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Profile of Emmetsburg, Iowa
Prepared By Margaret Hanson, Liesl Eathington, Georgeanne Artz, and Renea Miller
Office of Social and Economic Trend Analysis (SETA)
Iowa State University, 2003
A Summary of Emmetsburg Profile
For the complete report, Profile of Emmetsburg, Iowa, with tables and charts, go to www.seta.iastate.edu/population/publications/county/profile/emmetsburg.pdf
This report is a presentation of secondary indicators that offer a relatively comprehensive profile of Emmetsburg and Palo Alto County. Effort was made to include data from more than one point in time so users could get a sense of whether the trends indicate “improvement” or “need for improvement.”
Please note: the newest businesses in Emmetsburg during the past three years, such as AG Processing, Poet Biorefining (formerly Voyager Ethanol), and the opening of Wild Rose Casino in 2006 will affect the well-being of Emmetsburg. These figures are not included in this report.
Rather than including a lot of detail in only a few areas, this report covers a wide array of indicators addressing topics spanning population, labor force, housing, education, income, employment, the business and retail sector. The limitations of time, resources, and space dictated that not all relevant items be addressed, but we are confident that the data presented in this report provide the users adequate information and documentation to identify the primary strengths and areas of concern in their community.
This report is divided into the following sections:
Population and Housing
Education
Economic well-being
Employment
Retail Trade
Each section includes graphical presentations and brief discussions of multiple indicators. Data tables are also included for many of the indicators. These tables provide the user the raw numbers from which the graphs and discussion are based, and the opportunity for further comparisons and analysis.
As with many rural areas of the state, Emmetsburg’s population, although remaining relatively stable over the past 10 years, has not recovered population lost in the 1980s. As a result, the portion of the population under 20 years of age has declined (from 38% to 26%) while the percentage of 65 years of age or older has increased from 17% to 23%. Likewise the median age changed from 28.9% in 1970 to 40.9% in 2000.
Married-couple families are the most common family type in Emmetsburg, accounting for 8 of 10 families, and the most common setting for children in the area. Single-parent families make up 16% of families in 2000. Nearly 80% of children living with single-parent families lived in a female-headed family with no husband present. Regardless of family type however, the demand for childcare is sizeable with 6 of every 10 children under the age of 6 having all parents in the labor force.
The majority of housing units (85%) in Emmetsburg are owner-occupied units. Less than 10% of housing is 10 years old or less. Six of every 10 of the housing stock in the community is at least 40 years old.
Median gross rent and median value of housing units are indicators of affordability and housing quality. The median gross rent in 2000 in Emmetsburg was $354; in Palo Alto County, $337, and in the state of Iowa, $470. The median value of owner occupied housing in Emmetsburg is $61,700; Palo Alto County, $53,500; and Iowa $82,500.
According to the 2000 census, minorities made up only 2% of the population. There was considerable growth in minority populations between 1990 and 2000.
Religious adherents in 2000 were 35% Catholic; 21% Methodist; 17% ELCA; 12% Lutheran (MO), and 15% other.
With the decline of youth population in the area, it only follows that school enrollments have declined in recent years and are expected to continue to decline into the foreseeable future. In 2002, the County enrollment in public schools was 1,669. Palo Alto County’s certified enrollment decreased 13.6% from 1998 to 2003. Lower enrollments often result in lower funding for schools. Virtually 100% of the students have English proficiency
More than 15% of the adult population (25 years and older) in Palo Alto County in 2000 reported at least 4 years of college education. Only 16% have less than high school education, which is a dramatic improvement from 1980, when it was 30%. 83% of the residents have a high school degree or higher.
Median household income is one measure of economic well-being in a community. In 1999, the median household income in Emmetsburg was $31,520; in Palo Alto County $32,409; and in Iowa $39,469.
Fewer than 15% of Emmetsburg’s population lived in poverty in 1999; although the poverty rates in Emmetsburg and Palo Alto County declined from 1990 to 2000, both areas were above the state poverty level of 9.1 percent in 2000. More than one-fourth of the students enrolled in each of the public school districts were eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals.
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filings in Palo Alto County ranged from 8 in 1993 to 14 in 2002; in Iowa they ranged from 4,795 in 1993 to 10,918 in 2002.
Palo Alto County’s employment change-patterns during the 1990s did not mirror the regional and statewide experience. Compared to the surrounding region, the county grew much more rapidly in manufacturing jobs, and lagged in non-manufacturing employment growth. Employment growth in the manufacturing sector in Palo Alto County grew by 115.7% while the state’s total manufacturing employment increased by only 2 percent. The county lost 10.9% of its farm jobs between 1990 and 2001. In nonfarm job growth, Palo Alto County’s rate of 6.9% lagged behind the neighboring region’s rate of 20.9% and Iowa’s 20.2%.
During the 1990s, Palo Alto County nonfarm employment growth accelerated compared to adjacent regions. Overall, Palo Alto County experienced an 11% increase in the number of nonfarm jobs between 1969 and 2001. The neighboring region and State of Iowa averaged a 63% increase. After 1997, the county experienced a period of decline, while the adjacent region and state continued to grow.
Goods-producing industries (include agriculture, construction, and manufacturing sectors) fell after June of 2001, but has remained relatively stable since. By March of 2003, employment levels were about 80% of the base period in Palo Alto County, and about 92% in Iowa.
Employment in Palo Alto County’s service sector increased slightly (102%) by March 2003, while the state was about 99% of its base period level.
Palo Alto County remains more dependent on farm jobs and less dependent on manufacturing jobs than average for counties in the surrounding region. Farm employment represents a larger share of total jobs in Palo Alto County (17.2%) than the neighboring region (10.0%) and Iowa (5.6%). In contrast, Palo Alto County has a lower share of manufacturing employment than the comparison regions. Manufacturing jobs are 9.4% of the total jobs in Palo Alto County, 13.6% of jobs in the region, and 12.8% of all jobs in Iowa.
Palo Alto County is lower in construction, retail trade, miscellaneous services, and other nonfarm sectors. The county has a relative high level of employment in state and local government.
Average earnings per job in Palo Alto County are lower than regional and state averages in all major nonfarm sectors except retail trade. In 2001 average earnings per nonfarm job in Palo Alto County were about 60 percent of the national average. Both the region and the state also experienced declines. Palo Alto County posts the highest average earnings per job in the wholesale trade sector ($29,910) and the lowest average in the Miscellaneous Services sector ($11,455).
Emmetsburg’s total labor force participation rate (62.1%) is lower than the peer city average (65.1%). Rates of self-employment and full-time work status were slightly higher than peer group averages. High rates of labor participation reflect a hard-working population and availability of employment opportunities for residents.
The occupational profile for Emmetsburg shows a relatively high fraction of residents with occupations in farm and nonfarm management, personal services, construction, maintenance and repair, and health care.
Palo Alto County residents receive 57.2% of total personal income from earnings, 22.4% from investment income, and 20.4% from transfer payments. The County composition of personal income more closely resembles the neighboring regions than the Iowa statewide average.
Taxable retail sales in Emmetsburg totaled $27.07 million in fiscal year 2003 (in Palo Alto County, $53.1 million). In constant dollars, this is a 12% decline from $30.77 million five years earlier and a 38% decline from $44 million 20 years ago (in Palo Alto County, a 16% decline from $63.1 million). This makes Emmetsburg the largest retail trade center in Palo Alto County, accounting for more than half of the county’s total retail sales. Nearby trade centers have experienced similar declines in total retail sales, except Clay and Dickenson Counties which show an increase in retail sales. Comparison with competing trade centers provides a sense of a community’s relative strength in the region.
Like neighboring towns of a similar size, retail sales in Emmetsburg show a slight downward trend once inflation is taken into account. Based on the retail sales data, the strongest merchandise categories in Emmetsburg appear to be building materials, eating and drinking, and specialty retail stores.
Palo Alto County accounts for approximately 3% of the retail trade in the northwest Iowa region. The county also shows a decline in real dollar (inflation-adjusted) retail sales over time.
In fiscal year 2003, an estimated $25 million in retail sales “leaked” out of the county. This means that on net, county residents spent this amount on retail purchases outside of the county.
Go to the Retail Trade Analysis, 2004 report to see additional detail, tables, and charts on Retail Sales in Emmetsburg and Palo Alto County.
www.seta.iastate.edu/retail/publications/2004rta/Emmetsburg04.pdf
For the complete Profile of Emmetsburg, Iowa, go to www.seta.iastate.edu/population/publications/county/profile/emmetsburg.pdf
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City of Emmetsburg
2021 Main St
Emmetsburg, IA 50536
(712) 852-4030