Services of the City of Schaller, Iowa

About the Town of Schaller, IA

Schaller is located at Latitude: 42.50 N, Longitude: 95.29 W. According to the United States Census Bureau 2000:

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, 321 households, and 216 families residing in the city. There were 347 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 97.82% White, 0.13% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 0.64% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.08% of the population.

There were 321 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,365, and the median income for a family was $40,268. Males had a median income of $26,964 versus $17,875 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,520. About 2.6% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

For population 25 years and over in Schaller

High school or higher: 88.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 14.7%
Graduate or professional degree: 5.0%
Unemployed: 4.2%
Mean travel time to work: 15.0 minutes

For population 15 years and over in Schaller city

Never married: 20.0%
Now married: 59.9%
Separated: 2.1%
Widowed: 10.1%
Divorced: 7.9%

Nearest city with pop. 50,000+: Sioux City, IA (75.7 miles pop. 85,013).
Nearest city with pop. 200,000+: Omaha, NE (98.8 miles, pop. 390,007).
Nearest city with pop. 1,000,000+: Chicago, IL (525.2 miles, pop. 2,896,016).

Nearest cities:

History

The town of Schaller, named after Mr. Phil Schaller, was incorporated in 1882. The town had been founded in August 1879 as a station for the railroad under construction. The economy then, as currently, was based on commercial support for surrounding farms. Settlers came mostly from Germany, England, Canada, New York, and eastern Iowa.

Jolly Time Popcorn in Schaller, Iowa Throughout the middle part of the twentieth century a major industry consisted of the packers of Bango and Jolly Time popcorn. The presence and size of these two companies encouraged the townspeople to call Schaller "The Popcorn Capital of the World."

Popcorn is still a major area crop even though the company headquarters moved on to other locations in the 1980s. American Pop Corn purchases popcorn from farmers who tend more than 20,000 acres in Iowa and Nebraska. Processing involves slow-drying popcorn on-the-cob to obtain a balance of moisture and dryness for a high volume of fluff. The company's facilities are located in Schaller, Leeds, and Sioux City, Iowa.

The railroad ceased operations and pulled up tracks in the 1970s. Transportation connections are by US Hwy 20 and IA Hwy 110.

The major products of the area are Corn (seed and feed), soy beans, pigs, turkeys, wind generators, and feeder cattle.
Schaller Iowa Industry

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