1990 Iowa Census And Percent

Rural population drop felt on small-town main streets

To read the report issued by the Community Vitality Center at Iowa State University detailing the rural population woes, click here .

SUMNER, Iowa --- Country living has lost its luster for thousands of Iowans, and businesses in small rural communities have noticed.

In the 1990s, when the economy was booming and energy costs were relatively low, many Iowans flocked to the country. Census figures show the population in unincorporated areas grew by 10,000 residents.

Buying acreages and homes in rural subdivisions was the "in" thing, according to real estate and rural life experts. People yearned for open spaces, independence and privacy.

A decade later, population gains in unincorporated areas have been wiped out. According to 2010 census figures, the number of Iowans living outside of towns and cities declined by more than 20,000 people in the last decade.

Experts say the financial concerns and logistics of living in the country, along with a host of other reasons, are behind the migration back to urban areas. And retail dollars are moving with them.

Jeff Kolb, Butler County Economic Development director, said businesses pay close attention to population and lifestyle shifts. When people leave, so do their dollars.

"Main streets are impacted quicker. Almost every small town used to have grocery, variety and clothing stores. Those are a thing of the past," Kolb said. "People want main street to be full, but expect others to support it."

Iowa's population has grown the past two decades. Census figures show the state topped 3 million people in 2010, up 4.1 percent in 10 years. From 1990 to 2000, the population jumped 5.4 percent.

While Iowa is still considered a farm state and agriculture is a catalyst of the economy, the population became increasingly urban the past decade. Four of the state's five biggest cities grew from 2000 to 2010, but only a third of Iowa's 99 counties did.

Butler County lost 304 residents in its unincorporated areas between 2000 and 2010, or a 5.2 percent reduction.

"We hate to lose anything. It's more of a shift of where people want to live," Kolb said.

The shift

Local real estate agents say acreages and homes in rural subdivisions aren't in demand like they used to be. Agents said clients wanted to move out of cities and towns in the '90s. They wanted more space, property taxes were generally cheaper than in town and financing wasn't a problem.

US Immigration Statistics - Immigration Lawyer — Immigration Lawyer

The United States allowed more legal immigrants from 1991 to 2000, between ten and eleven million, than in any previous decade.  By comparison, the highest previous decade was the 1900s, when 8.8 million people arrived, increasing the total US population by one percent every year.  Specifically, nearly 15% of Americans were foreign-born in 1910, while in 1999, only about 10% were foreign-born.

Immigrants accounted for 4.7 percent of the US population in 1970 and it rose to 6.2 percent in 1980, As of 2010, a quarter of the residents of the United States under 18 are immigrants or are children of immigrants. According to a recent study by the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2008, eight percent of all babies born in the US belonged to illegal immigrant parents.

Legal Immigration to the US

250,000 in the 1930s

2.5 million in the 1950s

4.5 million in the 1970s

7.3 million in the 1980s

10 million in the 1990s.

Since 2000, legal immigrants to the US number approximately 1,000,000 per year, of whom about 600,000 who already are in the US change their status.  Legal immigrants to the US now are at their highest level ever, at just over 37,000,000.  Illegal immigration may account to 1,500,000 per year with  at least 700,000 illegal immigrants arriving every year. From 1990 to 2000, immigration led to a 57.4% increase in foreign born population.

Immigration Estimates for the Future

The Census Bureau further estimates the US population will grow from 281 million in 2000 to 397 million in 2050 with immigration, but only to 328 million with no immigration .  Additionally, a new report from the Pew Research Center projects that by 2050, 47% of the population will consist of non-Hispanic whites, down from the 2005 figure of 67%.  In 1960, there were 85% non-Hispanic whites. The report also foresees the Hispanic population rising from 14% in 2005 to 29% by 2050.  Whereas the Asian population is expected to more than triple by 2050.  Overall, the population of the US is due to rise from 296 million in 2005 to 438 million in 2050, with 82% of the increase because of immigrants.

In 35 of Americas 50 largest cities, non-Hispanic whites were at the last census or are predicted to be in the minority.  In California alone, non-Hispanic whites who were 80% of the state’s population in 1970 came down to 42.3% in 2008.

Census of population and housing (2000): Iowa Population and Housing Unit Counts

"Our cherished ideals": Rural women, activism, and identity in the Midwest, 1950--1990

Census of population and housing (2000): Iowa Summary Population and Housing Characteristics

Contented among strangers, rural German-speaking women and their families in the nineteenth-century Midwest

Census of population and housing (2000): Iowa Summary Social, Economic, and Housing Characteristics