Sioux County Iowa - Population Growth

[BillyClone]

I was wondering if anyone on here could explain the anomaly that is the continued population growth in Sioux County, Iowa.

At my work, I was asked to take a look at population growth pockets around the Midwest. In Iowa, almost all cases of growth are attributable to being in or near a large metro area - rural areas of Iowa are losing people. However, there seem to be a few pockets of rural growth, that is, growth in a low population area.

For example, one is Jefferson County. Population is around 18k but has seen growth over 10% in the last decade. I know a lot of that is due to the connection with Maharishi University and the founding of Vedic City.

Another example is Dickinson County, home of the Iowa Great Lakes. Population is 17k with 4% growth in the last decade. It's a vacation spot and, I assume, the lakes are an attraction that draw people to the area.

But Sioux County has been steadily growing without any one noticeable feature driving the growth. It does have a population of close to 35k, but no individual town with more than 8k. Growth has been 7% in the last decade and that has held true over the last 30 years. Totally out of line with most rural areas in the state and even the Midwest, in general.

Does anyone have local knowledge of what's driving the steady growth? It really is amazing to see this in any part of Iowa that isn't connected to a large metro area.

 

[weR138]

Gay Pride?

 

[Gunnerclone]

Sioux Center is only 39 miles from Sioux Falls, SD. That’s commuting territory easy.

 

[Clonefan94]

Friendly business environment, low taxes, location to Sioux Falls, which is considered one of the better business friendly cities in the area? Those are just guesses, I know very little about the area, but it certainly can't be the weather or location to prime beachfront real estate. For me, if I see a city with a population growth, my first thought is that they are very pro business and they attract jobs, then attract people to those jobs. If they aren't on the coasts or have gorgeous weather, then that could obviously be another factor.

I had a friend from college who moved their for a job after graduation. Originally, he really dreaded it, thinking, "Oh, Sioux City" But, they fell in love with the place and never left and have been there for over 20 years.

 

[hurdleisu24]

Sioux Center is only 39 miles from Sioux Falls, SD. That’s commuting territory easy.

This is what I was thinking. But why Sioux county? Anything special there? amenities? Strong schools?

 

[Gunnerclone]

This is what I was thinking. But why Sioux county? Anything special there? amenities? Strong schools?

If I had to guess it’s probably cheap as **** to live there. Making Sioux Falls money paying Sioux Center prices. Good business that, probably.

 

[weR138]

This is what I was thinking. But why Sioux county? Anything special there? amenities? Strong schools?

Insular Dutch Reformed society. It's growing from the inside. The Dutch reproduce and don't leave.

 

[CTTB78]

Growing biotech industry.

 

[bhutch65]

I'm Dutch. 1/2 Pella and 1/2 Hospers. Grew up a county over.

Some of the best farmland anywhere.

Good schools. People tend to do business within the community to keep it strong. Distinct community pride.

Many buffalo head nickles are still squeezed.

 

[BillyClone]

Insular Dutch Reformed society. It's growing from the inside. The Dutch reproduce and don't leave.

Not entirely sure if you are serious or just being funny, but I did wonder about that. Marion County (Pella) is seeing similar growth trends but I wasn't sure if that was simply due to proximity to Des Moines metro. Religious convictions can be a strong driver in seeing the local population avoid migration to the "big city".

 

[CprE84]

I live in Austin, TX, but I am originally from nearby O'Brien county, so I'll give my 2c :

Orange City has added jobs with Diamond Vogel (note the Dutch connection) and Civco (Medtec) : https://orangecityiowa.com/business/major-employers/

On a recent trip to visit my father, we went to a movie in Orange City, and it does appear to be a thriving community. My father argued that part of it is that the Dutch in that area work to keep their money local - supporting local businesses and being willing to spend for community development.

Likewise, Sioux Center has some relatively new employers who have grown, like TransOva. Pella Windows remains pretty solid there too. See : http://www.siouxcenter.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/306

Also, I think Well Blue Bunny which is not far away in next door Plymouth Co has grown quite a bit and added jobs, so there are probably some commuting from Sioux Co for that also.

So, I think the rural decline is still in place, but Orange City and Sioux Center are thriving small (ish) towns that are adding jobs & people.

 

[weR138]

Not entirely sure if you are serious or just being funny, but I did wonder about that. Marion County (Pella) is seeing similar growth trends but I wasn't sure if that was simply due to proximity to Des Moines metro. Religious convictions can be a strong driver in seeing the local population avoid migration to the "big city".

Serious as a heart attack.

 

[Cybyassociation]

It could be due to the fact that the entire city was built on rock and roll.

 

[weR138]

It could be due to the fact that the entire city was built on rock and roll.

Threads about Sioux County bruh.

Sioux City & Sioux County are really ****ing far apart on the spectrum. What spectrum, you ask? Pick one...

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Sioux County has a ton of people who commute to Sioux Falls. You have access to the Sioux Falls amenities with a much cheaper cost of living. As Sioux Falls continues to grow Sioux County will as well.

 

[RedDog]

I was wondering if anyone on here could explain the anomaly that is the continued population growth in Sioux County, Iowa.

At my work, I was asked to take a look at population growth pockets around the Midwest. In Iowa, almost all cases of growth are attributable to being in or near a large metro area - rural areas of Iowa are losing people. However, there seem to be a few pockets of rural growth, that is, growth in a low population area.

For example, one is Jefferson County. Population is around 18k but has seen growth over 10% in the last decade. I know a lot of that is due to the connection with Maharishi University and the founding of Vedic City.

Another example is Dickinson County, home of the Iowa Great Lakes. Population is 17k with 4% growth in the last decade. It's a vacation spot and, I assume, the lakes are an attraction that draw people to the area.

But Sioux County has been steadily growing without any one noticeable feature driving the growth. It does have a population of close to 35k, but no individual town with more than 8k. Growth has been 7% in the last decade and that has held true over the last 30 years. Totally out of line with most rural areas in the state and even the Midwest, in general.

Does anyone have local knowledge of what's driving the steady growth? It really is amazing to see this in any part of Iowa that isn't connected to a large metro area.

Sioux County's growth has a direct impact on Dickinson County's growth. That's where they party out of sight from the Church Elders.

 

[k123]

There was a really interesting 3-part series in the Des Moines Register a few years ago, but the links are all dead now.
This was one: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/ar...t-ethic-plays-major-role-Sioux-County-success

The main take-aways were

• very good, productive farmland
• proximity to Sioux Falls, Sioux City, so not totally middle of nowhere
• a value added component - they aren't just growing corns and beans, but they have a lot of hog operations that use the farm as feed, so good feedback loop, as well as a lot of hog genetic operations. "Million dollar sows", etc.
• Similar to the above, there are a number of small in global sense but big in regional sense steel manufacturing businesses. These are especially concentrated in Rock Valley. Some make farm implements, but they also make things for export. Skilled workforce, "agglomeration theory" of industry input/output.
• Hwy 10 and 18 get access to I-29, connects to I-35 in KC, and there to the world. Same up to I-90 and Seattle export ports. RRs. This part is true of all of Iowa though.
• And you cannot discount the relatively homogenous Dutch Reformed culture. Orange City and Sioux Center have like 10 Reformed churches each, as well as other denominations. Obviously that is lessening as families move, fragment, religious observance declines there like everywhere, but the duty/hard work parts of that are clear to see. Specifically more stable families mean more dual income homes, more stable for kids, etc.
• The article about Calvinism talked about the idea that humans have a duty to conserve but also develop the world. ("Adam was a gardner in the garden of Eden, not just loafing about", if you will), so the get it done work ethic is strong.
• City pride - small towns are clean, kept up, but efficiently managed.
• They have good public schools and a robust set of Christian schools, for the above reasons education is considered important socially. There are two respectable liberal arts colleges, Dordt even has an ABET accredited engineering degree. I know people who've gone from there to grad school at ISU.
• Momentum is important. People there are optimistic, a different attitude than "days gone by" I've noticed in places like SE Iowa cities, etc. This plays into students at schools as well as adult employment.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Sioux County's growth has a direct impact on Dickinson County's growth. That's where they party out of sight from the Church Elders.

Accurate... My brother in law and one of my friends went to Northwestern and they had to leave town to drink/party. Orange City makes Pella look really progressive.

 

[ISpyCy]

I was wondering if anyone on here could explain the anomaly that is the continued population growth in Sioux County, Iowa.

At my work, I was asked to take a look at population growth pockets around the Midwest. In Iowa, almost all cases of growth are attributable to being in or near a large metro area - rural areas of Iowa are losing people. However, there seem to be a few pockets of rural growth, that is, growth in a low population area.

For example, one is Jefferson County. Population is around 18k but has seen growth over 10% in the last decade. I know a lot of that is due to the connection with Maharishi University and the founding of Vedic City.

Another example is Dickinson County, home of the Iowa Great Lakes. Population is 17k with 4% growth in the last decade. It's a vacation spot and, I assume, the lakes are an attraction that draw people to the area.

But Sioux County has been steadily growing without any one noticeable feature driving the growth. It does have a population of close to 35k, but no individual town with more than 8k. Growth has been 7% in the last decade and that has held true over the last 30 years. Totally out of line with most rural areas in the state and even the Midwest, in general.

Does anyone have local knowledge of what's driving the steady growth? It really is amazing to see this in any part of Iowa that isn't connected to a large metro area.

Direct access to Sioux City and Worthington, MN; not one but two successful colleges, and maybe a strong initiative to build housing, any major employers, etc.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

There was a really interesting 3-part series in the Des Moines Register a few years ago, but the links are all dead now.
This was one: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/ar...t-ethic-plays-major-role-Sioux-County-success

The main take-aways were

• very good, productive farmland
• proximity to Sioux Falls, Sioux City, so not totally middle of nowhere
• a value added component (they aren't just growing corns and beans, but they have a lot of hog operations that use the farm as feed, so good feedback loop, as well as a lot of hog genetic operations. "Million dollar sows", etc.
• Similar to the above, there are a number of small in global sense but big in regional sense steel manufacturing businesses. These are especially concentrated in Rock Valley. Some make farm implements, but they also make things for export. Skilled workforce, "agglomeration theory" of industry input/output.
• Hwy 10 and 18 get access to I-29, connects to I-35 in KC, and there to the world. Same up to I-90 and Seattle export ports. RRs. This part is true of all of Iowa though.
• And you cannot discount the relatively homogenous Dutch Reformed culture. Orange City and Sioux Center have like 10 Reformed churches each, as well as other denominations. Obviously that is lessening as families move, fragment, religious observance declines there like everywhere, but the duty/hard work parts of that are clear to see. Specifically more stable families mean more dual income homes, more stable for kids, etc.
• The article about Calvinism talked about the idea that humans have a duty to conserve but also develop the world. ("Adam was a gardner in the garden of Eden, not just loafing about", if you will), so the get it done work ethic is strong.
• City pride - small towns are clean, kept up, but efficiently managed.
• They have good public schools and a robust set of Christian schools, for the above reasons education is considered important socially. There are two respectable liberal arts colleges, Dordt even has an ABET accredited engineering degree. I know people who've gone from there to grad school at ISU.
• Momentum is important. People there are optimistic, a different attitude than "days gone by" I've noticed in places like SE Iowa cities, etc.

I get your point regarding the farmland but there is no population growth in rural Iowa that is tied to farming. Large farming operations have all but made the family farm extinct. The population per square mile in Iowa is a fraction of what it used to be back in the 60's and 70's.