| ZIP Codes: | 13 ZIP Codes (10 Standard, 3 PO Box, 0 Unique) [See All] |
| Area Codes: | 515 / 641 |
| Timezone: | Central (GMT -06:00) |
| Local Time: | 11:53:10 PM |
| Population: | 17,940 [See All] |
| FIPS: | 19083 |
| Land Area: | 816 sq mi |
| Water Area: | 1 sq mi |
| Coordinates: | 42.3674, -93.2190 |
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17,940 residents live across 13 ZIPs covering 816 sq mi, served by 13 distinct USPS-recognized cities.
Population moved from 19,234 to 17,776 from 2014 to 2024 — a -7.6% change. 2 ZIPs gained residents, 7 lost (and 1 held flat).
The county's wealthiest ZIP 50269 (Whitten, $92,813 median) and poorest ZIP 50126 (Iowa Falls, $55,185) are 21.1 miles apart — a 1.7× income gap across local geography.
Median home values vary 1.8× across this county — from $90,000 in 50269 (Whitten) to $165,300 in 50230 (Radcliffe).
Density varies 22× across the county — from 8 people/sq mi in 50206 (New Providence) to 165 in 50269 (Whitten).
Educational attainment ranges from 8.8% bachelor's+ in 50269 (Whitten) to 39.9% in 50258 (Union) — the breadth of educational profiles across the area.
Within Iowa, this is the #39 most populous of 99 counties and ranks #37 for median household income .
Weighted by population, the typical household earns about $68,302 across the county — reflecting what a typical resident sees, not a simple ZIP average.
22.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher (2,979 of 13,130 reporting).
10 Standard delivery, 3 PO Box only, 0 single-entity Unique ZIPs serve this county.
A frontier county — vast land area with only a few residents per square mile. Daily life looks very different here than in the country's denser counties.
Hardin County lost 6.7% of residents between 2014 and 2024. ZIPs that shed the largest share:
| ZIP | City | Type | Population | Median Income | Area (sq mi) | 10-yr Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50126 | Iowa Falls | Standard | 6,368 | $55,185 | 134.3 | -10.0% |
| 50627 | Eldora | Standard | 3,276 | $74,536 | 106.5 | -7.1% |
| 50601 | Ackley | Standard | 2,299 | $66,250 | 138.0 | -5.7% |
| 50006 | Alden | Standard | 1,437 | $69,783 | 124.6 | 0.7% |
| 50122 | Hubbard | Standard | 1,297 | $81,739 | 90.4 | -16.5% |
| 50230 | Radcliffe | Standard | 1,145 | $87,778 | 84.7 | -12.5% |
| 50258 | Union | Standard | 958 | $83,988 | 51.9 | -0.7% |
| 50672 | Steamboat Rock | Standard | 611 | $73,333 | 37.9 | 21.0% |
| 50206 | New Providence | Standard | 349 | $79,306 | 46.2 | -11.2% |
| 50269 | Whitten | PO Box | 164 | $92,813 | 1.0 | — |
| 50102 | Garden City | PO Box | 36 | — | 0.5 | 0.0% |
| 50259 | Gifford | Standard | — | — | 0.5 | — |
| 50043 | Buckeye | PO Box | — | — | 0.0 | — |