Italian Population in Buena Vista County, IA by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Italian population in Buena Vista County, IA is reported at 215 residents, according to recent U.S. Census estimates. Several cities in Buena Vista County - including Newell, Storm Lake, Alta, and others - contribute to the Italian population, but the total county figure of 215 indicates additional presence beyond municipal borders. The sections below explores how Italian residents are distributed in Iowa and the U.S.

Top 5 cities with the largest Italian population in Buena Vista County

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  • 1
    Newell
    Italian population in Newell is 26
    2.81% of Newell population is Italian
  • 2
    Storm Lake
    Italian population in Storm Lake is 25
    0.22% of Storm Lake population is Italian
  • 3
    Alta
    Italian population in Alta is 8
    0.34% of Alta population is Italian
  • 4
    Sioux Rapids
    Italian population in Sioux Rapids is 7
    0.84% of Sioux Rapids population is Italian
  • 5
    Albert City
    Italian population in Albert City is 6
    0.88% of Albert City population is Italian

Overview of Italian population in Buena Vista County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Buena Vista County contains 215 Italian residents (1% of 20,684 total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 33rd percentile nationally among counties and 56th percentile within Iowa for Italian demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data indicate Buena Vista County's Italian population of 1% remains below Iowa's state average of 2% and the national average of 4.9%, placing the county below demographic benchmarks across multiple geographic scales.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates Buena Vista County contains 215 Italian residents, representing less than 1% of Iowa's total Italian population of 63,102.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey indicate Buena Vista County's density of 0.37 Italian Americans per square mile remains below Iowa's average of 1.1 per square mile, with relatively sparse community distribution compared to state demographic concentrations.
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6 Cities in Buena Vista County Ranked by Italian Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Italian populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Newell, Storm Lake, Alta, and Sioux Rapids. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 6 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Buena Vista County, IA ranked by Italian population count
Rank by Italian Population
City
Italian Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Buena Vista County Italian Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Newell 26 2.81% 12.09%
2 Storm Lake 25 0.22% 11.63%
3 Alta 8 0.34% 3.72%
4 Sioux Rapids 7 0.84% 3.26%
5 Albert City 6 0.88% 2.79%
6 Lakeside 0 - -
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Buena Vista County, IA by their Italian population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Italian population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Italian ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Italian alone, while others identify as Italian along with another race (such as Italian and German).
  • We’ve used the “Italian alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Italian population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Italian alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Italian .
  2. % of Total Buena Vista County Italian Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Italian population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Italian populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Italian population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Italian populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.