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Welcome to Palo Alto County ...

Time Zone: Palo Alto County lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time.

The community of Emmetsburg is the Seat for Palo Alto County.

Palo Alto County was founded January 15, 1851 and was created by taking area from Kossuth County.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, <1> Palo Alto had a population of 8,886 people. This is a decrease of 5.45% since the last Census (which gave a population of 9,398 people in 2010).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Palo Alto represented 0.31% of the total population of Iowa.

Below are some of the communities located in Palo Alto County:

  • Ayrshire
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Ayrshire is located in Palo Alto County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayrshire
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ayrshire <2>
  • Curlew
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Curlew is located in Palo Alto County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curlew
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
  • Cylinder
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Cylinder is located in Palo Alto County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cylinder
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
  • Emmetsburg
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Graettinger
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Mallard
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Mallard is located in Palo Alto County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallard
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mallard <2>
  • Rodman
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Rodman is located in Palo Alto County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodman
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
  • Ruthven
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Ruthven is located in Palo Alto County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthven
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ruthven <2>
  • West Bend
    (15 miles [24.1 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.