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ZIP Code51054

Sergeant Bluff, IA

Woodbury County · Iowa · United States
Home to 5,596 people across 38.677 square miles.

CentralTop 10% incomeOwner-majority24 ZIPs in county

At a glance

51054 by the numbers

Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.

Population
5,596
±256 · 62th pctile nationally
Median household income
$121,228
US median $70,109 · top 10%
Median home value
$292,600
US median $207,500 · 70th pctile
Median age
36.4
US median 42 years
Population density
145/mi²
59th pctile most dense
Land area
38.677 mi²
plus 0.791 mi² water

Location

Where 51054 is

42.380877, -96.335045 · Census ZCTA internal pointOpen larger map →
Coordinates42.380877, -96.335045
Time zoneAmerica/Chicago
CountyWoodbury County
StateIowa (IA)
Land area38.677 mi²
Coordinate sourceCensus ZCTA internal point

Local time

America/Chicago

—:—:—

Current weather

Live from the National Weather Service

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Distance to major cities

Straight-line, computed from coordinates

Chicago, IL447.2 mi
Denver, CO486.2 mi
Dallas, TX664.1 mi
Houston, TX873.6 mi

People

Who lives in 51054

5,596 residents in 1,925 households, averaging 2.91 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 30.1% of residents, and 81.3% of households are families.

Age distribution

Share of residents by age band

Under 1830.1%
18-245.7%
25-349.9%
35-4416.7%
45-5414.1%
55-6411.4%
65+12.1%

Households

Composition and size

Total households1,925
Average household size2.91
Family households81.3%
Living alone15.9%
Median age36.4 years
Households with internet96.5%

Race & ethnicity

Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.

White89.2%
Black1.0%
Asian3.4%
Native American0.4%
Other0.5%
Two or more5.4%
Hispanic / Latino2.6%

Income & work

What people earn in 51054

The median household here earns $121,228 a year, above the US median of $70,109, which puts 51054 ahead of 92% of American ZIP codes. 7.1% of residents live below the poverty line.

Compared to the US

This ZIP against the national median

Median household income$121,228
LowestHighest
Higher than 92% of all US ZIP codes.
Median household income$121,228 ±$10,624
Per capita income$46,678
Poverty rate7.1%
Unemployment rate3.8%
Labor force participation74.8%

Household income distribution

Share of households in each bracket

<$25k11.9%
$25-50k6.1%
$50-75k6.9%
$75-100k8.1%
$100-150k33.5%
$150-200k17.0%
$200k+16.6%

Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 38.3% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 97.0% finished high school.

Housing

Homes and rent in 51054

A typical home is valued at $292,600, and median rent runs $1,232 a month. This is an owner-majority area — 75.7% of occupied homes are owned, and the typical building went up in 1998.

Costs

Typical values

Median home value$292,600
Median gross rent$1,232/mo
Median year built1998
Housing units2,028
Vacancy rate5.1%

Own vs. rent

Of 1,925 occupied units

Owner-occupied75.7%
Renter-occupied24.3%
Owner households1,457
Renter households468

Building types

Units by structure size

Single family84.8%
2-4 units0.6%
5-19 units6.6%
20+ units8.0%

Getting to work

How 51054 commutes

86.4% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 15.0 minutes.

Mode of transport

Workers 16 and older

Drove alone86.4%
Carpooled8.1%
Walked0.2%
Worked from home5.2%

Travel time

Mean commute 15.0 minutes

<10 min28.7%
10-1950.1%
20-2916.9%
30-442.9%
45-591.2%
60+0.3%

Overview

Understanding ZIP code 51054

ZIP code 51054 is assigned to Sergeant Bluff, IA, and falls within Woodbury County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 5,596 people live inside it.

At 145 residents per square mile spread over 38.677 square miles, 51054 reads as a rural area. It is a smaller postal code by population, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.

Household earnings here sit well above the national picture. The median household income of $121,228 places 51054 in the upper reaches of American postal codes, ahead of 92% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.

Living here

What life in Sergeant Bluff looks like

Housing in 51054 costs close to the national median. A typical home is valued at $292,600 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $1,232 a month. Ownership dominates: 75.7% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, which usually signals an established residential area with relatively low turnover.

The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 84.8% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1998, making the housing here from the later twentieth century.

The population skews broadly in line with the national age profile, with a median age of 36.4 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 2.91 people, and 81.3% are family households.

Getting to work takes 15.0 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 86.4% of workers.

Where to stay

Where to stay in Sergeant Bluff, IA

51054 covers a rural area, and accommodation within the postal code itself is likely to be sparse — perhaps a country inn, a lodge or a vacation rental rather than a conventional hotel. Widening the search radius is usually the practical approach, and it also opens up more availability at short notice.

Median rent in 51054 is $1,232 a month, which sits in the middle of the national range; accommodation pricing locally tends to be similarly mid-market. For reference, Chicago, IL is about 447.2 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.

Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.

Book a Hotel →

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Practical uses

What ZIP code 51054 is used for

Beyond addressing mail, 51054 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.

For anyone weighing a move, 51054 offers a compact profile of Sergeant Bluff: 5,596 residents, a median household income of $121,228, 38.3% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 3.8%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.

One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 51054 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Sergeant Bluff may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.

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Questions

Common questions about 51054

What city is ZIP code 51054 in?
51054 serves Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, in Woodbury County, United States.
What is the population of 51054?
About 5,596 people live in ZIP code 51054, according to the US Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. The margin of error on that figure is ±256. That works out to roughly 145 people per square mile.
What is the average income in 51054?
The median household income in 51054 is $121,228 per year, compared with a US median of $70,109. Per capita income is $46,678. Median income is more representative than an average because it isn't skewed by a small number of very high earners.
How expensive is housing in 51054?
The median home value is $292,600 and median gross rent is $1,232 a month. 75.7% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
Is 51054 a good place to live?
That depends on what you're looking for, but here are the facts: 38.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate is 3.8%, and the median age is 36.4. The average commute is 15.0 minutes. We publish the numbers and let you weigh them.
What time zone is 51054 in?
51054 observes Central Time (America/Chicago). This zone observes daylight saving time.
How big is ZIP code 51054?
ZIP code 51054 covers 38.677 square miles of land plus 0.791 square miles of water, per the US Census Bureau's 2023 Gazetteer files.
Is 51054 urban, suburban or rural?
By population density, 51054 reads as a rural area. It holds 145 people per square mile across 38.677 square miles of land. For reference, densities above 10,000 per square mile generally indicate an urban core, 1,000–3,000 is typically suburban, and under 200 is rural. These are rules of thumb rather than official designations — the Census Bureau classifies urban and rural areas by census block, not by ZIP code.
How much is rent in 51054?
Median gross rent in 51054 is $1,232 a month, according to the American Community Survey. Gross rent includes contract rent plus the estimated cost of utilities and fuels, so it is closer to what a tenant actually pays than a headline rent figure. Of 1,925 occupied homes here, 468 are rented.
What is the commute like from 51054?
The average one-way commute from 51054 takes about 15.0 minutes. The most common way to travel is drove alone, used by 86.4% of workers aged 16 and over. Commute figures cover people who were employed and working outside the home during the survey period.
How many people work in 51054?
About 2,906 residents of 51054 are employed. Labor force participation stands at 74.8% and the unemployment rate is 3.8%. Note this counts residents by where they live, not by where they work — a ZIP with many offices can have far more jobs than employed residents.
Where should I stay when visiting 51054?
Accommodation in and around Sergeant Bluff, IA ranges with the character of the area. See the 'Where to stay' section on this page for local context, and use the live search there for current availability and pricing.
Does 51054 cover more than one city or county?
This page lists Sergeant Bluff as the primary place and Woodbury County as the county. ZIP codes follow mail delivery routes rather than municipal or county lines, so a single code can straddle boundaries, and USPS also recognises alternate acceptable city names for many codes. If you need the definitive answer for a specific street address, the USPS ZIP Code Lookup is the authority.
Can ZIP code 51054 change?
Yes. USPS adjusts ZIP codes as delivery volumes shift — codes are occasionally split, merged, retired or newly created, and boundaries move more often than most people assume. The Census Bureau's ZCTA definitions, which underpin the demographic figures on this page, are redrawn only once a decade, so the two can drift apart between censuses.

Methodology

Where this data comes from

  • Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
  • Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 51054. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
  • Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
  • Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
  • Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
On accuracy. ACS figures are survey estimates, not counts. The margin of error shown alongside the population figure means the true value has a 90% chance of falling in that range. For small ZIP codes the error can be large relative to the estimate — treat the direction as more reliable than the exact number. This page reports data for ZCTA 51054, the Census approximation of the USPS delivery area.