1977 TH Article and Comparative Statistics on data for Iowa's Largest Cities44 Telegraph Herald, Dubuque, Iowa, Sunday, Jan. 2, 1977
`Vital statistics' of Iowa's largest cities
Population*
DUBUQUE
61,700
CEDAR RAPIDS
110,600
COUNCIL BLUFFS
60,300
DAVENPORT
98,500
DES MOINES
201,400
SIOUX CITY
85,900
WATERLOO
75,500
Policemen
81
188
127
146
385
142
158 .
Firemen -
100
148
95
1 134
314
139
130
Total Employes
560
1,002
430
629
2,000
887
677
Parks/no. of Acres
21 /780
62/3,500
25/1,800'
35/1,500
60/2,110
54/1,500
57/1,980
Supervised Playgrounds
24
24
17
25
34
16
31
Miles of Streets
243
530
286
1514
980
420
596
Miles of Sewers
260
385
(sanitary only)
248
368
750
475
364
Area in Square Miles
18
52
41
59
66
54
59
Persons per Sq. Mile
8,427
2,127
1,471
1,669
3,051
1,590
1,280
Persons per Household
3.36
3.03
3.13
3.03
2.83
3.00
3.08
* (1970 OR SPECIAL CENSUS)
Dubuque smallest' itlint area, parkland, police
By STEPHEN GOODE
Telegraph Herald Staff Writer
Dubuque is by far the smallest of Iowa's seven largest
cities in terms of area — even with the annexation of 6.1
square miles approved at the polls last week.
Since the annexation won't take effect until a lawsuit
on the issue is settled, the above chart shows the city's
"vital statistics" before the annexation.
With the annexed area, Dubuque still would be the
smallest of the seven cities, with about 24 square miles.
The next smallest in area is Council Bluffs — with 41
square miles - although it has fewer residents.
Dubuque currently is the most densely populated of
mile. Following annexation, which would bring an
estimated 2,000 more persons into the city limits,
Dubuque would have about 2,654 persons per square
mile, ranking second in population density behind Des
Moines.
Dubuque has more people per household than any of
the other six cities - 3.36. Since the annexed area has an
estimated 2,000 persons in about 600 dwelling units —
about 3.3 persons per household — Dubuque probably
will still have the most persons per household once
annexation takes affect.
Perhaps Dubuque's greatest shortcoming, according
to the chart, is its scarcity of park land. The city has only
780 acres of parks, including Marshall and Roosevelt
parks, which currently lie outside the city limits. Council
land than 3ubuque. And Cedar Rapids, with less than
double Dui uque's population, has almost 416 times more
park land
Dubuque has the fewest miles of streets, with or
Without ill' annexation. About 13 miles of streets —
paved and Inpaved — lie in the annexation area.
Dubuque currently has one city employe for every
110.2 resid„nts — fewer residents per employe than four
of the oth,' six largest cities. Sioux City has the most
city emplu'es per capita, with one employe for every
96.8 residents, followed by Des Moines with a city
employe fo every 100.7 residents. At the other end of the
scale, Da�mport has one employe for every 156.6
residents.
�yr,,uque has the smallest police force of the
, , '.1 rir 7 n. ;f 11 nnn nr 1'r,,,n fn n, n,. 7C1
residents. Council Bluffs, at the other extreme, has one
policeman for every 474.8 residents, followed by Water-
loo with one policeman for every 477.8 residents.
These "vital statistics" are subject to variation almost
daily, and sometimes the cities and state agencies offer
different statistics. The Iowa Department of Environ-
mental Quality (DEQ), for example, gave figures for
miles of sewers that didn't match any city's figures. But
the statistics used in the chart can be taken as rough
estimates, good enough for making approximate
comparisons.
Sources for these statistics included city officials, the
1976 Iowa Municipal Salary Survey, the 1976 Municipal
Year Book, the Iowa DEQ, the Iowa Department of