Shelby County, Iowa

• White (non-Hispanic) 10,751 91.3%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 518 4.4%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 37 0.3%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 56 0.5%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 356 3.0%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 12 0.1%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 48 0.4%

• Under 18 2,699 22.9%
• 18–24 893 7.6%
• 25–44 2,381 20.2%
• 45–64 3,081 26.2%
• 65 and over 2,724 23.1%

Median household income

$78,108

90% interval $69,383–$86,833

+$2,485 vs IA · 27th of 99

Below poverty line

8.2%

90% interval 6.3%–10.1%

−3.0 pp vs IA · 85th of 99

Unemployment (12-mo)

2.7%

−0.68 pp vs. state

County GDP

$1.1B

0.4% of state

Avg. annual pay

$53,739

Establishments

434

• Trade, transportation & utilities 1,654 29.9%
• Manufacturing 762 13.8%
• Education & health services 563 10.2%
• Leisure & hospitality 392 7.1%
• Professional & business services 268 4.8%
• Financial activities 266 4.8%
• Construction 244 4.4%
• Natural resources & mining 143 2.6%
• Information 103 1.9%
• Other services 76 1.4%
• Public administration 10 0.2%

The sectors listed cover 81.0% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

Home ownership

77.8%

+6.1 pp vs IA · 37th of 99

Median gross rent

$783

−$189 vs IA · 66th of 99

Owner-occupied

3,798

Renter-occupied

1,084

• Diversified

  Top three sectors employ 54% of the workforce, a relatively diversified local economy. Expect mixed employer backgrounds on the panel rather than concentration in any one institution or industry.

• Wide wage spread

  Highest-paid sector (Financial activities, $74,436/yr) pays 4.8× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $15,351/yr). Stark intra-economy class divisions on the panel; calibrate damages and lost-wages framing to that range.

• Mixed business scale

  Average establishment employs 13 workers, a mix of institutional employers and small businesses. Both employed-by-large-institution and small-business-owner perspectives are likely on the panel.

• Republican 4,600 70.9%
• Democratic 1,811 27.9%
• Other / third-party 75 1.2%

• Spanish 259 2.3%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 23 0.2%
• German or other West Germanic 2 0.0%

Households

4,882

Family households

3,277

67.1% of households

Married couples w/ children

1,059

32.3% of families

Single-mother families

189

5.8% of families

Veterans

784

8.6% of civilians 18+

• Catholic 3,601 30.7%
• Evangelical Protestant 1,948 16.6%
• Mainline Protestant 1,719 14.6%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 1 0.0%

Health insured

97.7%

±0.7 pp

Uninsured

2.3%

±0.7 pp

97th of 99

With a disability

10.2%

±1.5 pp

94th of 99

Bachelor's or higher

24.1%

±3.2 pp

−7.3 pp vs IA · 33rd of 99

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

6.2%

90% interval 5.4%–7.0% · Census SAHIE

The under-65 uninsured rate is not comparable to the ACS insurance figures, which cover all ages.

Trial court

4th Judicial District Court

Judges

6 (District Court judges per Judicial Election District (general civil + felony criminal jurisdiction). District Associate, Associate Juvenile, and Magistrate judges (limited jurisdiction) are separately allocated and not counted here. Vintage 2026 iowacourts.gov directory; counts cross-checked against Iowa Code § 602.6201.)

Court seats

Atlantic, Audubon, Clarinda, Council Bluffs, Glenwood, Harlan, Logan, Red Oak, Sidney

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

2

22.03 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

2