Jury Pool Profile
Buena Vista County, Iowa
- County seat
- Storm Lake
- Judicial district
- 3rd Judicial District Court
- Population (July 2025 estimate)
- 20,449
- Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 20,753.
At a glance
Buena Vista County is a 20,449-person venue. The county population is 60% White (Census race-alone categories). 29% identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race. Those figures overlap rather than adding up; counted separately, non-Hispanic White residents are 52.1%, which is the basis the chart below uses. Median household income is $77,083, $1,460 above the IA state median of $75,623; 22.2% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 36.5% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly Spanish, then other Asian and Pacific Island languages (9.3%), a group the Census does not break out. The largest employment sector is Manufacturing, at 32.7% of covered employment, average pay $66,431/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 2.7%, below the 3.34% state average. The county carried the Republican presidential candidate in 2016, 2020, and 2024, taking 60% to 66% of the vote across the three.
- Population
- 20,753
- Median household income
- $71,719
- Unemployment
- 2.7%
Who sits on a jury?
50–70% White and ≥15% Black. This county: 60% / 3%.
Buena Vista County has a population of 20,753, with a median age of 35.6. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 60.0%; Black residents 3.3%. Independently, 29.4% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The median household earns $77,083; 22.2% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 10.7% live below the federal poverty line.
Economic context
Largest sector in BLS QCEW, even counting every withheld job toward the other sectors: Manufacturing, about 33% of covered jobs.
Manufacturing is the largest employment sector at 32.7% of covered employment, followed by Education & health services at 23.8%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 2.7%, below the Iowa state average.
Political composition
Republican candidate carried this county in 2016, 2020, and 2024 (avg winning share: 63%). 'Strongly' threshold: ≥60% avg.
Buena Vista County was carried by the Republican candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles, with 66.0% in 2024, 61.9% in 2020, 59.8% in 2016.
Languages, households, faith & health
Family households are 64% of all households (thresholds: ≥70% = 'family-dominant'; 50–70% = 'family-majority'; <50% = 'singles/nonfamily-majority'). 36.5% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).
36.5% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Spanish, Tagalog, German or other West Germanic. Veterans account for 4.1% of the adult civilian population (625 individuals).