Prairie City

Surrounded by Iowa’s tallgrass prairie and located near the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Prairie City is a peaceful community filled with people who are warm, welcoming, and proud to call this place home. Within Prairie City’s 1.2 square miles, the city’s Public Works and Parks and Recreation Department operate and maintain four public parks plus numerous ball diamonds and courts, including two regulation tennis courts that are lighted for nighttime use. Conveniently located on Iowa Highway 163 and positioned closely to Interstate 80, Prairie City is just 20 miles from the bustle of larger communities including Des Moines, Newton, Knoxville, and Pella.

Economic Development

Prairie City offers a variety of financial tools to support local businesses such as a Downtown Revitalization Incentive Program, Voluntary Demolition Program, Tax Abatement and Exemption, and Tax Increment Financing. Click here to learn more about these programs.

Learn more about Prairie City here.

Population

Population	2000	2010	2025	2030
Prairie City	1,383	1,680	1,823	1,884

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Population by Age

Population	2025
0-4	102
5-9	106
10-14	128
15-19	175
20-24	128
25-29	79
30-34	107
35-39	117
40-44	124
45-49	123
50-54	130
55-59	98
60-64	97
65-69	96
70-74	81
75-79	64
80-84	36
85+	32
18+	1,383
Median Age	39

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Population by Race

Prairie City	2025
Total	1,823.00
White Alone	94.4%
Black Alone	0.49%
American Indian Alone	0%
Asian Alone	0.77%
Pacific Islander Alone	0%
Some Other Race	0.49%
Two or More Races	3.84%
Hispanic Origin	3.46%
Diversity Index	16.70

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Growth Rate

Prairie City	2025 - 2030
Population	0.66%
Households	0.40%
Families	0.41%
Median Household Income	1%
Per Capita Income	1%

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Housing

Households

Population	2000	2010	2025	2030
Households	560	631	688	702
Housing Units	574	678	723	725
Owner Occupied Units			524	534
Renter Occupied Units			164	168
Vacant Units			35	23

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Home Value

Prairie City	2025	2030
Median Home Value	$189,563	$221,930
Average Home Value	$211,727	$264,106
<$50,000	8	7
$50,000 - $99,999	25	12
$100,000 - $149,999	95	49
$150,000 - $199,999	177	149
$200,000 - $249,999	103	114
$250,000 - $299,999	45	66
$300,000 - $399,999	58	101
$400,000 - $499,999	4	8
$500,000 - $749,999	2	5
$1,000,000 +	1	3

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Housing Year Built

Year Range	Houses Built
2010 or Later	21
2000-2009	101
1990-1999	56
1980-1989	26
1970-1979	127
1960-1969	83
1950-1959	69
1940-1949	17
1939 or Before	166

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Income

Prairie City	2025	2030
Median Household	$79,371	$85,199
Average Household	$95,159	$101,205
Per Capita	$35,913	$37,710

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Household Income

Prairie City	2025
<$15,000	16
$15,000 - $24,999	39
$25,000 - $34,999	30
$35,000 - $49,999	73
$50,000 - $74,999	158
$75,000 - $99,999	122
$100,000 - $149,999	165
$150,000 - $199,999	50
$200,000+	35

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Employees

Commute

Category	Commuters
Workers 16+	820
In-County Residents	305
Out-of-County Residents	515
Drive Alone	605
Carpooled	32
Public Transport	0
Work at Home	146
Motorcycle	0
Bicycle	0
Walked	33
Other	4
Less than 5 minutes	54
5-9 minutes	56
10-14 minutes	22
15-19 minutes	51
20-24 minutes	51
25-29 minutes	92
30-34 minutes	166
35-39 minutes	47
40-44 minutes	63
45-59 minutes	60
60-89 minutes	6
90+ minutes	6
Average Travel Time	27

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Employees by NAICS

Category	Number
Total Employees	449
Agr/Forestry/Fish/Hunt	0
Mining	0
Utilities	0
Construction	36
Manufacturing	6
Wholesale Trade	0

Retail Trade	38
Motor Veh/Parts Dealers	0
Furn & Home Furnish Str	0
Electronics & Appl Store	1
Bldg Matl/Garden Equip	0
Food & Beverage Stores	17
Health/Pers Care Stores	20
Gasoline Stations	0
Clothing/Accessory Store	0
Sports/Hobby/Book/Music	0
General Merchandise Str	0

Transportation/Warehouse	29
Information	1

Finance & Insurance	8
Cntrl Bank/Crdt Intrmdtn	5
Sec/Cmdty Cntrct/Oth Inv	0
Insur/Funds/Trusts/Other	3

Real Estate/Rent/Leasing	3
Prof/Scientific/Tech Srv	26
Legal Services	2
Mgmt of Comp/Enterprises	0
Admin/Support/Waste Mgmt	0
Educational Services	197
HealthCare/Social Assist	9
Arts/Entertainment/Rec	0

Accommodation/Food Srvcs	25
Accommodation	0
Food Srv/Drinking Places	25

Other Srv excl Pub Admin	37
Auto Repair/Maintenance	6
Public Administration Emp	31

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Educational Attainment (25+)

Prairie City	2025
<9th Grade	9
Some High School	17
GED	45
Graduated High School	326
Some College/No Degree	272
Associates Degree	188
Bachelor's Degree	270
Graduate Degree	57

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25

Businesses

Businesses by NAICS

Category	Number
Total Businesses	47
Agr/Forestry/Fish/Hunt Bus	0
Mining Bus	0
Utilities Bus	0
Construction Bus	4
Manufacturing Bus	2
Wholesale Trade Bus	0

Retail Trade Bus	4
Motor Veh/Parts Dealers Bus	0
Furn & Home Furnish Str Bus	0
Electronics & Appl Store Bus	1
Bldg Matl/Garden Equip Bus	0
Food & Beverage Stores Bus	2
Health/Pers Care Stores Bus	1
Gasoline Stations Bus	0
Clothing/Accessory Store Bus	0
Sports/Hobby/Book/Music Bus	0
General Merchandise Str Bus	0

Transportation/Warehouse Bus	3
Information Bus	1

Finance & Insurance Bus	3
Cntrl Bank/Crdt Intrmdtn Bus	1
Sec/Cmdty Cntrct/Oth Inv Bus	0
Insur/Funds/Trusts/Other Bus	2

Real Estate/Rent/Leasing Bus	1
Prof/Scientific/Tech Srv Bus	3
Legal Services Bus	1
Mgmt of Comp/Enterprises Bus	0
Admin/Support/Waste Mgmt Bus	0
Educational Services Bus	4
HealthCare/Social Assist Bus	3
Arts/Entertainment/Rec Bus	0

Accommodation/Food Srvcs Bus	1
Accommodation Bus	0
Food Srv/Drinking Places Bus	1

Other Srv excl Pub Admin Bus	15
Auto Repair/Maintenance Bus	3
Public Administration Bus	2

Source: ESRI, 2025-08-25