County profile
Story County, IA
United States · GDP 2024
#539 of 3,127 US counties by GDP74th-percentile growthmore diversified than 76% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$7.8B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+6.6%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
33,500
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
2,162
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$61.2k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
101,291
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
3.3%
Median HH income
$69.7k±$2.9k
Bachelor's degree+
54.8%±2.1%
Poverty rate
18.2%±1.4%
Business applications
799 · 2025
Retail establishments
269
26.5/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
1Workiva Inc.Technology$884.6M65B2Ames National CorporationFinancial Services———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
Health care24%
Manufacturing22%
Retail trade21%
Food & accommodation19%
Construction8%
Other services7%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
101,291
residents · 2025 · +2.7% since 2020
Income per capita $56.4k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration−1,018
International migration+2,699
Natural change+908
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$5.9B2019
$5.9B2020
$6.5B2021
$6.9B2022
$7.3B2023
$7.8B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$258.7k±$8.4k
Median gross rent
$1.0k/mo±$35/mo
Vacancy rate
7.1%±1.2%
Affordability
4.2× wages
Residential permits
$65.2M
185 units · 1.8/1k pop
FEMA risk score
68.8
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.2k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Drought 96Tornado 91Winter weather 90
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
2772016
2882017
2982018
3082019
3102020
3332021
3682022
4052023
4232024
4362025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↓ -44% since 20213312021
2182022
1652023
1982024
1852025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
8.8 km
I-35
Nearest freight rail
1.1 km
UP
Nearest port
211.4 km
AGRI GRAIN MARKETING, MUSCATINE GRAIN ELEVATOR DOCK
Nearest commercial airport
58.2 km
DES MOINES INTL
Filing activity
SEC EDGAR3 filings from 1 company here in the last 90 days.
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$61.2k
avg. annual pay · +18% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Story?
Story's economy produced $7.8B in 2024, growing 6.6% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is health care.
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.