• county
  • FIPS 19141
  • Largest town: Sheldon

O'Brien County, Iowa

O'Brien County had 14,260 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 573.0 square miles of land. It ranks 55th of 99 in Iowa by population and 40th by land area.

Population
14,260
#55 of 99 in Iowa · #2,141 in US
Area
573.0 sq mi
#40 of 99 in Iowa · #1,744 in US
Density
25 / sq mi
#53 of 99 in Iowa · #2,068 in US
Median household income
$69,914
#47 of 99 in Iowa · #1,010 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

O'Brien County within Iowa. Pin: Des Moines.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from O'Brien County

O'Brien County population, land area and income

O'Brien County had 14,260 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 573.0 square miles of land. It ranks 55th of 99 in Iowa by population and 40th by land area. That works out to 24.9 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in Iowa has 15,008 residents, about the same as O'Brien County.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $69,914 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

14,260

3144th1st

2141st of 3,144 (US)

Land area

573 sq mi

3144th1st

1744th of 3,144 (US)

Density

24.9 / sq mi

3144th1st

2068th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$69,914

3143rd1st

1010th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Iowa (99)

Population

14,260

99th1st

55th of 99 (IA)

Land area

573 sq mi

99th1st

40th of 99 (IA)

Density

24.9 / sq mi

99th1st

53rd of 99 (IA)

Median household income

$69,914

99th1st

47th of 99 (IA)

How O'Brien County's population changed since 2020

O'Brien County gained 111 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 0.8%. That ranks 26th of 99 in Iowa for growth. The median Iowa county changed by -0.6%, and the state as a whole by +1.6%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, O'Brien County recorded 759 births and 832 deaths, a natural change of -73. Net international migration added +286 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -131. The largest single component was international migration, which added 286 people.

14.1k202014.0k202114.1k202214.1k202314.3k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
759
Deaths
832
Net international migration
+286
Net domestic migration
-131
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+193

Where O'Brien County is

The Census internal point of O'Brien County is at 43.083700, -95.625600. It sits in UTM zone 15N. The map shades Iowa's 99 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with O'Brien County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Monroe County: -2.9%Worth County: -1.7%Buena Vista County: +0.0%Jasper County: +0.8%Van Buren County: -0.0%Hardin County: -2.2%Ida County: -3.1%Marshall County: +0.8%Fayette County: -1.5%Ringgold County: -0.8%Wapello County: +1.0%Webster County: -0.2%Adams County: -2.8%Buchanan County: +0.6%Cerro Gordo County: -1.2%Lucas County: +1.6%Emmet County: -1.9%Floyd County: -3.8%Crawford County: -0.7%Linn County: +0.6%Montgomery County: -2.6%Polk County: +4.7%Cherokee County: +0.0%Bremer County: +1.3%Grundy County: +0.5%Adair County: -0.8%Cedar County: -1.4%Story County: +3.9%Mahaska County: -0.6%Davis County: +0.9%Clay County: +0.8%Johnson County: +4.6%Greene County: -1.0%Palo Alto County: -2.0%Benton County: +1.0%Cass County: -0.7%Wright County: -1.5%Audubon County: -2.1%Henry County: -5.3%Boone County: +0.1%Appanoose County: -1.4%Washington County: +0.4%Chickasaw County: -2.2%Poweshiek County: -0.9%Osceola County: -2.6%Wayne County: +1.8%Mitchell County: +0.4%Jefferson County: +0.5%Union County: -1.4%Butler County: -1.2%Hancock County: -1.3%Marion County: +1.9%Delaware County: +0.9%Humboldt County: +0.2%Sioux County: +1.8%Des Moines County: -1.1%O'Brien County: +0.8%Clayton County: -0.6%Black Hawk County: +1.0%Winnebago County: -2.6%Harrison County: +0.4%Decatur County: -1.0%Pocahontas County: -0.9%Lyon County: +3.8%Iowa County: -1.4%Franklin County: +0.3%Dickinson County: +2.2%Madison County: +3.2%Allamakee County: +0.8%Jones County: +2.2%Carroll County: -1.6%Kossuth County: -2.6%Hamilton County: -1.0%Howard County: -1.4%Page County: -1.1%Guthrie County: +1.5%Tama County: -1.8%Monona County: -3.6%Clarke County: -2.1%Lee County: -3.4%Mills County: +2.1%Sac County: -2.7%Scott County: +0.6%Keokuk County: -1.6%Jackson County: -0.3%Warren County: +7.1%Calhoun County: -1.9%Shelby County: +0.8%Fremont County: -1.1%Dubuque County: -0.1%Louisa County: -1.8%Taylor County: -0.6%Woodbury County: +1.2%Clinton County: -0.9%Winneshiek County: -1.6%Pottawattamie County: -0.1%Plymouth County: +0.5%Muscatine County: -2.4%Dallas County: +14.7%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -1.9%
  2. < -1.0%
  3. < +0.0%
  4. < +0.9%
  5. ≥ +0.9%
no data

Orange pin: O'Brien County internal point. Dark pin: Des Moines.

Internal point

Decimal
43.083700, -95.625600
DMS
43°05'1.32"N 95°37'32.16"W
UTM
15N 286277.3E 4773455.8N
Geohash
9zevpgpsd
Plus code
86M639MF+FQ

Towns in O'Brien County

3 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in O'Brien County, 8,368 people together, or 59% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside O'Brien County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Sheldon with 5,321.

  1. 01Sheldon (part)5,321
  2. 02Hartley1,584
  3. 03Sanborn1,463
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering O'Brien County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 8 neighbors for O'Brien County. The most populous is Sioux County, IA, with 36,554 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Des Moines and the nearest big city

Des Moines is 145.9 miles SE of O'Brien County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Sioux Falls, SD (population 209,289), 63.9 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Spencer, IA (population 11,418), 24.2 miles away.

O'Brien County FIPS code

The FIPS code of O'Brien County is 19141: state code 19 for Iowa plus county code 141. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $69,914.

Questions people ask

What is the population of O'Brien County, Iowa?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 14,260. That is up 111 people (0.8%) from the July 2020 estimate of 14,149.

What is the FIPS code of O'Brien County?

19141. The first two digits (19) are Iowa; the last three (141) identify the county.

What is the largest town in O'Brien County?

Sheldon, with 5,321 residents inside O'Brien County in 2024 (5,584 across all 2 counties it spans).

Which counties border O'Brien County?

8 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Sioux County, IA; Plymouth County, IA; Buena Vista County, IA; Dickinson County, IA; Clay County, IA; Lyon County, IA; Cherokee County, IA; Osceola County, IA.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

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