Welcome to Council Bluffs ...
The city of Council Bluffs is located in Pottawattamie County<1> and is the County Seat for Pottawattamie County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Council Bluffs, you might consider that their post office opened in 1851.
When the people of Council Bluffs refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Council Bluffsian<2>
A typical abbreviation for Council Bluffs: Council Blfs.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Council Bluffs has a population of 62,280 people<3> (see below for details).
Council Bluffs is 980 feet [299 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Council Bluffs lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Council Bluffs lies within the (712) area code.
The ZIP codes for Council Bluffs: 51501-51503<5>
Websites for Council Bluffs ...
Official Website: www.councilbluffs-ia.gov/
Chamber of Commerce: www.councilbluffsiowa.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Council Bluffs had an population of 62,280 people (or an increase of 6.89% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Council Bluffs had a population of 62,230 people (or 66.65% of the total population of Pottawattamie County). This makes Council Bluffs the county's most populous community.
The population of Council Bluffs represents 2.04% of the total population of Iowa (which has 3,046,355 people), making it the state's 7th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 62,230 people, the population of Council Bluffs increased 6.8% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 58,268 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Council Bluffs.
Communities near Council Bluffs ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Council Bluffs.
- Omaha
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omaha
- Omaha is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 478,393 people
- Omaha has also been known as:
- Omaha City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Omaha <6>
- Bellevue
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Bellevue is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 53,270 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellevue <6>
- Papillion
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Papillion have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Papillion
- Papillion is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,293 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Papillion <6>
- La Vista
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Vista
- La Vista is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,020 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Vista <6>
- Ralston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ralston have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralston
- Ralston is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,254 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ralston <6>
- Plattsmouth
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plattsmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattsmouth
- Plattsmouth is located in Cass County (NE)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,416 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plattsmouth <6>
- Glenwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Glenwood is located in Mills County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,261 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glenwood <6>
- Springfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springfield have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Springfield is located in Sarpy County (NE)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,622 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springfield <6>
- Bennington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bennington have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennington
- Bennington is located in Douglas County (NE)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,518 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bennington <6>
- Fort Calhoun
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Calhoun
- Fort Calhoun is located in Washington County (NE)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 993 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Calhoun <6>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Council Bluffs. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Council Bluffs.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Council Bluffs. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Council Bluffs.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Council Bluffs. Our list includes 52 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Council Bluffs.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Council Bluffs ...
Looking for more information about Council Bluffs? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Council Bluffs, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Council Bluffs.
Adding Council Bluffs to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Council Bluffs in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Council Bluffs was in the book titled Table of U.S. Post Offices in the United States (Jan. 1851).
We also found Council Bluffs in the book titled Iowa State Gazetteer (1865).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Council Bluffs.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Council Bluffs: www.councilbluffs-ia.gov/
The official website for Pottawattamie County: www.pottcounty.com/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Pottawattamie, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Council Bluffs refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Council Bluffs may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Council Bluffs. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Council Bluffs - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Council Bluffs). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Council Bluffs or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Council Bluffs includes: 51501, 51502 & 51503. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |