# Pottawattamie County, Iowa

Pottawattamie County (/ˌpɑːtəˈwɑːtəmiː/) is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. At the 2020 census, the population was 93,667, making it the tenth-most populous county in Iowa. The county takes its name from the Potawatomi Native American tribe. The county seat is Council Bluffs.
Pottawattamie County is included in the Omaha–Council Bluffs, NE–IA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 959 square miles (2,480 km$^2$), of which 950 square miles (2,500 km$^2$) is land and 8.9 square miles (23 km$^2$) (0.9%) is water. It is the second-largest county in Iowa by area after Kossuth County. Pottawattamie County is located within Iowa's Loess Hills, and was the site of Kanesville along the Mormon Trail.
In 2023, Pottawattamie County had the highest corn production in Iowa and the U.S., with over 47 million bushels produced.
Due to movement of the Missouri River and a Supreme Court ruling, part of the county, Carter Lake, actually lies on the far side of the Missouri River. This part of the county cannot be reached by road without entering Nebraska; no direct bridge exists.

### Major highways

* Interstate 29
* Interstate 80
* Interstate 480
* Interstate 680
* Interstate 880
* U.S. Highway 6
* U.S. Highway 59
* U.S. Highway 275
* Iowa Highway 83
* Iowa Highway 92
* Iowa Highway 165
* Iowa Highway 191
* Iowa Highway 192

### Adjacent counties

* Harrison County (north)
* Shelby County (northeast)
* Cass County (east)
* Montgomery County (southeast)
* Mills County (south)
* Sarpy County, Nebraska (southwest)
* Douglas County, Nebraska (west)
* Washington County, Nebraska (northwest)

### National protected area

* DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge (part)

## Demographics
### 2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 93,667 in the county, with a population density of 97.8212/sq mi (37.76898/km$^2$). 94.09% of the population reported being of one race. There were 39,852 housing units, of which 37,284 were occupied.
Pottawattamie County Racial Composition :
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
| White (NH) | 79,181 | 84.53% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 1,836 | 2% |
| Native American (NH) | 391 | 0.42% |
| Asian (NH) | 773 | 0.83% |
| Pacific Islander (NH) | 76 | 0.08% |
| Other/Mixed (NH) | 3,750 | 4% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 7,660 | 8.2% |

### 2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 93,158 in the county, with a population density of 97.6233/sq mi (37.6926/km$^2$). There were 39,330 housing units, of which 36,775 were occupied.

### 2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 87,704 people, 33,844 households and 23,623 families residing in the county. The population density was 92 per square mile (36/km$^2$). There were 35,761 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile (15/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 95.98% White, 0.77% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.27% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. 3.30% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 33,844 households, of which 32.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.60% were married couples living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present and 30.20% were non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.03.
26.00% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males.
The median household income was $40,089 and the median family income was $47,105. Males had a median income of $31,642 vand females $24,243. The per capita income was $19,275. About 6.40% of families and 8.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.00% of those under age 18 and 6.30% of those age 65 or over.

## Communities
### Cities

* Avoca
* Carson
* Carter Lake
* Council Bluffs
* Crescent
* Hancock
* Macedonia
* McClelland
* Minden
* Neola
* Oakland
* Treynor
* Underwood
* Walnut

### Unincorporated community

* Honey Creek

### Census-designated places

* Bentley
* Loveland
* Weston

### Townships

* Belknap
* Boomer
* Carson
* Center
* Crescent
* Garner
* Grove
* Hardin
* Hazel Dell
* James
* Kane
* Keg Creek
* Knox
* Lake
* Layton
* Lewis
* Lincoln
* Macedonia
* Minden
* Neola
* Norwalk
* Pleasant
* Rockford
* Silver Creek
* Valley
* Washington
* Waveland
* Wright
* York

### Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Pottawattamie County.
† county seat
| Rank | City/Town/etc. | Municipal type | Population (2020 Census) |
| 1 | † Council Bluffs | City | 62,799 |
| 2 | Carter Lake | City | 3,791 |
| 3 | Avoca | City | 1,683 |
| 4 | Oakland | City | 1,524 |
| 5 | Treynor | City | 1,032 |
| 6 | Underwood | City | 954 |
| 7 | Neola | City | 918 |
| 8 | Carson | City | 766 |
| 9 | Walnut | City | 747 |
| 10 | Crescent | City | 628 |
| 11 | Minden | City | 600 |
| 12 | Macedonia | City | 267 |
| 13 | Hancock | City | 200 |
| 14 | McClelland | City | 146 |
| 15 | Bentley | CDP | 93 |
| 16 | Weston | CDP | 78 |
| 17 | Loveland | CDP | 36 |
| 18 | Shelby (partially in Shelby County) | City | 11 (727 total) |

## Law enforcement

Pottawattamie County is served by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff's Office consisting of 51 sworn deputies, 13 reserve deputies, 92 detention officers and eight civilian support staff. Its headquarters is located in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

## Politics

Pottawattamie County is a strongly Republican county. The county last backed a Democratic presidential candidate in 1964 as the party won nationally by a landslide, & only voted Democratic in four other elections prior to that. Some recent elections were more competitive, with Barack Obama losing the county in 2008 by less than 1,000 votes. However, Donald Trump won the county by 21% in 2016, by 17% in 2020, and by 20% in 2024.
United States presidential election results for Pottawattamie County, Iowa :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 26,335 | 59.10% | 17,468 | 39.20% | 756 | 1.70% |
| 2020 | 26,247 | 57.38% | 18,575 | 40.61% | 922 | 2.02% |
| 2016 | 24,447 | 57.28% | 15,355 | 35.98% | 2,878 | 6.74% |
| 2012 | 21,860 | 51.68% | 19,644 | 46.44% | 797 | 1.88% |
| 2008 | 21,237 | 50.18% | 20,436 | 48.28% | 651 | 1.54% |
| 2004 | 24,558 | 58.72% | 16,906 | 40.43% | 356 | 0.85% |
| 2000 | 18,783 | 54.50% | 14,726 | 42.72% | 958 | 2.78% |
| 1996 | 15,648 | 47.68% | 13,276 | 40.45% | 3,897 | 11.87% |
| 1992 | 15,671 | 42.22% | 13,228 | 35.64% | 8,216 | 22.14% |
| 1988 | 17,193 | 53.06% | 14,958 | 46.16% | 254 | 0.78% |
| 1984 | 21,527 | 63.11% | 12,329 | 36.14% | 256 | 0.75% |
| 1980 | 20,222 | 60.96% | 10,709 | 32.29% | 2,239 | 6.75% |
| 1976 | 17,264 | 53.09% | 14,754 | 45.37% | 501 | 1.54% |
| 1972 | 19,722 | 69.32% | 8,074 | 28.38% | 654 | 2.30% |
| 1968 | 16,038 | 56.47% | 9,495 | 33.43% | 2,866 | 10.09% |
| 1964 | 14,208 | 44.68% | 17,569 | 55.25% | 22 | 0.07% |
| 1960 | 19,223 | 57.79% | 14,025 | 42.17% | 13 | 0.04% |
| 1956 | 17,632 | 57.87% | 12,731 | 41.78% | 105 | 0.34% |
| 1952 | 18,894 | 61.24% | 11,897 | 38.56% | 63 | 0.20% |
| 1948 | 12,384 | 51.40% | 11,430 | 47.44% | 281 | 1.17% |
| 1944 | 14,007 | 54.25% | 11,752 | 45.52% | 59 | 0.23% |
| 1940 | 15,929 | 51.07% | 15,221 | 48.80% | 38 | 0.12% |
| 1936 | 12,223 | 42.28% | 16,259 | 56.23% | 431 | 1.49% |
| 1932 | 9,565 | 35.94% | 16,674 | 62.65% | 377 | 1.42% |
| 1928 | 14,354 | 58.91% | 9,905 | 40.65% | 109 | 0.45% |
| 1924 | 13,380 | 52.78% | 5,305 | 20.93% | 6,667 | 26.30% |
| 1920 | 13,506 | 64.66% | 6,659 | 31.88% | 722 | 3.46% |
| 1916 | 5,992 | 47.83% | 6,263 | 49.99% | 274 | 2.19% |
| 1912 | 1,753 | 14.77% | 4,993 | 42.08% | 5,120 | 43.15% |
| 1908 | 6,137 | 51.16% | 5,520 | 46.02% | 338 | 2.82% |
| 1904 | 6,868 | 61.14% | 3,731 | 33.21% | 634 | 5.64% |
| 1900 | 6,525 | 54.14% | 5,373 | 44.58% | 154 | 1.28% |
| 1896 | 5,810 | 51.00% | 5,468 | 48.00% | 114 | 1.00% |

## Education

School districts include:
* Atlantic Community School District
* AHSTW Community School District
* Council Bluffs Community School District
* Glenwood Community School District
* Griswold Community School District
* Lewis Central Community School District
* Missouri Valley Community School District
* Red Oak Community School District
* Riverside Community School District
* Treynor Community School District
* Tri-Center Community School District
* Underwood Community School District
There is also a state-operated school, Iowa School for the Deaf.
Former school districts:
* A-H-S-T Community School District
* Walnut Community School District

## Notable people

* Nina Korgan (1916—2009), women’s fast-pitch softball pitcher