| ZIP Codes: | 12 ZIP Codes (12 Standard, 0 PO Box, 0 Unique) [See All] |
| Area Codes: | 515 / 641 |
| Timezone: | Central (GMT -06:00) |
| Local Time: | 2:11:53 PM |
| Population: | 13,851 [See All] |
| FIPS: | 19109 |
| Land Area: | 825 sq mi |
| Water Area: | 1 sq mi |
| Coordinates: | 43.2233, -94.2064 |
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13,851 residents live across 12 ZIPs covering 825 sq mi, served by 12 distinct USPS-recognized cities.
Population moved from 14,593 to 13,851 from 2014 to 2024 — a -5.1% change. 4 ZIPs gained residents, 8 lost.
The county's wealthiest ZIP 50483 (Wesley, $88,929 median) and poorest ZIP 50556 (Ledyard, $36,607) are 25.1 miles apart — a 2.4× income gap across local geography.
Median home values vary 3.4× across this county — from $53,300 in 50451 (Lakota) to $180,800 in 50511 (Algona).
Density varies 15× across the county — from 4 people/sq mi in 50556 (Ledyard) to 57 in 50511 (Algona).
Educational attainment ranges from 12.0% bachelor's+ in 50517 (Bancroft) to 26.8% in 50511 (Algona) — the breadth of educational profiles across the area.
Within Iowa, this is the #58 most populous of 99 counties and ranks #90 for median household income .
Weighted by population, the typical household earns about $66,959 across the county — reflecting what a typical resident sees, not a simple ZIP average.
22.6% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher (2,246 of 9,917 reporting).
12 Standard delivery, 0 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.
Kossuth County lost 5.1% of residents between 2014 and 2024. ZIPs that shed the largest share:
| ZIP | City | Type | Population | Median Income | Area (sq mi) | 10-yr Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50511 | Algona | Standard | 7,240 | $66,642 | 128.1 | -0.2% |
| 50517 | Bancroft | Standard | 833 | $61,875 | 80.0 | -20.1% |
| 50598 | Whittemore | Standard | 818 | $78,558 | 64.9 | 0.2% |
| 50480 | Titonka | Standard | 809 | $73,333 | 67.6 | 2.8% |
| 50560 | Lu Verne | Standard | 732 | $66,042 | 81.3 | 14.4% |
| 50590 | Swea City | Standard | 718 | $57,639 | 75.6 | -23.6% |
| 50522 | Burt | Standard | 705 | $67,813 | 65.0 | -23.0% |
| 50483 | Wesley | Standard | 672 | $88,929 | 77.6 | -0.6% |
| 50539 | Fenton | Standard | 444 | $65,417 | 50.9 | -19.7% |
| 50451 | Lakota | Standard | 432 | $53,750 | 56.3 | -0.2% |
| 50559 | Lone Rock | Standard | 289 | $50,000 | 36.9 | 2.5% |
| 50556 | Ledyard | Standard | 159 | $36,607 | 41.2 | -37.9% |