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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Welcome to Rock Valley ...

The city of Rock Valley is located in Sioux County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Rock Valley, you might consider that their post office opened in 1879.

A typical abbreviation for Rock Valley: Rock Vly. (or less commonly used: Rock Vally. or Rock Vlly.)

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Rock Valley has a population of 3,877 people<2> (see below for details).

Rock Valley is 1,240 feet [378 m] above sea level.<3>.

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

Area Code for Rock Valley: 712

The ZIP code for Rock Valley: 51247<4>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Rock Valley had an population of 3,877 people. This is an increase of 15.59% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 43.49% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Rock Valley had a population of 3,354 people (which is 9.94% of the total population of Sioux County). This makes Rock Valley the county's 3rd most populous community.

The population of Rock Valley represents 0.11% of the population of Iowa (which has 3,046,355 people), making it the state's 111st most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 3,354 people, the population of Rock Valley increased 24.13% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 2,702 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Rock Valley.

Communities Also Named Rock Valley ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 2 communities that are also named Rock Valley - they are located in Massachusetts and New York.

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

Communities near Rock Valley ...

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

  • Sioux Center
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Orange City
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Canton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Canton is located in Lincoln County (SD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,583 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canton <5>
  • Rock Rapids
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Hawarden
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hull
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Hull is located in Sioux County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,296 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hull <5>
  • George
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Larchwood
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Inwood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Boyden
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Boyden is located in Sioux County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyden
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 682 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 Rock Valley. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Rock Valley.

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

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Rock Valley. See our Newspapers Page for Rock Valley.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Rock Valley ...

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

Adding Rock Valley to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Rock Valley 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 (so far) for Rock Valley was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Rock Valley post office opened in 1879.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Rock Valley.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Sioux, 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 Rock Valley.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Rock Valley - 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 Rock Valley). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Rock Valley 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>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

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