Iowa · Census place 1968160

Rock Rapids, Iowa

Rock Rapids is a city in Lyon County, Iowa with an estimated 2,709 residents on July 1, 2024. It is the 133rd largest of 273 incorporated places of 1,000+ people in the state.

Population 2024: 2,709; #133 of 273 in Iowa
Change since 2020: +3.7%; +97 people
Land area: 4.2 sq mi; + 0.05 sq mi water
Density: 643 / sq mi; State median 1,363

Orange pin: Rock Rapids. Shaded: its county. Dark pin: Des Moines.

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Tools and pages that start from Rock Rapids

Rock Rapids population, 2020 to 2024

Rock Rapids added 97 residents from July 2020 to July 2024, a change of +3.7%. In the latest year it moved by +19.

July 1 estimates. The April 2020 estimates base was 2,613. The axis starts above zero so yearly changes are visible.

Rock Rapids covers 4.21 square miles of land and 0.05 of water, for 643 people per square mile of land. The median Iowa place of 5,000+ has 1,363, so Rock Rapids is less dense than the typical town.

What county Rock Rapids is in

All of Rock Rapids's residents live in Lyon County, which had 12,378 residents in 2024. Rock Rapids holds 21.9% of the county's population. The shaded shape is on the map above; dots mark the eight nearest places.

ZIP codes in Rock Rapids

1 ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) overlaps Rock Rapids by at least 10% of the ZCTA's or the city's land: 51246. ZCTAs are Census approximations of USPS ZIP code delivery areas. The list comes from the 2020 ZCTA to place relationship file, so a city that annexed land after 2020 may reach into ZIP codes not listed here.

Where Rock Rapids is

The Census internal point of Rock Rapids is at 43.426700, -96.166400. Des Moines, the capital, is 182.0 miles SE in a straight line. The nearest larger place is Luverne, MN (4,941 people), 15.8 miles away. The nearest city of 100,000 or more is Sioux Falls, SD, 29.5 miles away.

Internal point

Decimal: 43.426700, -96.166400
DMS: 43°25'36.12"N 96°09'59.04"W
UTM: 14N 729362.7E 4812101.4N
Geohash: 9zex59tfb
Plus code: 86M5CRGM+MC

Daylight in Rock Rapids

At 43.43° N, Rock Rapids gets about 15 h 25 min of daylight around the June solstice and 8 h 57 min around the December solstice, a swing of 6 h 28 min. Figures are sunrise to sunset from the SunCalc model for June 21 and December 21, 2026.

Places near Rock Rapids

The eight nearest incorporated places of 1,000+ in Iowa, measured between internal points. The closest is George, 10.1 miles away, with 1,106 people.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Rock Rapids, IA?

2,709 on July 1, 2024, in the Census Vintage 2024 estimates. That is up 97 (3.7%) from 2,612 in July 2020.

What county is Rock Rapids in?

Lyon County. All of its residents live in that county.

What ZIP codes cover Rock Rapids?

1 ZIP Code Tabulation Area overlaps it by at least 10% of either area: 51246.

How far is Rock Rapids from Des Moines?

182.0 miles (292.9 km) in a straight line, heading SE from Rock Rapids.

What is the nearest larger city to Rock Rapids?

Luverne, MN, with 4,941 residents, 15.8 miles away between internal points.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates (July 1, 2024), 2024 Gazetteer places, 2020 ZCTA to place relationship file.

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.