Palo Alto County is a county in Iowa, United States, in the north-central part of the state,
about 50 miles south-southeast of Fort Dodge. It had a population of 8,996 at the 2020 census, an
estimated 8,899 by 2025, and covers 569 square miles (1,470 km2) centred near 43°05′N 94°41′W.
Emmetsburg is the county seat and the county’s largest city; its postal code is 50536. The
county holds 9 incorporated cities and 4 unincorporated communities across 16 townships, and it
runs on Central Time. Its FIPS code is 19147.
Towns & Villages in Palo Alto County
Palo Alto County has 13 named places on record: 9 incorporated cities, all classified simply as
cities under Iowa law regardless of size, and 4 unincorporated communities with no local
government of their own.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmetsburg | City · seat | Emmetsburg | 3,706 | 50536 |
| Graettinger | City | — | 832 | 51342 |
| West Bend | City | West Bend | 791 | 50597 |
| Ruthven | City | — | 725 | 51358 |
| Mallard | City | — | 257 | 50562 |
| Ayrshire | City | — | 133 | 50515 |
| Cylinder | City | — | 87 | 50528 |
| Curlew | City | — | 37 | 50527 |
| Rodman | City | — | 31 | 50597 |
| Lost Island Lake | Unincorp. | Lost Island | — | — |
| Depew | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Fairville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Osgood | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
West Bend straddles a county line. Its citywide population of 791 spans both Kossuth County to
the east and Palo Alto County; roughly 772 of those residents live on the Palo Alto side, with the
rest counted in Kossuth. Rodman, a few miles north, shares West Bend’s 50597 ZIP rather than
having a post office of its own.
Townships
Palo Alto County is divided into 16 civil townships: Booth, Ellington, Emmetsburg, Fairfield,
Fern Valley, Freedom, Great Oak, Highland, Independence, Lost Island, Nevada, Rush Lake, Silver
Lake, Vernon, Walnut and West Bend. The sources checked for this page do not break out population
by township separately from the incorporated places within them, so no per-township count is
given below; only the three townships whose names identify their principal settlement are listed
with one.
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Emmetsburg | — | Emmetsburg |
| West Bend | — | West Bend, Rodman |
| Lost Island | — | Lost Island Lake |
| Booth | — | — |
| Ellington | — | — |
| Fairfield | — | — |
| Fern Valley | — | — |
| Freedom | — | — |
| Great Oak | — | — |
| Highland | — | — |
| Independence | — | — |
| Nevada | — | — |
| Rush Lake | — | — |
| Silver Lake | — | — |
| Vernon | — | — |
| Walnut | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 50536 — Emmetsburg (the county’s most populous ZIP)
- 51342 — Graettinger
- 50597 — West Bend (also serves Rodman)
- 51358 — Ruthven
- 50562 — Mallard
- 50515 — Ayrshire
- 50528 — Cylinder
- 50527 — Curlew
Depew, Fairville, Osgood and Lost Island Lake have no ZIP code of their own; mail to those
unincorporated communities is delivered under the nearest incorporated city’s code.
Geography
Palo Alto County sits on the Des Moines Lobe, a landscape of flat to gently rolling glacial till
left by the Wisconsinan ice sheet, dotted with shallow prairie lakes. Of its 569 square miles, 564
are land and 5.6 are water, about one percent. Emmetsburg sits on the southern bay of Five Island
Lake, the county’s best-known body of water, and lies east of the Des Moines River, which
touches the county’s western edge. Lost Island Lake, in the county’s north, gives its
name to the township around it.
Emmet County lies to the north, Kossuth County to the east, Pocahontas County to the south, and
Clay County to the west. Emmet County,
Kossuth County, Pocahontas County and Clay County all border Palo Alto
directly.
Demographics
Palo Alto County had a population of 8,996 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 8,899 residents, a slow decline typical of rural north-central Iowa. Emmetsburg and
Graettinger are the two largest communities, together holding just over half the county’s
population. Median household income runs $72,781, slightly above Iowa’s 2023 ACS statewide
figure of $71,433. Population density works out to about 16.0 people per square mile of land, low
even by rural Iowa standards, reflecting the county’s distance from any interstate corridor.
Economy & Local Life
Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, with 670
workers, followed by manufacturing at 612 and retail trade at 607, out of roughly 4,658 total
county jobs. POET Biorefining – Emmetsburg operates a corn ethanol plant on the city’s
edge. A co-located facility, Project Liberty, was the first commercial-scale plant in the country
to make ethanol from corn stover when it opened in 2014; production there ceased in 2019 and the
plant was idled in 2020. Iowa Lakes Community College runs a branch campus in Emmetsburg. West
Bend’s Grotto of the Redemption, a series of nine linked grottos built from minerals and
gemstones across a full city block, draws visitors from well beyond the county. Graettinger holds
what it calls the oldest Labor Day celebration in Iowa each September, with a parade and carnival
that is the county’s biggest annual event.
History
Iowa’s territorial legislature organised Palo Alto County on 15 January 1851, naming it
for the Battle of Palo Alto, the opening engagement of the Mexican–American War fought near
Brownsville, Texas, in 1846. Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Famine settled Emmetsburg starting
in the late 1850s; the town was named for Robert Emmet, a Dublin-born Irish nationalist executed
in 1803, and was incorporated on 17 November 1877 as the county seat.
Ayrshire drew national attention in 1972 when nineteen-year-old Jody Smith was elected its
mayor, making him, at the time, the youngest municipal leader in the country. The town’s
public school closed in 1982 and its rail line was pulled up during the 1980s, part of a
population slide that has cut Ayrshire from 329 residents in 1900 to 133 today.
Getting There
No interstate highway crosses Palo Alto County. U.S. Highway 18 runs east-west through
Emmetsburg, and Iowa Highways 4 and 15 cross the county north-south.
- Algona — about 22 miles east
- Spencer — about 23 miles west
- Estherville — about 22 miles north
- Fort Dodge — about 50 miles south-southeast
Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, roughly 99 miles southwest, is the nearest airport with
scheduled commercial service, currently United Express flights to Chicago-O’Hare and Denver.
Fort Dodge Regional Airport, about 50 miles south-southeast, handles general aviation only. No
Amtrak line reaches this part of Iowa; the nearest stations, on the California Zephyr route, are
in the southern half of the state.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Palo Alto County located?
It sits in north-central Iowa, about 50 miles south-southeast of Fort Dodge, bordered by Emmet,
Kossuth, Pocahontas and Clay counties.
What is the population of Palo Alto County?
8,996 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 8,899.
How big is Palo Alto County?
569 square miles (1,470 km2), of which 564 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Palo Alto County?
Emmetsburg, founded by Irish immigrants and incorporated in 1877, is the county seat and largest
city.
How many towns and cities are in Palo Alto County?
Nine incorporated cities — Emmetsburg, Graettinger, West Bend, Ruthven, Mallard, Ayrshire,
Cylinder, Curlew and Rodman — plus the unincorporated communities of Lost Island Lake,
Depew, Fairville and Osgood.
What ZIP codes does Palo Alto County use?
50536 for Emmetsburg, 51342 for Graettinger, 50597 for West Bend and Rodman, 51358 for Ruthven,
50562 for Mallard, 50515 for Ayrshire, 50528 for Cylinder and 50527 for Curlew.
What is Palo Alto County known for?
Its name comes from the 1846 Battle of Palo Alto in Texas. West Bend’s Grotto of the
Redemption and the county’s POET ethanol plant, once home to the cellulosic-ethanol Project
Liberty, are its best-known landmarks.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Iowa.