RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Clayton County >> ElkaderIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Iowa

The Commemorative Quarter for Iowa





Welcome to Elkader ...

The city of Elkader is located in Clayton County<1> and is the County Seat for Clayton County.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Elkader, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1848.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Elkader has a population of 1,216 people<2> (see below for details).

Elkader is 830 feet [253 m] above sea level.<3>.

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

Area Code for Elkader: 563

The ZIP code for Elkader: 52043<4>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Elkader had an population of 1,216 people. This is a decrease of 4.48% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 17% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Elkader had a population of 1,273 people (which is 7.04% of the total population of Clayton County). This makes Elkader the county's 4th most populous community.

The population of Elkader represents 0.04% of the population of Iowa (which has 3,046,355 people), making it the state's 233rd most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 1,273 people, the population of Elkader decreased 13.11% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 1,465 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Elkader.

Communities Also Named Elkader ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found another community named Elkader - it's located in Kansas.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Elkader.

Communities near Elkader ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Elkader.

  • Prairie du Chien
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Chien
    • Prairie du Chien is located in Crawford County (WI)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,531 people
  • Postville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Guttenberg
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Monona
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Strawberry Point
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Edgewood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Edgewood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
    • Edgewood is located in Delaware County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 854 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edgewood <5>
  • McGregor
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McGregor have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGregor
    • McGregor is located in Clayton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 826 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McGregor <5>
  • Garnavillo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Elgin
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Clermont
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clermont have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clermont
    • Clermont is located in Fayette County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 580 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clermont <5>

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 Elkader. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Elkader.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Elkader. 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 Elkader.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Elkader. Our list includes 8 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Elkader.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Elkader ...

Looking for more information about Elkader? 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 Elkader, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Elkader.

Adding Elkader to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Elkader 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 Elkader was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>

X2X - From that list, the Elkader post office opened in 1848.

We also found Elkader in the book titled Table of U.S. Post Offices in the United States (Jan. 1851).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Elkader.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Elkader. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Clayton County: www.claytoncountyiowa.net/

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 Clayton, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Elkader.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Elkader - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>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 Elkader). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Elkader or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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.
<8>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025