Gilbert was named for George Gilbert, who owned the land upon which the town was built up.
Geography
Gilbert is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, all land. The landscape surrounding the city consists of rolling hills dotted with conventional farm buildings and livestock as well as row crop farming systems. Some suburban-style subdivisions lie a short distance to the south. Gilbert's southern boundary is two miles north of the Ames boundary that was extended when the Ada Hayden Heritage Park was developed.
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,082 people, 382 households, and 303 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 390 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 95.3% White, 1.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population. There were 382 households of which 49.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.5% were married couplesliving together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 20.7% were non-families. 17.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.22. The median age in the city was 34.2 years. 32.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.1% were from 25 to 44; 26.2% were from 45 to 64; and 6.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 987 people, 337 households, and 268 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,195.6 people per square mile. There were 347 housing units at an average density of 420.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 97.06% White, 0.71% African American, 1.52% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.11% of the population. There were 337 households out of which 48.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.7% were married couples living together, 4.7% had a single female head of household, and 20.2% were non-families. 16.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.30. 32.1% are under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $56,406, and the median income for a family was $61,184. Males had a median income of $35,313 versus $25,083 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,741. About 1.1% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.3% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.
