Iowa City is also a major college town with a large number of people who are 18 years or older and attending college. As is often the case in college towns, the many students that live in Iowa City have a strong influence on the local culture and entertainment scene, which may seem dormant by comparison in the summer months when much of the student population is away. In the fall, the return of students has a reinvigorating effect on the community. Because colleges are lasting institutions, they have a stabilizing effect on the economy by providing direct local benefits such as jobs for faculty and staff and spending by students. Iowa City’s economy is one such example of this.
Not only is Iowa City a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, shaping the character of the city into a place that is geared toward, and considered attractive to, many single, educated people. Many singles consider Iowa City a good place to live without being in a really big city, with opportunities for friendships and fun with others like themselves.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Iowa City spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 18.93 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.
Iowa City has a lot of people who ride the bus to and from work. In fact, for its size, Iowa City has quite a high level of public transit users. Iowa City’s need for inexpensive transportation options for its citizens is quite high.
Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Iowa City, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Iowa City is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 59.78% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.
The per capita income in Iowa City in 2022 was $34,820, which is middle income relative to Iowa and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $139,280 for a family of four. However, Iowa City contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Iowa City is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Iowa City home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Iowa City residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Iowa City include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Norwegian.
The most common language spoken in Iowa City is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Arabic.
