Panora, Iowa - Sociodemographics

State Map
County Map
City Map
Guthrie County Profile (Adobe .pdf file)

Age distribution, Panora
General Residence and Race, Panora
Household/Family Status and Income, Panora
Housing, Panora

• Being a small town in Iowa, Panora has many of the same attributes as the majority of the towns in this state. Panora is located in Guthrie county towards the eastern-central portion of this county. Guthrie county borders five counties Adair, Audubon, Carroll, Dallas, and Greene.

• Panora is a rural community with a population of just over a thousand, 1088 people to be exact. There is only one non-white person in Panora which gives Panora a percentage of 99.91 white according to the last census.

• The majority of people in Panora live with families, only about twenty percent do not. There is also about twenty-five percent of residents in Panora that are over the age of sixty-five.

• Just over thirty-nine percent of the housing stock in Panora has been built before 1940. There has not been much new construction since 1980 or so. The second largest age group of the housing units were those built between 1970 and 1979, with a percentage of almost 24.6.

Panora Census Data

	1980	1990
Total residents	1211	1088
Residents over age 65	326	297
Residents over age 85	75	64
Median age of residents	39	40
White population	1208	1087
Non-White population	3	1
Male population	552	490
Female population	659	598
Residents in rural areas	1211	1088
Residents living alone		151
Residents in families		830
Total Housing Units	510	480
Housing units built before 1940		188
Median year of housing stock		1955

Included in this packet are many maps of Panora and Guthrie County. Along with these maps is some census information from the years 1980 and 1990. The information does not completely match up because of the different information that was collected and deemed important in these different years.

• Panora, as you can see from the numbers, is totally a rural area. The fact that there is such a small percentage of non-white residents fits nicely with the rural fact. These are two of the main characteristics of what people think Iowa must be like. For the most part they are right when it comes to Iowa’s small towns.

• In 1980 there were 300 families living in Panora and in 1990 there were only 282.

• Between the years of 1980 and 1990, the town of Panora lost 123 people in population. Now 123 does not sound like many people only about the size of some classes here but when the there is only 1211 residents to began with the town will feel that change.PREVIOUS SENTENCE NEEDS EDITING, UNCLEAR/REWRITE For Panora losing 123 residents meant losing about ten percent of its population. If it will help you imagine, it would be like Ames losing 4800 to 5000 residents in comparison.

• Besides the population getting smaller in Panora it is also growing older. The median age only grew by a year between 1980 and 1990 but what you need to remember is that those that are leaving Panora are most likely are middle age and younger.THIS NEEDS TO BE SUPPORTED WITH DATA; SUPPORT AND SET CONTEXT WITH USE OF NUMBERS/PROPORTIONS IN THE TEXT. The sample of elderly we spoke to in Guthrie County were dead set on staying and living the rest of their lives there. POOR CHOICE OF WORDS IN THE PREVIOUS SENTENCE, REWRITE The idea of aging in place is locked in the mind set of these residents so we can assume that the younger residents are decreasing the population of Panora.YOUNGER RESIDENTS ARE DECREASING THE POPULATION???? There are about a dozen reasons why these people are leaving but they can be summarized basically as opportunity. IF THERE A DOZEN REASONS, THEN EACH SHOULD BE STATED AND SUPPORTED WITH DATA. THE WRITING HERE IS TOO "CASUAL"

• Looking at Panora’s housing stock you might think you were looking at the age statistics. I guess if you think about it the highest percentage of structures correlates with the ages of those living in Panora.THINK OF YOURSELF AS A HOUSING PLANNER, YOU SUBMIT A FINAL REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY ASSESSING ITS HOUSING NEEDS..."I GUESS..." ISN’T THE KIND OF REPORTING RESIDENTS WILL WANT TO HEAR. The largest percentage is no surprise those that were built before 1940. That percentage is 39.2. The second largest percentage was built between the years 1970 and 1979, that percentage being 24.6. This was a little more surpassing because there is a pretty high number of middle age residents that I was not expecting. SO, GIVEN PANORA LAKE AND WHAT YOU LEARNED ABOUT IT...HOW MIGHT YOU EXPLAIN THE RELATIVELY LARGE NUMBER OF HOUSES BUILD BETWEEN 1970 AND 1979, AND THE MIDDLE AGE RESIDENTS?

• The median age of housing stock in Panora is 42 to 43 years old.

THE MAPS ARE A NICE ADDITION TO THE REPORT AND HELP TO SET THE CONTEXT. IT IS INAPPROPRIATE, HOWEVER, TO SIMPLY LIFT DATA FROM OTHER SOURCES AND PLACE IT IN A REPORT...YOU NEED TO BE SELECTIVE AND CREATE TABLES OF YOUR OWN BASED ON THESE NUMBERS. RECALL TOO THAT A 1980 AND 1990 COMPARISON WAS REQUIRED.

Bayard, Iowa - Sociodemographics

State Map
County Map
City Map
Guthrie County Profile (Adobe .pdf file)

Age distribution, Bayard
General Residence and Race, Bayard
Household/Family Status and Income, Bayard
Housing, Bayard

Bayard Census Data

Bayard is fairly centrally located along the northern border of Guthrie County in Iowa. Guthrie County is located just north and east of Des Moines, the capital and centrally located in Iowa.

Bayard is a fairly rural community that consists of 532 residents. The residents are approximately 99 percent white. Over one-third of the population is over the age of 65. The city of Bayard is a fairly aged one.

The housing stock in Bayard is also fairly old. The median age that housing units were built is 1939. There are 251 total housing units in Bayard. Over fifteen percent of the residents of Bayard live alone.

	1980	1990
Total residents	637	532
Residents over the age of 65	28.89%	34.77%
Residents over the age of 85	5.02%	6.58%
Median age of the residents	43	52
Residents that are white	100.0%	98.67%
Residents that are female	54.47%	53.01%
Residents that live in rural areas	100.0%	100.0%
Residents that are living alone		15.79%
Total housing units		251
Housing units built before 1940		52.60%
Median year that housing units were built		1939

I have shown several maps of Bayard and the surrounding area. In the following pages I will elaborate on the information I have presented here. I have also included a 1980 Census Report of Population and Housing for Bayard, Iowa and some copies from the Iowa Profiles. My information was taken from these sources.

A REPORT OF THIS TYPE REALLY SHOULD BE MORE "FORMAL" AND AVOID THE USE OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS, "I" AND "MY"...CONSIDER THAT THE READER DOESN’T KNOW YOU AND, FURTHERMORE, THE FINAL REPORT WAS A GROUP EFFORT. THEREFORE, IF YOU WERE TO USE THIS INFORMAL TONE THE TEXT WOULD READ, "WE HAVE SHOWN"

Nearly 35 percent of the residents of Bayard are over the age of 65 and almost 7 percent are over the age of 85.

In the past ten years, the average age of residents in Bayard has been getting older. For the age group of 65 and over, percentages have risen from 29 percent in 1980 to 35 percent in 1990. As for the age group of 85 and over, percentages have risen from 5 percent in 1980 to 7 percent in 1990.

WHY IS THE TABLE BELOW "1" WHEN THERE IS A TABLE ON THE PREVIOUS PAGE?

Table 1:

Age Distributions	Persons	Percent
Total persons	532
Median age	52
Persons 0-17	101	18.98
Persons 18-44	138	25.94
Persons 45-64	108	20.30
Persons 65-74	77	14.47
Persons 75-84	73	13.72
Persons 85 and over	35	6.58

The information presented here suggests that just less than 20 percent of the residents are children and adolescents. The young adults, those who are 18-44, make up approximately 25 percent of the population of Bayard. The preretirement group, those in their highest earning years of 45-64, represent just 20 percent of the population of Bayard.

The information presented here suggests that the youngest old, those persons who are aged 65-74, make up almost 15 percent of population. The middle aged old, persons aged 75-85, make up almost another 15 percent of the population and that the group of oldest old, those persons aged 85 and up, make up almost 7 percent of the population of Bayard.

This information is staggering. THIS SEEMS RATHER ALARMIST, "STAGGERING," WHEN ONE CONSIDERS THE AGE DEMOGRAPHICS ARE NOT UNLIKE OTHER IOWA COMMUNITIES AND THE DIRECTION THE U.S. IS HEADED. RECALL YOUR TEXT, AND THE "GRAYING OF AMERICA." Rarely do we find a city in which the composition is over one-third Persons over the age of 65. It is also very interesting that the number of people in these age groups is fairly well spread out, meaning that all of the 35 percent are not persons aged 65-75, but rather that this 35 percent is spread out across age groups.

Not only does Bayard have a very high number of elderly persons, but this number (PROPORTION, NOT NUMBER) has been rising steadily. You will recall that the percentages for both residents over the age of 65 and residents over the age of 85 have risen since the census in 1980. It is my projection that these numbers will continue to rise.

Bayard is a town in which a lot of the residents are aging in place and aged left behind. So far, there has not been many reasons for younger generations to move to Bayard. It is possible that this could shift in the future, but for now the age group that needs to be focused on in Bayard is the elderly. WELL SAID!

Nearly 99 percent of the residents of Bayard are white.

In the past ten years Bayard has not seen much integration of races. The census of 1980 stated that 100 percent of the residents were white. Bayard has made some progress since then; however, the town still is not very representative of the United States.

Table 2:

Race	Persons	Percent
White population	525	98.67
Black population	2	0.38
Asian & Pacific Island population	2	0.38
American Indian, Eskimo, Aleuts population	3	0.56
Hispanic origin population	2	0.38

Approximately 53 percent of the residents of Bayard are female.

The percentages of male and female residents of Bayard have not changed much in the past ten years either. In 1980, 54.47 percent of the residents were female. I think this change probably falls under standard deviation. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN, "THE CHANGE PROBABLY FALLS UNDER STANDARD DEVIATION?"

Table 3:

Sex	Persons	Percent
Female	282	53.01
Male	250	46.99

100 percent of the residents of Bayard live in rural areas.

This statistic has not changed at all in the past ten years. Bayard has always been a rural community. There are a few residents who live in farms surrounding the community, but the total number of residents for the town are small enough that it is considered to be rural.

Nearly 16 percent of the residents of Bayard are living alone.

This is a statistic that I found on the Iowa Profiles from 1990. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW HERE, WHICH STATISTIC...THE PREVIOUS OR THE ONE THAT FOLLOWS? A similar and even more staggering statistic found on the Iowa Profiles is that out of a total number of 239 households, 22 percent of them are occupied by one person over the age of 65. This supports my earlier statement that the age group consisting of the elderly and their housing situation needs to be evaluated and studied. (DROP THE LAST SENTENCE). AND AGAIN, THE USE OF STAGGERING SEEMS A BIT OVER ZEALOUS.

In 1990, the percentage of housing units built before 1940 was nearly 53 percent.

The housing stock in Bayard is quite old. The median year that housing units were built in Bayard was 1939. Most of these homes were built without considering the concept of universal design. Many of these homes are probably not comfortable or accessible for anyone. IN YOUR EFFORT TO BE A GOOD OBSERVER AND ADVOCATE FOR UNIVERSAL DESIGN, YOU OVERSTATE THE CASE. HOW MUCH SUPPORT WOULD THOSE 65YRS. AND OVER GIVE TO YOU OR A REPORT THAT SAYS THAT MANY OF THEIR HOMES ARE NOT COMFORTABLE OR ACCESSIBLE FOR ANYONE?

Table 4:

Housing	Number	Percent
Total housing units	251
Occupied housing units	224	89.2
Vacant housing units	27	10.8
Units built 1980-March1990	9	3.6
Units built 1970-1979	66	26.3
Units built 1960-1969	31	12.4
Units built 1950-1959	4	1.6
Units built 1940-1949	9	3.6
Units built before 1940	132	52.6

This housing situation is a key factor for the residents of Bayard. Over half of their housing was built before 1940. Unless some development of homes begins in the next few years, Bayard could be facing some serious obstacles. Not only will they have few new and accessible homes, But the homes that they have will need serious remodeling to even remain usable.

I feel that Bayard is a community that is suffering. It has lost a lot of its population (more than 100 people out of 637(BETWEEN WHEN AND WHEN). I feel that as the younger families have been moving away, their elders have been aging in place. Bayard is in a sort of drought. It needs services and resources to provide these services. If the elders want to remain in this community, we are going to have to find some way to house them. The current housing stock in Bayard is not suitable for people of any age, but the elderly will suffer the most.

AGAIN, A BIT OVERSTATED... OVERALL THOUGH, THE SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF BAYARD IS MUCH BETTER ELABORATED THAN PANORA. WHY? WHERE ARE THE COMPARABLE FIGURES 1980-1990?

RECALL THAT AN APPENDIX MIGHT INCLUDE TABLES FROM THE 1980 CENSUS REPORT OF POPULATION AND HOUSING BUT THEY SHOULD NOT APPEAR IN THE TEXT AND THE DATA SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A SUBSTITUTE FOR CREATING TABLES ...

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