Jury Pool Profile
Howard County, Iowa
- County seat
- Cresco
- Judicial district
- 1st Judicial District Court
- Population (July 2025 estimate)
- 9,415
- Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 9,445.
At a glance
Howard County is a 9,415-person venue. The county population is 93% White (Census race-alone categories). Median household income is $71,163, $4,460 below the IA state median of $75,623; 19.5% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 9.6% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly German or other West Germanic and Spanish. The largest published sector is Manufacturing, at 27.7% of covered employment, average pay $55,784/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 3.0%, below the 3.34% state average. The county carried the Republican presidential candidate in 2016, 2020, and 2024, taking 58% to 65% of the vote across the three.
- Population
- 9,445
- Median household income
- $67,446
- Unemployment
- 3.0%
Who sits on a jury?
≥70% White (race-alone) and <20% Black. This county: 93% / 1%.
Howard County has a population of 9,445, with a median age of 39.2. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 93.2%; Black residents 0.8%. Independently, 3.3% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The median household earns $71,163; 19.5% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 9.7% live below the federal poverty line.
Economic context
Counting the cells BLS withholds (private jobs estimated from Census County Business Patterns, government jobs from the statewide mix), the two largest sectors are within 20% of each other: Manufacturing about 1,210, Education & health services about 1,030.
Manufacturing is the largest published sector at 27.7% of covered employment, followed by Trade, transportation & utilities at 15.9%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 3.0%, below the Iowa state average.
Political composition
Republican candidate carried this county in 2016, 2020, and 2024 (avg winning share: 62%). 'Strongly' threshold: ≥60% avg.
Howard County was carried by the Republican candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles, with 65.3% in 2024, 63.1% in 2020, 57.9% 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'). 9.6% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).
9.6% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are German or other West Germanic, Spanish, Tagalog. Veterans account for 6.5% of the adult civilian population (456 individuals).