.5KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Animal slaughtering and processing · 3116$3.2M100%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$1.1M44%
Investigation and security services · 5616$46.6K1.8%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$37.6K1.4%
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) · 6231$21.7K0.8%
Executive, legislative, and other general government support · 9211

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Council Bluffs, Iowa

L611 614 LEVEE REPAIR$44.6M
IE-WESTON FEDERAL SERVICES JVB LLC· Pottawattamie County, IA· Construction & real property· Sep 7, 2019 – Nov 13, 2025· W9128F19F0261
COMMODITIES FOR USG FOOD DONATIONS: 2000011336/4100034379/PORK HAM WATERAD SLC FRZ PKG-8/5 LB$1.5M
JBS USA FOOD COMPANY· Pottawattamie County, IA· Other equipment & supplies· Jun 5, 2026 – Jul 17, 2026· 123J1426C1319
COMMODITIES FOR USG FOOD DONATIONS: 2000011380/4100034586/PORK HAM WATERAD SLC FRZ PKG-8/5 LB$1.2M
JBS USA FOOD COMPANY· Pottawattamie County, IA· Other equipment & supplies· Jul 16, 2026 – Jul 16, 2026· 123J1426C1526

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Council Bluffs, Iowa, so they do not add up across cities.

Council Bluffs, Iowa's figures are part of those of Pottawattamie County, IA ($2.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 94% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Council Bluffs is mostly in Pottawattamie County.

See federal money in Pottawattamie County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Council Bluffs, Iowa is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Randy FeenstraR-IA-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 1.6%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Pottawattamie County74100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Omaha, NE-IA96

Other cities and towns in Pottawattamie County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1916860

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends