RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> O'Brien County  

Welcome to O'Brien County ...

Time Zone: O'Brien County lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time.

The community of Primghar is the Seat for O'Brien County.

O'Brien County was founded January 15, 1851 and was created by taking area from Cherokee County.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, <1> O'Brien had a population of 13,753 people. This is a decrease of 4.55% since the last Census (which gave a population of 14,408 people in 2010).

At the time of the 2010 Census, O'Brien represented 0.47% of the total population of Iowa.

Below are some of the communities located in O'Brien County:

  • Archer
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Archer is located in O'Brien County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archer
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Archer <2>
  • Calumet
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Calumet is located in O'Brien County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
  • Hartley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Hartley is located in O'Brien County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
  • Paullina
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Paullina is located in O'Brien County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paullina
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
  • Primghar
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Sanborn
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Sanborn is located in O'Brien County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanborn
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,390 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sanborn <2>
  • Sheldon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Sheldon is located in O'Brien County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldon
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,071 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sheldon <2>
  • Sutherland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)

Websites of Interest ...

Footnotes ...

<1>On a yearly basis, the US Census Bureau creates an estimate of the county's population. Keep in mind that this is an estimate and not an actual count. The last physical count was the 2010 Census and the next count will be for the 2020 Census.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.