Iowa 3 Million Strong, What Took You So Long?

Iowa's population is now estimated at 3,002,555 according to the U.S. Census bureau. We've crossed the 3 million threshold. Hooray.

On the down side, it's taken us quite a while to get here. 

We crossed the 1 million mark by the Census of 1870, which recorded an Iowa  population of 1.194 million. And we crossed the 2 million mark by 1900, at 2.231 million, when Iowa was the nation's 10th largest state.

So it took us 108 years to add another 800,000.

Maybe you remember "Iowa 2010," the much ballyhooed commission Gov. Vilsack put together in 2000 to chart a strategic vision for the state. Its No. 1 goal was adding 310,00 people to Iowa's population by 2010.

Today's estimate says Iowa gained 76,174 since April 2000. So we've got to add 233,826 in the next year to reach that goal. We'd better get busy.

There are lots of fun population charts and graphs at the

State Data Center.