RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Shelby County  

Welcome to Shelby County ...

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

The community of Harlan is the Seat for Shelby County.

Shelby County was founded January 15, 1851 and was created by taking area from Cass County.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, <1> Shelby had a population of 11,454 people. This is a decrease of 5.91% since the last Census (which gave a population of 12,174 people in 2010).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Shelby represented 0.4% of the total population of Iowa.

Below are some of the communities located in Shelby County:

  • Defiance
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Defiance is located in Shelby County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Defiance
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
  • Earling
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Earling is located in Shelby County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earling
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
  • Elk Horn
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Harlan
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Harlan is located in Shelby County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,795 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harlan <2>
  • Irwin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Irwin is located in Shelby County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 308 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <2>
  • Kirkman
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Kirkman is located in Shelby County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
  • Panama
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Panama is located in Shelby County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panama
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Panama <2>
  • Portsmouth
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Shelby
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Shelby is located in Shelby County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 607 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shelby <2>
  • Tennant
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Tennant is located in Shelby County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennant
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
  • Westphalia
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Westphalia is located in Shelby County (IA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people

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.