Jury Pool Profile
Buchanan County, Iowa
- County seat
- Independence
- Judicial district
- 1st Judicial District Court
- Population (July 2025 estimate)
- 20,883
- Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 20,694.
At a glance
Buchanan County is a 20,883-person venue. The county population is 96% White (Census race-alone categories). Median household income is $81,191, $5,568 above the IA state median of $75,623; 22.4% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 4.0% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly Spanish. The largest published sector is Education & health services, at 24.2% of covered employment, average pay $46,673/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 3.24%, below the 3.34% state average. The county carried the Republican presidential candidate in 2016, 2020, and 2024, taking 54% to 63% of the vote across the three.
- Population
- 20,694
- Median household income
- $78,236
- Unemployment
- 3.2%
Who sits on a jury?
≥70% White (race-alone) and <20% Black. This county: 96% / 1%.
Buchanan County has a population of 20,694, with a median age of 40.3. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 96.0%; Black residents 0.6%. Independently, 1.9% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The median household earns $81,191; 22.4% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 10.5% live below the federal poverty line.
Economic context
Largest sector in BLS QCEW, with cells BLS withholds estimated from Census County Business Patterns (private jobs) and the statewide public-sector mix: Education & health services, about 27% of covered jobs.
Education & health services is the largest published sector at 24.2% of covered employment, followed by Manufacturing at 22.2%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 3.24%, below the Iowa state average.
Political composition
Republican candidate carried this county in 2016, 2020, and 2024 (avg winning share: 59%). 'Strongly' threshold: ≥60% avg.
Buchanan County was carried by the Republican candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles, with 63.4% in 2024, 59.6% in 2020, 54.3% in 2016.
Languages, households, faith & health
Family households are 68% of all households (thresholds: ≥70% = 'family-dominant'; 50–70% = 'family-majority'; <50% = 'singles/nonfamily-majority'). 4.0% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).
4.0% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are German or other West Germanic, Spanish, Russian, Polish, or other Slavic. Veterans account for 6.9% of the adult civilian population (1,059 individuals).