Iowa Information and Facts

Official Website: http://www.iowa.gov/

Income

The population of Iowa in 2002 was 2,935,840. Its rank was 30th in the nation. (The District of Columbia is included for ranking purposes.)

Per Capita Personal Income

In 2002 Iowa had a per capita personal income of $28,089. This per capita personal income ranked 32nd in the United States and was 91 percent of the national average, $30,906. The 2002 per capita personal income reflected an increase of 2.7 percent from 2001. The 2001-2002 national change was 1.2 percent. In 1992 the per capita personal income of Iowa was $18,834 and ranked 34th in the United States. The 1992-2002 average annual growth rate of per capita personal income was 4.1 percent. The average annual growth rate for the nation was 4.0 percent.

Total Personal Income

In 2002 Iowa had a total personal income of $82,465,060. This total personal income ranked 30th in the United States. In 1992 the total personal income of Iowa was $53,081,934 and ranked 30th in the United States. The 2002 total personal income reflected an increase of 2.8 percent from 2001. The 2001-2002 national change was 2.3 percent. The 1992-2002 average annual growth rate of total personal income was 4.5 percent. The average annual growth rate for the nation was 5.2 percent.

Components of Personal Income

Total personal income includes net earnings by place of residence; dividends, interest, and rent; and total personal current transfer receipts received by the residents of Iowa. In 2002 net earnings accounted for 65.6 percent of total personal income (compared with 65.7 in 1992); dividends, interest, and rent were 18.7 percent (compared with 19.9 in 1992); and personal current transfer receipts were 15.7 percent (compared with 14.4 in 1992). From 2001 to 2002 net earnings increased 1.6 percent; dividends, interest, and rent increased 0.3 percent; and personal current transfer receipts increased 11.7 percent. From 1992 to 2002 net earnings increased on average 4.5 percent each year; dividends, interest, and rent increased on average 3.8 percent; and personal current transfer receipts increased on average 5.4 percent.

Employment Earnings

Earnings of persons employed in Iowa increased from $59,234,151 in 2001 to $60,327,414 in 2002, an increase of 1.8 percent. The 2001-2002 national change was 1.5 percent. The average annual growth rate from the 1992 estimate of $38,917,899 to the 2002 estimate was 4.5 percent. The average annual growth rate for the nation was 5.3 percent.

Area - Iowa is the 26th largest state in the Union. It has a total area of 145,754 sq km (56,276 sq mi), including 1039 sq km (401 sq mi) of inland water. The state has a maximum extent from east to west of 534 km (332 mi) and a maximum distance from north to south of 344 km (214 mi). The mean elevation is about 340 m (about 1100 ft). The physical features of present-day Iowa are the result of widespread and repeated glaciation during the last Ice Age and the subsequent changes brought about by wind and water erosion. Few of the sedimentary rock formations underlying the state are visible on the surface, for they are covered by a thick mantle of glacial deposits. During the Ice Age, which began about 2.5 million years ago and lasted until about 10,000 years ago, great ice sheets from the north advanced and retreated successively across Iowa. As each ice sheet, or glacier, advanced across the land, it planed off existing hills and filled in valleys, picking up rock material as it went. As it retreated, the ice sheet left behind layers of clays, sands, gravels, and boulders, which together are called drift, or glacial drift. The drift included clays and boulders that were deposited directly by the ice sheet and are called till, or ground moraine. In addition, streams of melted ice flowing out of the retreating ice deposited a variety of other rock material. Not all of the ice sheets covered all of Iowa. Although the earliest ones did extend across nearly the entire area, the subsequent ice sheets generally covered only the north central parts of Iowa. Consequently, the materials left by the more recent ice sheets masked some of the older drift deposits. As a result, the age and relative degree of erosion of the mantle of glacial drift differ from section to section. These differences are reflected in the division of the state into natural regions.

Climate - Iowa's climate is characterized by warm, generally moist summers and cold winters. Temperatures vary considerably from season to season and, at times, from day to day. However, monthly averages are relatively uniform throughout the state and usually vary less than 6° C (10° F) from place to place. Although total snowfall is rarely very great, the severity of the Iowa winter is often increased by high winds that produce blizzard conditions and by prolonged periods of very low temperatures. Average monthly temperatures in July range from less than 22° C (72° F) in northern Iowa to more than 24° C (76° F) in southern Iowa. Daytime highs in summer are usually between 29° and 32° C (85° and 90° F) in most of the state. Temperatures in the lower 40°s C (lower 110°s F) have been recorded, but these occur infrequently. Average January temperatures range from less than -10° C (14° F) in the north to more than -4° C (24° F) in the extreme southeast. In winter nearly all places in the state may experience lows in the lower -30°s C (upper -20°s F). Most of the state receives between 660 and 910 mm (26 and 36 in) of precipitation (rainfall and snowfall) a year. In general, precipitation decreases from east to west. Most precipitation falls in the form of rain during the spring and summer, although prolonged droughts sometimes occur in summer.

State Flag

State Flower - Wild Prairie Rose

State Capitol - Des Moines
Iowa's first constitution was adopted in 1846. A second was adopted in 1857. Amendments to the constitution may be proposed by both houses of the state legislature or by a constitutional convention. Proposed amendments must be approved initially by a majority vote in each legislative house in two consecutive sessions of separately elected legislatures. Then each proposed amendment must be approved by a majority of the electorate voting thereon.

Famous People

Andy Williams singer, Wall Lake
Ann Landers columnist, Sioux City
Bess Streeter Aldrich author, Cedar Falls
Billy Sunday evangelist, Ames
Bix Beiderbecke jazz musician, Davenport
Cloris Leachman actress, Des Moines
David Rabe playwright, Dubuque
Donald L. Campbell inventor, Clinton
Donna Reed actress, Denison
Elsa Maxwell writer, Keokuk
Gardner Cowles Jr. publisher, Algona
George H. Gallup poll taker, Jefferson
Glenn L. Martin aviator, manufacturer, Macksburg
Glenn Miller bandleader, Clarinda
Grant Wood painter, Anamosa
Harriet Nelson actress, Des Moines
Harry Reasoner TV commentator, Dakota City
Herbert Hoover U.S. president, West Branch
James A. Van Allen space physicist, Mount Pleasant
John L. Lewis labor leader, Lucas
John Wayne actor, Winterset
Johnny Carson TV entertainer, Corning
Lee DeForest inventor, Council Bluffs
Lillian Russell soprano, Clinton
Meredith Willson composer, Mason City
Nathan M. Pusey educator, Council Bluffs
Norman Borlaug plant pathologist, geneticist, Cresco
Simon Estes bass-baritone, Centerville
Susan Glaspell writer, Davenport
Wallace Hume Carothers inventor, Burlington
Wallace Stegner author, critic, Lake Mills
William Buffalo Bill Cody scout, Scott Cty
William D. Leahy fleet admiral, Hampton
William Frawley actor, Burlington