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	2024	2029
Prairie City	1,382	1,680	1,709	1,713

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-18

Population by Age

Population	2024
0-4	100
5-9	110
10-14	132
15-19	160
20-24	114
25-29	72
30-34	102
35-39	105
40-44	113
45-49	113
50-54	117
55-59	94
60-64	93
65-69	90
70-74	77
75-79	54
80-84	33
85+	30
18+	1,267
Median Age	38

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-18

Population by Race

Prairie City	2024
Total	1,709.00
White Alone	94.5%
Black Alone	0.41%
American Indian Alone	0%
Asian Alone	0.82%
Pacific Islander Alone	0%
Some Other Race	0.53%
Two or More Races	3.74%
Hispanic Origin	3.51%
Diversity Index	16.60

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-18

Growth Rate

Prairie City	2024 - 2029
Population	0.05%
Households	0.09%
Families	0.22%
Median Household Income	2%
Per Capita Income	3%

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-18

Housing

Households

Population	2000	2010	2024	2029
Households	560	631	657	660
Housing Units	574	678	686	686
Owner Occupied Units			501	512
Renter Occupied Units			156	148
Vacant Units			29	26

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-18

Home Value

Prairie City	2024	2029
Median Home Value	$185,000	$187,709
Average Home Value	$209,232	$220,508
<$50,000	5	5
$50,000 - $99,999	25	26
$100,000 - $149,999	91	90
$150,000 - $199,999	185	179
$200,000 - $249,999	106	109
$250,000 - $299,999	43	42
$300,000 - $399,999	27	34
$400,000 - $499,999	6	7
$500,000 - $749,999	2	3
$1,000,000 +	1	1

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-18

Housing Year Built

Year Range	Houses Built
2010 or Later	18
2000-2009	98
1990-1999	64
1980-1989	23
1970-1979	147
1960-1969	88
1950-1959	78
1940-1949	11
1939 or Before	177

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-18

Income

Prairie City	2024	2029
Median Household	$83,291	$92,445
Average Household	$103,876	$117,242
Per Capita	$39,933	$45,172

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-18

Household Income

Prairie City	2024
<$15,000	18
$15,000 - $24,999	37
$25,000 - $34,999	19
$35,000 - $49,999	60
$50,000 - $74,999	149
$75,000 - $99,999	112
$100,000 - $149,999	167
$150,000 - $199,999	49
$200,000+	46

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-18

Employees

Commute

Category	Commuters
Workers 16+	900
In-County Residents	338
Out-of-County Residents	562
Drive Alone	644
Carpooled	51
Public Transport	0
Work at Home	128
Motorcycle	0
Bicycle	0
Walked	70
Other	7
Less than 5 minutes	45
5-9 minutes	102
10-14 minutes	57
15-19 minutes	52
20-24 minutes	57
25-29 minutes	87
30-34 minutes	186
35-39 minutes	42
40-44 minutes	60
45-59 minutes	65
60-89 minutes	11
90+ minutes	8
Average Travel Time	26

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-18

Employees by NAICS

Category	Number
Total Employees	407
Agr/Forestry/Fish/Hunt	0
Mining	0
Utilities	0
Construction	39
Manufacturing	6
Wholesale Trade	0

Retail Trade	45
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	7

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	4
Prof/Scientific/Tech Srv	6
Legal Services	2
Mgmt of Comp/Enterprises	0
Admin/Support/Waste Mgmt	0
Educational Services	170
HealthCare/Social Assist	9
Arts/Entertainment/Rec	0

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

Other Srv excl Pub Admin	38
Auto Repair/Maintenance	5
Public Administration Emp	11

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-18

Educational Attainment (25+)

Prairie City	2024
<9th Grade	8
Some High School	11
GED	46
Graduated High School	267
Some College/No Degree	245
Associates Degree	164
Bachelor's Degree	310
Graduate Degree	42

Source: ESRI, 2024-09-18

Businesses

Businesses by NAICS

Category	Number
Total Businesses	48
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	5
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	1

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	2
Legal Services Bus	1
Mgmt of Comp/Enterprises Bus	0
Admin/Support/Waste Mgmt Bus	0
Educational Services Bus	4
HealthCare/Social Assist Bus	2
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, 2024-09-18