Woodbury County, Iowa

Woodbury County is a county in Iowa, United States, on the state’s western border about 90 miles north of Omaha. It had a population of 105,941 at the 2020 census, an estimated 106,649 by 2025, and covers 872.9 square miles (2,260.8 km2) centred near 42°23′N 96°03′W.

Sioux City is the county seat and the county’s largest city; its postal code is 51101. The county holds 15 incorporated cities and towns and 15 unincorporated communities across 24 townships, and it runs on Central Time. Its FIPS code is 19193.

Towns & Villages in Woodbury County

Woodbury County has 30 named places on record: 15 incorporated cities and 15 unincorporated communities, including one census-designated place. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no formal boundary.

One place on this list straddles a county line. Sioux City’s population figure above is citywide — the overwhelming majority of the city sits in Woodbury County, but a small portion of its northern edge extends into Plymouth County. A handful of names on the older version of this list — Estates West, Evergreen Village, Glen Ellen, Holiday Village, Mount Lucia, Regency of Sioux City, Riverside and Tallview Terrace — are subdivisions and mobile-home parks inside Sioux City’s own limits, not separate places, and have been dropped from the table above.

Townships

Woodbury County is divided into 24 civil townships. Current Census releases do not publish population figures below the county-subdivision file for a rural county this size, so no population column is given here rather than guessing; the settlements column names the incorporated place or CDP confirmed to sit inside each township.

ZIP Codes

• 51101, 51102, 51103, 51104, 51105, 51106, 51108, 51109 and 51111 — Sioux City (nine ZIPs cover the city and its suburbs)
• 51054 — Sergeant Bluff
• 51039 — Moville
• 51055 — Sloan
• 51030 — Lawton
• 51016 — Correctionville
• 51004 — Anthon
• 51048 — Pierson
• 51019 — Danbury
• 51052 — Salix
• 51007 — Bronson
• 51026 — Hornick
• 51018 — Cushing
• 51056 — Smithland
• 51044 — Oto
• 51015 — Climbing Hill

Discord, Dodds, German City, Grange, Holly Springs, Lozier, Lucky Valley, Luton, Midway, Owego, Peiro, Rock Branch, Snyder Grove and Wolfdale have no ZIP code of their own; mail to these crossroads communities is delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s code.

Geography

Woodbury County sits on Iowa’s western edge, where the Missouri River forms the state line with Nebraska and, at the county’s northwest corner, South Dakota. The Loess Hills, a narrow belt of wind-deposited bluffs found almost nowhere else in the world outside China, run along the river through the western third of the county; the land flattens into rolling farmland to the east. Of the county’s 872.9 square miles, 868.0 are land and 4.9 are water, under 1 percent — the Little Sioux River, which crosses the eastern half of the county past Correctionville, Smithland and Anthon, is the largest inland waterway.

Plymouth County lies to the north and Monona County to the south, both in Iowa but not currently linked here. Cherokee County borders to the northeast and Ida County to the east. Across the Missouri River, Dakota County, Nebraska, borders directly to the west, with Thurston County, Nebraska, to the southwest, and Union County, South Dakota, to the northwest.

Demographics

Woodbury County had a population of 105,941 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the county near 106,649 residents, making it Iowa’s seventh-most populous county. Sioux City and Sergeant Bluff are by far the two largest communities, together holding well over 85 percent of the county’s population. Median household income runs $73,658, slightly above Iowa’s statewide figure of $71,433. Population density works out to roughly 121 people per square mile of land, well above the state average, reflecting the concentration of residents in and around Sioux City.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 10,127 people, followed by health care and social assistance at 7,330 and retail trade at 5,960. Tyson Fresh Meats, a beef-processing plant, is the county’s single largest employer with roughly 4,500 workers, followed by Seaboard Triumph Foods, a pork-processing plant, at 2,400. The Sioux City Community School District employs about 2,370 people, Bomgaars — a farm-and-ranch retail chain headquartered in Sioux City — about 2,100, and Mercy Medical Center roughly 1,562. Briar Cliff University, Morningside University and Western Iowa Tech Community College all operate campuses in Sioux City. The county’s biggest annual event is Saturday in the Park, a free outdoor music festival held each July in Sioux City’s Grandview Park since 1979.

History

Iowa’s territorial legislature organized the county in 1851 as Wahkaw County; the name changed to Woodbury in 1853 to honor Levi Woodbury, a New Hampshire senator, governor and U.S. Supreme Court justice. The county seat sat first at Sergeant Bluff before moving to Sioux City in 1856.

Sergeant Charles Floyd, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, died near present-day Sioux City on 20 August 1804 — the only death during the entire journey. He was buried on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River; the 100-foot Floyd Monument, dedicated in 1901 and now a National Historic Landmark, marks the site and gave Sergeant Bluff its name.

Getting There

Interstate 29 runs north-south through Sioux City and Sergeant Bluff along the Missouri River, and Interstate 129 links I-29 to downtown Sioux City. US Route 20 crosses the county east-west through Lawton and Sioux City, and US Routes 75 and 77 also pass through, along with several state highways.

• Omaha, Nebraska — about 90 miles south
• Sioux Falls, South Dakota — about 85 miles north
• Fort Dodge, Iowa — about 110 miles east
• Yankton, South Dakota — about 100 miles north

Sioux Gateway Airport (SUX), in Sergeant Bluff about six miles south of downtown Sioux City, is the county’s commercial airport and also hosts the Iowa Air National Guard’s 185th Air Refueling Wing. No Amtrak line reaches Woodbury County; the nearest station is in Omaha, Nebraska, about 90 miles south, served by the California Zephyr.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Woodbury County located?
It sits on Iowa’s western border along the Missouri River, about 90 miles north of Omaha, Nebraska, bordered by Plymouth, Cherokee, Ida and Monona counties in Iowa and by Nebraska and South Dakota counties across the river.

What is the population of Woodbury County?
105,941 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 106,649.

How big is Woodbury County?
872.9 square miles (2,260.8 km2), of which 868.0 square miles are land, making it Iowa’s third-largest county by area.

What is the county seat of Woodbury County?
Sioux City, the county seat since 1856, is also the county’s largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Woodbury County?
Fifteen incorporated cities and towns — Sioux City, Sergeant Bluff, Moville, Sloan, Lawton, Correctionville, Anthon, Pierson, Danbury, Salix, Bronson, Hornick, Cushing, Smithland and Oto — plus the census-designated place of Climbing Hill and 14 smaller unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does Woodbury County use?
Sioux City uses 51101 through 51106, 51108, 51109 and 51111; the outlying towns each have their own code, from 51004 (Anthon) to 51056 (Smithland).

What is Woodbury County known for?
The Loess Hills along the Missouri River, the Floyd Monument marking Sergeant Charles Floyd’s 1804 death on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and Sioux City’s meatpacking industry, one of the largest in the Midwest.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Iowa.