Sheldon, O'Brien County, Iowa, USA

Sheldon is a city in northwestern O’Brien County, Iowa, situated near the junction of U.S. Highway 18 and Iowa Highway 60, about 50 miles northeast of Sioux City and roughly 20 miles south of the Minnesota border. The city extends into both O’Brien and Sioux counties, although the vast majority of its population and municipal area lies within O’Brien County. Sheldon serves as a regional commercial, healthcare and educational center for northwest Iowa, with Northwest Iowa Community College, Sanford Sheldon Medical Center and a concentration of agricultural businesses and manufacturers supporting the surrounding rural communities. The city is located within Iowa’s gently rolling prairie landscape, where fertile farmland devoted to corn, soybeans and livestock surrounds the urban area. Sheldon covers approximately 5.63 square miles of land and had 5,512 residents at the 2020 census. Its economy combines agriculture, food processing, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, education and retail services, making it one of the principal service hubs in northwest Iowa.