• county
  • FIPS 19187
  • Largest town: Fort Dodge

Webster County, Iowa

Webster County had 36,909 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 715.7 square miles of land. It ranks 18th of 99 in Iowa by population and 12th by land area.

Population
36,909
#18 of 99 in Iowa · #1,266 in US
Area
715.7 sq mi
#12 of 99 in Iowa · #1,268 in US
Density
52 / sq mi
#22 of 99 in Iowa · #1,434 in US
Median household income
$63,557
#75 of 99 in Iowa · #1,508 in US

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

Webster County within Iowa. Pin: Des Moines.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Webster County

Webster County population, land area and income

Webster County had 36,909 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 715.7 square miles of land. It ranks 18th of 99 in Iowa by population and 12th by land area. That works out to 51.6 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and above the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in Iowa has 15,008 residents, so Webster County is 2.5 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $63,557 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

36,909

3144th1st

1266th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

716 sq mi

3144th1st

1268th of 3,144 (US)

Density

51.6 / sq mi

3144th1st

1434th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$63,557

3143rd1st

1508th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Iowa (99)

Population

36,909

99th1st

18th of 99 (IA)

Land area

716 sq mi

99th1st

12th of 99 (IA)

Density

51.6 / sq mi

99th1st

22nd of 99 (IA)

Median household income

$63,557

99th1st

75th of 99 (IA)

How Webster County's population changed since 2020

Webster County lost 82 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 0.2%. That ranks 46th 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, Webster County recorded 1,722 births and 2,076 deaths, a natural change of -354. Net international migration added +715 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -477. The largest single component was international migration, which added 715 people.

37.0k202037.2k202136.7k202236.7k202336.9k2024
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
1,722
Deaths
2,076
Net international migration
+715
Net domestic migration
-477
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+256

Where Webster County is

The Census internal point of Webster County is at 42.433600, -94.175800. 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 Webster 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: Webster County internal point. Dark pin: Des Moines.

Internal point

Decimal
42.433600, -94.175800
DMS
42°26'0.96"N 94°10'32.88"W
UTM
15N 403286.3E 4698589.8N
Geohash
9zt12uz38
Plus code
86J7CRMF+CM

Towns in Webster County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Webster County, 24,886 people together, or 67% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Webster County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Fort Dodge with 24,886.

  1. 01Fort Dodge24,886
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Webster County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Webster County. The most populous is Boone County, IA, with 26,729 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Des Moines and the nearest big city

Des Moines is 65.2 miles SSE of Webster County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Des Moines, IA (population 213,096), 66.2 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Fort Dodge, IA (population 24,886), 5.3 miles away.

Webster County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Webster County is 19187: state code 19 for Iowa plus county code 187. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $63,557.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Webster County, Iowa?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 36,909. That is down 82 people (0.2%) from the July 2020 estimate of 36,991.

What is the FIPS code of Webster County?

19187. The first two digits (19) are Iowa; the last three (187) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Webster County?

Fort Dodge, with 24,886 residents inside Webster County in 2024.

Which counties border Webster County?

7 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Boone County, IA; Hamilton County, IA; Wright County, IA; Calhoun County, IA; Humboldt County, IA; Greene County, IA; Pocahontas 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.