North Liberty is a city in
Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is a suburb of
Iowa City and part of the
Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area
The Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Iowa anchored by the city of Iowa City.
The Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) had a population of 171,491 people ...
.
As of the
2020 census, the city population was 20,479.
From 2000 to 2010, North Liberty was the second fastest-growing city in Iowa. A 2017 LendEDU poll named North Liberty the ninth most educated city in the United States and the most educated city in the
Midwest.
History
The North Liberty area was first settled in 1838 by John Gaylor and Alonzo C. Dennison. It was originally known as "Big Bottom" or "North Bend" (in reference to its location near the bend of the
Iowa River
The Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States. It is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 and ...
) by its earliest settlers and was later known as "Squash Bend" before the city was platted as North Liberty in 1857.
North Liberty incorporated on November 10, 1913, at which time its population was approximately 190.
Population growth accelerated in the 1960s, and the
Iowa City Community School District
Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) is the state school, public school district that serves the Iowa City, Iowa area. Over 14,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade attend 21 elementary schools, three junior high schools, three c ...
opened Penn Elementary there in 1961. A 1967 special census placed the city's population at 782, and by 1980 the population had grown to over 2,000. In 1984, in response to the population growth, the North Liberty Community Librar
was founded, and Penn Meadows Park, the city's largest, was opened. By 2000, the population of the city was over 5,000. The city had established its own police and fire departments and built a community center with library and aquatic park, as well as a city administration building. The city has since continued to grow, with a population of 7,224 in a 2004 special census. In 2007, the population was estimated to be 10,982, making North Liberty the second fastest-growing city in Iowa.
According to the 2010 U.S. census the population of North Liberty had increased to 13,374.
Geography
North Liberty is located at (41.743029, -91.607807).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the city has a total area of , all land.
North Liberty is located on the
Iowan erosion surface. Drivers on
I-380 Interstate 380 may refer to:
* Interstate 380 (California)
Interstate 380 (I-380) is a short east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California, connecting I-280 in San Bruno to US Route& ...
experience an abrupt transition from the muted topography of the Iowan surface to the rolling hills of the
Southern Iowa drift plain, four miles south of North Liberty.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2010, there were 13,374 people, 5,492 households, and 3,262 families living in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was . There were 5,761 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.2%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 4.5%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.2%
Native American, 1.8%
Asian, 0.9% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 2.3% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 3.5% of the population.
There were 5,492 households, of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were
married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.6% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.08.
The median age in the city was 29.2 years. 28.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 44% were from 25 to 44; 15.3% were from 45 to 64; and 3.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2000, there were 5,367 people, 2,259 households, and 1,400 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 2,377 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.38%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 1.53%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.17%
Native American, 0.82%
Asian, 0.11%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.78% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.21% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 2.38% of the population.
There were 2,259 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were
married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.0% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.95.
26.8% are under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 43.9% from 25 to 44, 13.8% from 45 to 64, and 4.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males.
Education
A majority of North Liberty residents live within the boundaries of the
Iowa City Community School District
Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) is the state school, public school district that serves the Iowa City, Iowa area. Over 14,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade attend 21 elementary schools, three junior high schools, three c ...
, while the area west of Jones Boulevard (and the Deerfield Subdivision) belongs to the
Clear Creek–Amana Community School District.
![Van Allen Elementary](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Van_Allen_Elementary.jpg)
Public schools in or serving students from North Liberty include the following:
* From the Iowa City Community School District:
** Buford Garner Elementary
** Penn Elementary
** Van Allen Elementary
** Christine Grant Elementary
** North Central Junior High
**
Liberty High (North Liberty)
**
West High (Iowa City)
* From the Clear Creek–Amana Community School District:
** North Bend Elementary
** Clear Creek–Amana Middle School (Tiffin)
**
Clear Creek–Amana High School
Clear Creek Amana High School, or CCA High School, is a public senior high school in Tiffin, Iowa and a part of the Clear Creek–Amana Community School District. It serves the entire district.
A Clipper Ship is the school mascot.
The school ...
(Tiffin)
**Oak Hill Elementary (Tiffin)
A 2017 poll by LendEDU gave North Liberty an Education Grade of 84.51, placing it 9th among its Top 500 Most Educated Cities. North Liberty is the only non-coastal city listed in the top 10. According to the study, the number of advanced-degree holding residents has a strong correlation with several social goods, including "a good number of high paying jobs in the area, an excellent schooling system to educate the next generation, nearby higher education institutions, and more."
Infrastructure
The sewage from the city is treated at a modern and sophisticated
treatment plant using Membrane Bio-Reactor(MBR) technology followed by UV sterilization. It is designed to be able to discharge more than 2 million gallons of high-quality effluent to Muddy Creek each day.
VLBA node
The
radio telescope located northeast of North Liberty (; designation "NL") on Mehaffey Bridge Road is one of ten dishes comprising the
Very Long Baseline Array
The Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) is a system of ten radio telescopes which are operated remotely from their Array Operations Center located in Socorro, New Mexico, as a part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). These ten radi ...
(VLBA).
Notable person
*
Jean Prahm, Olympic
bobsled
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...
der
References
External links
City of North Liberty
{{authority control
Cities in Johnson County, Iowa
Cities in Iowa
Iowa City metropolitan area
1838 establishments in Iowa Territory