Story County, Iowa

Story County
County
Story County Administration Building
Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 42°02′16″N 93°27′59″W / 42.037777777778°N 93.466388888889°W / 42.037777777778; -93.466388888889
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	1846
Named for	Joseph Story
Seat	Nevada
Largest city	Ames
Area
• Total	574 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Land	573 sq mi (1,480 km2)
• Water	0.8 sq mi (2 km2)  0.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	98,537
• Estimate  (2023)	98,566
• Density	170/sq mi (66/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th
Website	www.storycountyiowa.gov

Story County is a county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 98,537,^[1] making it the ninth-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Nevada;^[2] the largest city is Ames. The geographical center of Iowa lies in Story County, 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Ames.^[3] Story County comprises the Ames, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA Combined Statistical Area.^[4] The county is home to Iowa State University in Ames.