Fastest Growing Cities in Iowa (2007 Census Estimates) (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids: services, businesses)

[SharpHawkeye]

According to the new 2007 US Census population estimates, the top ten fastest growing cities in Iowa (by % growth) are:

1. Waukee (Des Moines suburb)
2. North Liberty (Iowa City/Cedar Rapids suburb)
3. Granger (Des Moines suburb)
4. Fairfax (Cedar Rapids suburb)
5. Johnston (Des Moines suburb)
6. Peosta (Dubuque suburb)
7. Tiffin (Iowa City suburb)
8. Palo (Cedar Rapids suburb)
9. Atkins (Cedar Rapids suburb)
10. Asbury (Dubuque suburb)

Some other facts from these latest numbers:

• 62% of Iowans now live in a metropolitan county.
• 19% of Iowans live in a county adjacent to a metro area.
• Between 2000 and 2007, approx. 75% of the state's 947 cities lost population
• Iowa as a whole grew by 0.5% in 2007, and by approx 2% since 2000.

So I thought I'd throw this up for discussion. What do these demographic shifts mean for our state? Where are we headed? Is the Iowa small town dead?

Source article: Latest census figures: More Iowans like suburban life | DesMoinesRegister.com | The Des Moines Register

[DBQer]

Originally Posted by SharpHawkeye

So I thought I'd throw this up for discussion. What do these demographic shifts mean for our state? Where are we headed? Is the Iowa small town dead?

Small Iowa towns aren't dead, although it will become increasingly difficult for them to compete with the growing political and economic might that the cities will have.

I see it this way... small and mid-sized towns that are within a reasonable commuting distance of the larger cities (<30 mi) will remain relatively strong, and will likely get some spillover from their growth. The towns farther away will not fare as well, since they are more removed from the services and businesses that people require.

Geographically speaking... this means that most areas of East-Central Iowa will remain relatively stable or prosperous (since 5 of the state's 10 largest cities are in the east, and are within 100 mi of each other). More rural areas in North Iowa, Western Iowa, and along the Missouri border will continue to shrink, as they have been doing...

We are headed toward a state with the vast majority of its people living in the east, in and around Des Moines, and along the Missouri River.

[DSMGuy]

This gives you a good look at each metro. This is 2000-2007 growth (or decline). Thanks to icejammer on eomahaforums.com.

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 546,599 481,394 13.5%
Iowa City, IA 147,038 131,676 11.7%
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 829,890 767,041 8.2%
Cedar Rapids, IA 252,784 237,230 6.6%
Ames, IA 84,752 79,981 6.0%
Dubuque, IA 92,359 89,143 3.6%
Pella, IA 32,775 32,052 2.3%
Spirit Lake, IA 16,696 16,424 1.7%
Boone, IA 26,391 26,224 0.6%
Muscatine, IA 54,218 53,905 0.6%
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 376,160 376,019 0.0%
Marshalltown, IA 39,316 39,311 0.0%
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD 142,794 143,053 -0.2%
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 163,329 163,706 -0.2%
Oskaloosa, IA 22,280 22,335 -0.2%
Newton, IA 36,748 37,213 -1.2%
Ottumwa, IA 35,551 36,051 -1.4%
Clinton, IA 49,051 50,149 -2.2%
Storm Lake, IA 19,776 20,411 -3.1%
Spencer, IA 16,689 17,372 -3.9%
Fort Dodge, IA 38,587 40,235 -4.1%
Burlington, IA-IL 48,288 50,564 -4.5%
Mason City, IA 51,701 54,356 -4.9%
Fort Madison-Keokuk, IA-MO 42,839 45,468 -5.8%

[mfrerkes]

Originally Posted by DSMGuy

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 376,160 376,019 0.0%

Maybe the Quad Cities can hit 376,500 by the year 2030!!!

[QuadCityImages]

Well, for the first 3 or 4 years of that timeframe Davenport and much of the IL side were losing population. At this point I think we're going back up again, but it averages out over the 7 years right now. I think we're in good shape for some decent gains by the 2010 census.

[mfrerkes]

Originally Posted by QuadCityImages

Well, for the first 3 or 4 years of that timeframe Davenport and much of the IL side were losing population. At this point I think we're going back up again, but it averages out over the 7 years right now. I think we're in good shape for some decent gains by the 2010 census.

I guess I haven't really seen any dramatic change in the picture between 2000-04 and 04-present to see where those population gains would come from. This statistic highlights the failure of local civic leaders to effectively market the QC area to outside concerns. We have more interstate highways than Des Moines, Omaha, or Cedar Rapids, a more population-dense surrounding than those metros, and direct access to the nation's busiest inland waterway.

Based on those facts alone, the area should be seeing significantly more growth than 0.0003% over the span of seven years.

[SharpHawkeye]

I agree, it would seem that something is amiss there. My only thought would be that the Quad Cities got hit a lot harder than other Iowa cities with the double whammy of the farm crisis and general rust belt decline back in the 80's/90's.

It does sound like that might be changing though, with some of the projects and civic improvements going on in that area.

[mfrerkes]

Originally Posted by SharpHawkeye

It does sound like that might be changing though, with some of the projects and civic improvements going on in that area.

There has already been a great deal of civic improvements over the last 20 years in the Quad City area. One could cite a long list of ambitious projects (The Mark, The Figge, John Deere Commons, and other large-scale downtown revitalizations) that have been completed, yet solid economic development seems elusive to the area still.

Again, I think this is a failure of local civic organizations to effectively market the area. There is no real plan to attract new business into the area, but merely to maintain what has been established. That seems to explain why the QC growth rate has been slow over the last decade.

[Roy G. Biv]

There are small towns out in the middle of nowhere that don't really serve any function now as they once did back in the early 1900s when farms were smaller, and people depended more on a local marketplace.

However, large urban growth is hardly good thing for Iowa.

[mfrerkes]

Originally Posted by Roy G. Biv

However, large urban growth is hardly good thing for Iowa.

It's great the for the urban areas that acquire growth, however, it is being done mostly on the backs of rural Iowa towns. Much of the growth in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids seems to be spurred on by high school grads from small-town Iowa. A large percentage of my classmates ended up settling in or around the Des Moines area after graduation. While this is great news for Des Moines, it is terrible news for the small farm towns that once defined Iowa's rural landscape.

Even more sad is the fact this trend shows no signs of reversing itself.