Welcome to Independence ...
The city of Independence is located in Buchanan County<1> and is the County Seat for Buchanan County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Independence, you might consider that their post office opened in 1847.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Independence has a population of 6,118 people<2> (see below for details).
Independence is 900 feet [274 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Independence lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Independence lies within the (319) area code.
The ZIP code for Independence: 50644<4>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Independence had an population of 6,118 people. This is an increase of 2.55% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 1.73% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Independence had a population of 5,966 people (which is 28.47% of the total population of Buchanan County). This makes Independence the county's most populous community.
The population of Independence represents 0.2% of the total population of Iowa (which has 3,046,355 people), making it the state's 64th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 5,966 people, the population of Independence has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (with a count of 6,014 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Independence.
Communities Also Named Independence ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 50 communities that are also named Independence - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California (2), Colorado (3), Idaho, Illinois, Indiana (2), Kansas (2), Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota (2), Mississippi (2), Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota (2), Ohio (2), Oklahoma (2), Oregon, Pennsylvania (3), Tennessee (3), Texas (2), Utah (2), Virginia, Washington (2), West Virginia (4) and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Independence.
Communities near Independence ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Independence.
- Oelwein
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oelwein
- Oelwein is located in Fayette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,789 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oelwein <5>
- Jesup
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jesup have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jesup
- Jesup is located in Black Hawk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,711 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jesup <5>
- La Porte City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Porte City
- La Porte City is located in Black Hawk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,230 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Porte City <5>
- Urbana
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Urbana have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbana
- Urbana is located in Benton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Urbana <5>
- Elk Run Heights
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk Run Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Heights
- Elk Run Heights is located in Black Hawk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,135 people
- Fairbank
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairbank have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbank
- Fairbank is located in Buchanan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,132 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairbank <5>
- Dunkerton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest) - Winthrop
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Hazleton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazleton
- Hazleton is located in Buchanan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 841 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hazleton <5>
- Raymond
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
- Raymond is located in Black Hawk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 788 people
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 Independence. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Independence.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Independence. 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 Independence.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Independence. Our list includes 18 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Independence.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Independence ...
Looking for more information about Independence? 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 Independence, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Independence.
Adding Independence to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Independence 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 Independence was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Independence post office opened in 1847.
We also found Independence in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Independence.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Independence. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Buchanan County: www.buchanancounty.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 Buchanan, 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 Independence. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Independence - 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 Independence). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Independence 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> | 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. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |