Council Bluffs is a city in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, home to about 62,586 people across 43 square miles. Its ZIP codes are 51501 and 51503.
Homes sold for a median of $155 per square foot across 2 ZIP codes in the three months ending August 2026, and all of them were seller’s markets.
Each card is that ZIP code’s whole market, including any part outside Council Bluffs. Seller’s market: under 4 months of supply; buyer’s market: over 6. Methodology
We’re writing up Council Bluffs’s story and what everyday life there is like, for people thinking about moving in.
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| Nearest major airport | Eppley Airfield (OMA)5 miles away |
|---|---|
| Nearest city of 250,000+ | Omaha, NE11 miles away |
| Nearest city of 1 million+ | Chicago, IL424 miles away |
Straight-line distances from the center of Council Bluffs; driving is longer.
Source: Airports from OurAirports (scheduled passenger service); city centers and populations from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Source: Members of Congress from the congress-legislators project; districts from the Census Bureau’s relationship files; governor and mayor from Wikidata.
Council Bluffs had 62,799 residents in the 2020 census, up 8% since 2000.
It’s the 10th largest of 1,019 towns in Iowa by population.
Pottawattamie County grew from 54,336 residents in 1900 to 93,667 in 2020.
Pottawattamie County, 1900–2020
Source: U.S. Census Bureau decennial censuses (counties 1900–1990 from the Bureau’s historical county file).
Average highs peak around 88°F in summer, and winter lows average 15°F. About 32.1 inches of rain and melted snow fall in a typical year, with about 27 inches of snow.
Source: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Omaha Eppley Airfield, NE weather station (5 miles away).
32,384 jobs at 1,920 businesses in Pottawattamie County. The biggest industries by employees:
Source: U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 (private employers; jobs counted where people work).
696 doctors and other health care providers list an office in Council Bluffs’s ZIP codes.
Nearest hospitals
Providers with an office here
| Primary care doctors | 61 |
|---|---|
| Specialist doctors | 98 |
| Dentists | 58 |
| Nurse practitioners and physician assistants | 170 |
| Mental health providers | 215 |
| Physical and occupational therapists | 59 |
| Optometrists | 16 |
| Chiropractors | 19 |
| Pharmacies | 21 |
Source: Hospitals from CMS Hospital General Information (ratings are CMS overall star ratings); straight-line distances; providers from the CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), by practice address and primary specialty.
Parks (49 nearby)
Grocery stores (10 nearby)
Pharmacies (6 nearby)
Libraries (3 nearby)
Museums (5 nearby)
Theaters and performance venues (6 nearby)
Counts are within about 4.5 miles of the center of town.
Source: Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (openstreetmap.org/copyright), as mapped by volunteers; it can miss places or include closed ones.
Established in 1854.
Colleges and universities
Notable people born here
Source: Wikidata (wikidata.org), the free knowledge base; people are listed by place of birth.
Public schools here are run by Council Bluffs Comm School District, Lewis Central Comm School District. Check each district’s attendance zones for a specific address.
| School | Grades | Students | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anne E. Nelson Early Learning CenterCouncil Bluffs | Pre-K | 119 | Public | 1.5 mi |
| Bloomer Elementary SchoolCouncil Bluffs | Pre-K–5 | 396 | Public | 0.9 mi |
| College View ElementaryCouncil Bluffs | Pre-K–5 | 488 | Public | 3.0 mi |
| E A Kreft Primary SchoolCouncil Bluffs | Pre-K–1 | 502 | Public | 2.7 mi |
| Edison Elementary SchoolCouncil Bluffs | Pre-K–5 | 384 | Public | 1.6 mi |
| Franklin Elementary SchoolCouncil Bluffs | Pre-K–5 | 421 | Public | 2.6 mi |
| Hoover Elementary SchoolCouncil Bluffs | Pre-K–5 | 401 | Public | 2.1 mi |
| Lewis & Clark Elementary SchoolCouncil Bluffs | Pre-K–5 | 271 | Public | 2.6 mi |
| Longfellow Elementary SchoolCouncil Bluffs | Pre-K–5 | 431 | Public | 0.3 mi |
| Roosevelt Elementary SchoolCouncil Bluffs | Pre-K–5 | 455 | Public | 1.7 mi |
| Rue Elementary SchoolCouncil Bluffs | Pre-K–5 | 385 | Public | 2.5 mi |
| Titan Hill Intermediate SchoolCouncil Bluffs | 2–5 | 901 | Public | 2.8 mi |
| Gerald W Kirn Middle SchoolCouncil Bluffs | 6–8 | 913 | Public | 2.1 mi |
| Lewis Central Middle SchoolCouncil Bluffs | 6–8 | 720 | Public | 2.4 mi |
| Woodrow Wilson Middle SchoolCouncil Bluffs | 6–8 | 855 | Public | 2.0 mi |
| Abraham Lincoln High SchoolCouncil Bluffs | 9–12 | 1,333 | Public | 1.9 mi |
| Lewis Central Senior High SchoolCouncil Bluffs | 9–12 | 1,020 | Public | 2.1 mi |
| Thomas Jefferson High SchoolCouncil Bluffs | 9–12 | 1,146 | Public | 1.9 mi |
| School | Grades | Students | Affiliation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Albert CatholicCouncil Bluffs | Pre-K–12 | 595 | Roman Catholic | 2.0 mi |
| Liberty Christian SchoolCouncil Bluffs | K–11 | 4 | Baptist | 2.7 mi |
| Oneschool GlobalCouncil Bluffs | 3–12 | 19 | Nonsectarian | 1.4 mi |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, NCES: Common Core of Data (2024-2025) for public schools; Private School Universe Survey (2023-2024) for private schools. Listed by address; we don’t rate schools.
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Town boundaries don’t always match ZIP codes: a ZIP code can cross into neighboring towns, and a town can share a ZIP code with its neighbors. Facts describe the town itself; market figures describe whole ZIP codes.