Kyrie Maloney

Geography 1125-10

3-23-16

County Assignment #4- Van Buren County, Iowa

Van Burens income levels are lower than both the United States and Iowas by

about ten thousand dollars and therefore its poverty rate is higher than Iowa as a whole,

but even so, Van Buren has a slightly lower poverty rate than the US. Based on what we

know about Van Burens geography, many people in the county are farmers. Farmers

don't tend to make much money so the lower than average income is to be expected. The

poverty rate could be based on larger corporations buying out family farms and many

people cant find jobs for their skill set.

 Despite the very high

completion percentage of high-

school graduates in Van Buren, only

fourteen percent of the county has a

bachelors degree or higher. This

could be because many of Van

Burens residents either went to

college, obtained a short Associates

degree and didnt pursue a higher degree; are too young, under eighteen; are out of town

going through college earning degrees; or are old enough to serve in a war that prevented

them from earning degrees. This is because many farming families tend to stay in the

family business of farming and dont need the college degree to be successful.

Since Van Buren does not receive many migrants, it would seem likely that

the percentage of people living in the same house after a year is very high. Van Burens

mobility is very low with ninety-one percent of residents who have lived in the same

house for over a year. Due to the low migration rate into Van Buren, only five point five

percent of residents speak another language at home.

 Families in Van Buren are statistically normal compared to the state and

national values. Percent of family

households is very close to the

United States percentage but with

their own children the numbers vary.

The United States has twenty-nine

point eight percent with own

children, but Van Buren only twenty-

five point four percent, with Iowa in

between.

There are also many more households with people sixty-five and older either, living by

themselves or with family. This could be to the typical small town values of family and

taking care of the elderly.

Works Cited

"American FactFinder - Community Facts." American FactFinder - Community Facts. N.p., n.d.

Web. 25 Mar. 2016.

"United States Quickfacts." N.p., n.d. Web.