Welcome to Spencer ...
The city of Spencer is located in Clay County<1> and is the County Seat for Clay County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Spencer, you might get a feel for it by knowing that during our research the earliest mention that we found (so far) was in a book dated 1895.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Spencer has a population of 11,016 people<2> (see below for details).
Spencer is 1,310 feet [399 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Spencer lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Spencer lies within the (712) area code.
The ZIP code for Spencer: 51301<4>
Websites for Spencer ...
Official Website: www.spenceria.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Spencer had an population of 11,016 people. This is a decrease of 1.93% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 2.66% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Spencer had a population of 11,233 people (or 67.4% of the total population of Clay County). This makes Spencer the county's most populous community.
The population of Spencer represents 0.37% of the total population of Iowa (which has 3,046,355 people), making it the state's 33rd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 11,233 people, the population of Spencer has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (which had a count of 11,317 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Spencer.
Communities Also Named Spencer ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 35 communities that are also named Spencer - they are located in Alabama (2), Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois (2), Indiana, Kansas (3), Kentucky (2), Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi (2), Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina (2), Ohio (4), Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Spencer.
Communities near Spencer ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Spencer.
- Spirit Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spirit Lake
- Spirit Lake is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,251 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spirit Lake <5>
- Milford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Milford is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,043 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milford <5>
- Hartley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
- Hartley is located in O'Brien County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
- Arnolds Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnolds Park
- Arnolds Park is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,354 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnolds Park <5>
- Okoboji
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okoboji
- Okoboji is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 803 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Okoboji <5>
- Sioux Rapids
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sioux Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Rapids
- Sioux Rapids is located in Buena Vista County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sioux Rapids <5>
- Ruthven
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthven
- Ruthven is located in Palo Alto County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ruthven <5>
- Everly
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Royal
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Royal is located in Clay County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Royal <5>
- Wahpeton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
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 Spencer. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Spencer.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Spencer. 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 Spencer.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Spencer. Our list includes 13 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Spencer.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Spencer ...
Looking for more information about Spencer? 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 Spencer, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Spencer.
Adding Spencer to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Spencer 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 Spencer was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
We also found Spencer on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Iowa (1911).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Spencer.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Spencer: www.spenceria.org/
The official website for Clay County: www.co.clay.ia.us/
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 Clay, 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 Spencer. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Spencer - 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 Spencer). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Spencer 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. |