Dallas County, Iowa

County ranked by announced AI data-center load

Undisclosed Announced AI load

Campuses

Lead operator

Apple

Resi rate Δ (MidAmerican Energy)

+0.9%

Home price Δ (3y)

+1.7%

Property tax Δ (3y)

+8.0%

Population (2024 ACS)

108K

Median HH income (2024 ACS)

$102,379

Key takeaways

Apple chose Waukee in 2017 for a $1.38 billion data-center campus. Waukee's population grew from 13,790 in 2010 to 23,940 in 2020 (a 73.6% jump) and is estimated at 34,420 by 2024, putting the campus in the fastest-growing suburb of Des Moines.Source: sources[0] (Wikipedia: Waukee, Iowa)
Dallas County's median household income is $102,349, the highest in this batch and the second-highest of any AI county nationwide after Loudoun, Virginia. 51.6% of adults hold a bachelor's degree.Source: Census ACS 2023 B19013, B15003 (Dallas County, IA)
Home prices rose only 1.7% over three years against a $333,400 median home value. Property tax assessments still rose 8.0% over the same window, sharper than the home-price track.Source: data/cache/realestate_yoy.csv + data/cache/property_tax_yoy.csv (FIPS 19049) + Census ACS 2023 B25077
MidAmerican Energy's residential rate is essentially flat over three years (+0.9%), the smallest move in this batch. That stability reflects MidAmerican's heavy in-state wind generation share, which now exceeds 80% of its Iowa retail load on annual energy.Source: data/cache/utility_rate_yoy.csv (MidAmerican Energy Co, IA)

Only 5.8% of Dallas County residents live in poverty and unemployment is 2.9%, the lowest poverty and lowest unemployment in this batch. The Apple campus lands in the tightest labor market of any AI host county nationwide outside Loudoun Virginia.Source: Census ACS 2023 B17001_001E, B17001_002E, B23025_002E, B23025_005E (Dallas County, IA)
4.6% of Dallas County residents are Asian alone, the highest Asian share in this batch outside Fulton Georgia. The Waukee tech-corridor base is already pulling a national talent profile, not just a Des Moines metro one.Source: Census ACS 2023 B02001_001E, B02001_005E (Dallas County, IA)
Manufacturing is 8.1% of Dallas County jobs against a 69.5% owner-occupied share. The county runs on a service and finance footprint (Principal, Wells Fargo) rather than the manufacturing base that dominates the Polk and Linn AI sites.Source: Census ACS 2023 C24050_001E, C24050_004E, B25003_001E, B25003_002E (Dallas County, IA)
Median gross rent is $1,239 per month, the highest in the Iowa group by 26%. Apple's tenants and contractors in Waukee compete for housing inside a rent market that is already pricing closer to Minneapolis than to the rest of MidAmerican territory.Source: Census ACS 2023 B25064_001E (Dallas County, IA)