Italian Population in Palo Alto County, IA by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Italian population in Palo Alto County, IA is reported at 93 residents, according to recent U.S. Census estimates. Each of the four cities in Palo Alto County shows a Italian population, including Emmetsburg (43), West Bend (5), Graettinger (2), and Ruthven (1). Together, they comprise the bulk of 93 residents in the county. The rest appear to reside in unincorporated areas. This city-plus-rural pattern is examined in the insights below.

Top 5 cities with the largest Italian population in Palo Alto County

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  • 1
    Emmetsburg
    Italian population in Emmetsburg is 43
    1.18% of Emmetsburg population is Italian
  • 2
    West Bend
    Italian population in West Bend is 5
    0.56% of West Bend population is Italian
  • 3
    Graettinger
    Italian population in Graettinger is 2
    0.19% of Graettinger population is Italian
  • 4
    Ruthven
    Italian population in Ruthven is 1
    0.13% of Ruthven population is Italian

Overview of Italian population in Palo Alto County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Palo Alto County contains 93 Italian residents (1% of 8,902 total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 19th percentile nationally among counties and 25th 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 Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County contains 93 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 documents Palo Alto County with 0.16 Italian Americans per square mile, below Iowa's average of 1.1 per square mile, placing the county among the least concentrated jurisdictions within the state.
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Palo Alto County Cities Ranked by Italian Population

View Methodology
ACS demographic data [1] document 93 Italian residents across all four cities in Palo Alto County, IA included in this analysis* — Emmetsburg, West Bend, Graettinger and Ruthven. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on Census Bureau data.
cities in Palo Alto County, IA ranked by Italian population count
Rank by Italian Population
City
Italian Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Palo Alto County Italian Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Emmetsburg 43 1.18% 46.24%
2 West Bend 5 0.56% 5.38%
3 Graettinger 2 0.19% 2.15%
4 Ruthven 1 0.13% 1.08%
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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 Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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.