Counties / Iowa / Plymouth County

Plymouth County, IA

FIPS 19149 · population 25,747 · outside every metro area

$298k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$298k
▲ 4.3% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$910
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$980
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+43.0%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+4.3%FHFA HPI2025+4.3%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$229k
Surveyed gross rent$910
Rent burden 30%+30.6%
Median year built1971
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
5.3%vacant
10,891estimated housing units
Occupied tenure26.4% renter
owner 73.6%renter 26.4%
Structure mix82.2% single-family
Single-family 82.2%20+ units 1.7%Mobile home 3.8%Other 12.3%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs11,647▼ 0.7% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments864annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$1,200▲ 4.8% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorManufacturing30.2% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−0.7%WEEKLY WAGE+4.8%Manufacturing30.2%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Plymouth County has a split underwriting case: Zillow’s June 2026 median home value was $297,521, up 4.35% year over year, while the listing market looks less firm. Investors needing current income coverage should be cautious; buyers able to verify property-level rent and flood exposure should investigate. FHFA’s annual 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 4.27%, directionally supporting Zillow’s movement, but it is an index rather than a home value and is not the same timeframe as the Zillow observation.

02Housing economics

Income underwriting is the binding gap. No county market asking rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR of $980 per month is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate, and cannot substitute for market rent. The 1.07% effective property-tax rate and $2,455 median annual tax establish carrying-cost inputs against price, but insurance, maintenance, financing, and property-level assessments are not published.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com’s June 2026 MLS evidence points to a slower visible listing market, not closed-sale demand: median listing price fell 6.26% year over year, median days on market were 53, and 18.54% of listings had reductions. Active listing supply increased. County QCEW workplace covered employment fell, while Manufacturing is the largest disclosed private supersector. Tax-return migration was net negative by 100 households, and out-movers had higher average AGI than in-movers. Investors represented 19 of 221 purchases, so participation exists but does not establish buyer-competition depth.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the named dominant hazard. The modeled climate loss ratio of 0.13% of building value per year is a portfolio-level risk signal, not parcel-specific flood insurance, elevation, or loss history. Next checks are flood zone, insurance quotes, condition, and property-tax assessment. Missing closed-sale comps, market rent, vacancy and turnover, insurance, and flood-zone data prevent yield, expense-coverage, resale-execution, and property-specific climate-cost conclusions. QCEW is annual covered employment at county workplaces, not resident employment or a forecast; MLS measures listings only.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Plymouth County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Sioux City city*86.1KLe Mars city10.6KRemsen city1.8KAkron city1.7KKingsley city1.5KHinton city931Merrill city846Brunsville city210
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

12 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Sioux City cityIncorporated place · spans 2 counties
    86,101
  2. 02
    Le Mars cityIncorporated place
    10,640
  3. 03
    Remsen cityIncorporated place
    1,823
  4. 04
    Akron cityIncorporated place
    1,689
  5. 05
    Kingsley cityIncorporated place
    1,472
  6. 06
    Hinton cityIncorporated place
    931
  7. 07
    Merrill cityIncorporated place
    846
  8. 08
    Brunsville cityIncorporated place
    210
  9. 09
    Westfield cityIncorporated place
    123
  10. 10
    Oyens cityIncorporated place
    81
  11. 11
    Struble cityIncorporated place
    76
  12. 12
    Craig cityIncorporated place
    49

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.127% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax1.07%

$2,455 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration-100

576 in · 676 out

Arriving vs leaving income−$9,372

$52,090 arriving · $61,462 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors8.6%

19 of 221 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings46▲ 13.8% year over year
Median days on market53▲ 7.7% year over year
Listings price-reduced18.5%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▼ 6.3% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Property-level market rent and operating expenses may not support the observed value and tax burden.
  2. Flood-zone, insurance, or prior-loss findings may be materially worse than the county-level climate model.
  3. Listing-market softness, job decline, and net out-migration may leave resale liquidity weaker than value indices suggest.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from this record?

No. County market asking rent is not published, and the HUD two-bedroom FMR is only a payment standard.

What does Realtor.com establish about buyer demand?

It establishes MLS listing-market conditions—lower median asking price, increased supply, longer marketing time, and reductions—not closed-sale demand.

How broad is investor participation in purchases?

Investor participation was a minority of reported purchases.