County profile
Buena Vista County, IA
United States · GDP 2024
#1307 of 3,127 US counties by GDPtop-quartile growthmore diversified than 11% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$1.9B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+8.2%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
8,855
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
491
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$51.8k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
20,449
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
2.9%
Median HH income
$71.7k±$7.9k
Bachelor's degree+
22.2%±2.4%
Poverty rate
7.8%±2.0%
Business applications
183 · 2025
Retail establishments
83
40.2/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
No public companies loaded for this state yet — universe expands with the full ingest.
HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Manufacturing49%
Retail trade15%
Health care14%
Education9%
Food & accommodation9%
Admin & support4%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
20,449
residents · 2025 · -1.7% since 2020
Income per capita $57.1k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration−1,662
International migration+730
Natural change+559
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$1.2B2019
$1.3B2020
$1.5B2021
$1.7B2022
$1.8B2023
$1.9B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$159.5k±$10.3k
Median gross rent
$894/mo±$53/mo
Vacancy rate
9.0%±2.2%
Affordability
3.1× wages
Residential permits
$5.3M
16 units · 0.8/1k pop
FEMA risk score
39.3
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.0k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Hail 92Winter weather 77Drought 75
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
2062016
2232017
2272018
2282019
2342020
2552021
3032022
2862023
3252024
3482025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↓ -86% since 20211172021
822022
202023
1722024
162025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
100.4 km
I-90
Nearest freight rail
11.1 km
CN
Nearest port
106.2 km
BIG SOO TERMINAL DOCK
Nearest commercial airport
81.0 km
FORT DODGE RGNL
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$51.8k
avg. annual pay · +21% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Buena Vista?
Buena Vista's economy produced $1.9B in 2024, growing 8.2% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is manufacturing.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.