City · Woodbury County, Iowa

Sioux City, Iowa

Sioux City is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, part of the Sioux City, IA-NE-SD metro area. It has 86,101 residents. Sioux City, Iowa has a quality-of-life score of 53 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,279 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Iowa it ranks #261 of 281 cities and towns. It ranks best on average commute time (low), rent as share of income (low) and rent-burdened households (low). It ranks worst on mental health care shortage (high), property crime rate (high) and hospital quality rating (low).

53Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,279 of 15,651 cities and towns
Iowa: #261 of 281 in IA
Population: 86,101 (2020-2024)
Land area: 59 mi²
Density: 1,449.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 1973335

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.

Safety38#9,704/15,637
Economy31#10,850/15,631
Housing87#1,968/14,977
Health41#9,287/15,609
Healthcare45#8,544/15,650
Environment84#2,540/15,453
Education28#11,231/15,649
Infrastructure35#10,198/15,650
Community77#3,644/15,651
Leisure & amenities60#6,274/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Sioux City, Iowa ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Woodbury 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

Average commute time · low17.5 min
95/100Iowa 19.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Rent as share of income · low26.7%
90/100Iowa 27.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Rent-burdened households · low43.1%
90/100Iowa 43.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low6.0 µg/m³
89/100Iowa 7.1 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWoodbury County value
Mammography screening · high54.0%
88/100Iowa 57.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWoodbury County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Iowa 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWoodbury County value

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Iowa 10.1United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationWoodbury County value
Property crime rate · high2,433 /100k
5/100Iowa 1,172 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationWoodbury County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Iowa 3.2United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesWoodbury County value
Violent crime rate · high451 /100k
13/100Iowa 234 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationWoodbury County value
New business applications · low8.8 /1k
13/100Iowa 10.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauWoodbury County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high88 mi
13/100Iowa 60 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauWoodbury County value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.6% (2015-2019) → 86.9% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$55,433 (2015-2019) → $68,906 (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.1× (2015-2019) → 2.5× (2020-2024)
+20%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
7.4% (2015-2019) → 9.5% (2020-2024)
+2.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
New homes permittedWorsening
1.2 /1k (2021) → 1.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−5.8%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
42.0% (2015-2019) → 43.1% (2020-2024)
+1.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Sioux City, Iowa improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 moved within the margin of error and 1 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.

Improved2

Broadband+9.2 points77.6% → 86.9%
Household income+24%$55,433 → $68,906

Declined2

Uninsured+2.2 points7.4% → 9.5%
Price / income+0.4×2.1× → 2.5×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Sioux City, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.3 min2015-2019	17.5 min2020-2024	+0.2 min	Within the margin of error	44%
Bachelor's degree or higher	22.1%2015-2019	22.9%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Broadband subscriptions	77.6%2015-2019	86.9%2020-2024	+9.2 points	Improved	56%
Child poverty rate	19.5%2015-2019	20.4%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Effective property tax rate	1.72%2015-2019	1.49%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	63%
High school diploma or higher	85.1%2015-2019	85.6%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.4×	Declined	53%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4302015-2019	0.4382020-2024	+0.008	Within the margin of error	44%
Median household income	$55,4332015-2019	$68,9062020-2024	+24%	Improved	42%
Poverty rate	14.2%2015-2019	15.3%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Public transit commuters	1.1%2015-2019	1.3%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	97%
Rent as share of income	26.8%2015-2019	26.7%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Rent-burdened households	42.0%2015-2019	43.1%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Unemployment rate	4.8%2015-2019	4.5%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.4%2015-2019	9.5%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Declined	24%

“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 Sioux City, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sioux City, 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, Sioux City, Iowa itself moved −3.1 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

86,101 residents (±29)

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

32,926 households (±452)

Sioux City, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k18%5,928
$25k–50k19%6,238
$50k–75k16%5,397

Homes

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

Owners and renters

32,926 households (±452)

Sioux City, Iowa
Iowa share

Own65%21,489
Rent35%11,437

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+2.5 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

41,678 workers (±879)

Sioux City, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone79%33,128
Carpool12%4,890
Public transit1.3%†542

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 Sioux City, IA-NE-SD

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 Woodbury County, the county holding most of Sioux City's residents.

Woodbury County has 2,622 employer establishments, 246 for every 10,000 residents (0.99× the US rate of 248; 0.95× Iowa's), with 46,810 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,499. The Census Bureau also counts 6,418 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,622; 6,418 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 246; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 46,810
Average annual pay: $49,499; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	197	18.5	0.89×About typical	3,969	$72,938	196
Restaurants and other eating places	191	17.9	0.98×About typical	3,853	$19,106	45
Specialty trade contractors	175	16.4	1.06×About typical	1,832	$70,017	494
Limited-service restaurants	89	8.4	1.04×About typical	1,732	$18,148	12
Religious organizations	88	8.3	1.49×More than typical	517	$25,791	—
Lessors of real estate	84	7.9	0.64×Fewer than typical	313	$39,489	688
Automotive repair and maintenance	83	7.8	1.55×More than typical	434	$42,901	77
Services to buildings and dwellings	82	7.7	1.14×About typical	333	$32,709	399
Offices of other health practitioners	80	7.5	1.24×About typical	339	$50,124	93
Full-service restaurants	78	7.3	0.95×About typical	1,888	$20,019	17
Building equipment contractors	72	6.8	1.12×About typical	1,102	$69,814	68
Insurance agencies and brokerages	70	6.6	1.50×More than typical	281	$82,669	131

Rank places for an industry Open Woodbury County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 106,522 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 $20M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Sioux City, Iowa: $232 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $20M; −19% vs FY2025
Per resident: $232; US $1,994
Sole-source: 4.7%; US 30%
Single offer: 20%; 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

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources$6.8M34%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$2.5M13%
Transportation Security Administration$2.2M11%
Nuclear Regulatory Commission$1.6M8.1%
Federal Highway Administration$941K4.7%
Social Security Administration$649.2K3.2%
Public Buildings Service$617.7K3.1%
National Institutes of Health$617.2K3.1%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

18.2MFY2017
4.6MFY2018
4.2MFY2019
4.9MFY2020
16.3MFY2021
12.1MFY2022
30.7MFY2023
39.5M

Top industries (NAICS)

Computer systems design and related services · 5415$15M75%
Other residential care facilities · 6239$1.8M9.0%
Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing · 3341$791.5K4.0%
Offices of physicians · 6211$649.2K3.2%
Outpatient care centers · 6214$578.9K2.9%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Sioux City, Iowa

CISCO VOIP ELA RENEWAL FY24$6.9M
REGENCY CONSULTING INC· Woodbury County, IA· IT & telecom· Aug 28, 2024 – Jun 11, 2026· 70T03024F7667N064
INFRASTRUCTURE$2.6M
REGENCY CONSULTING INC· Woodbury County, IA· IT & telecom· Jul 31, 2023 – Jan 7, 2026· HC108423F0184
CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE THE NAVAJO AREA WIDE CONSOLIDATED LAPTOP PURCHASE.$2.2M
REGENCY CONSULTING INC· Woodbury County, IA· IT & telecom· May 27, 2025 – Oct 30, 2025· 75H71025F80160
TO PROVIDE RESIDENTIAL REENTRY CENTER (RRC) SERVICES LOCATED WITHIN THE COUNTY OF WOODBURY, IOWA. HOME CONFINEMENT RADIUS WITHIN 200 MILES OF THE RRC FACILITY.

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 Sioux City, Iowa, so they do not add up across cities.

Sioux City, Iowa's figures are part of those of Woodbury County, IA and Plymouth County, IA ($18.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 100% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Sioux City is mostly in Woodbury County.

See federal money in Woodbury 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.

Sioux City, 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.

Woodbury County76100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Sioux City, IA-NE-SD81

Other cities and towns in Woodbury 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/1973335

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends