DES MOINES, Iowa — Two-thirds of Iowa’s counties have lost population since 2010, while the state’s major metropolitan areas — Des Moines, Iowa City and Cedar Rapids — continue growing, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The population of Dallas County grew by more than 36 percent since 2010, swelling to 90,180 people as of July 1, 2018, and ranking as the nation’s eighth-fastest-growing county.
Polk County remained the state’s most populous county, growing by 13 percent since 2010, to 487,204 residents.
Linn County, including Cedar Rapids, grew by about 7 percent, and Johnson County, with Iowa City, grew by 15 percent.
Sixty-nine of Iowa’s 99 counties saw negative population growth.
Clinton County had the largest drop in real numbers, losing 2,599 people, and Emmett County lost 10.2 percent of its population, the highest rate of decline in Iowa.