>> Read more trending stories

So, it turns out not all Iowans are farmers — just many of the ones you see interviewed on TV.

In fact, fewer than 5 percent of Iowans farm.

Manufacturing and financial services contribute more to the state's economy than farming.

So there's obviously more to Iowa than its reputation as the state with the most pigs in captivity.

But at first glance, Iowa doesn't exactly look like America.

"It doesn't represent the rest of the country," said Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC. "Too white. Too evangelical. Too rural."

That's the thing people are criticizing most about the state: It's a poor representation of the country, and yet its caucuses get to go first.

Compare Iowa's demographics to the rest of the country's: Non-Hispanic whites make up 87 percent of the state, blacks just over 3 percent and Hispanics 5 percent. Those numbers are significantly lower than the national average.

It may not be racially representative of the country, but consider a few facts:

The oldest mosque in North America is in Cedar Rapids.

Iowa has the nation's highest literacy rate.

Plus, the state has had a significant growth in diversity. Iowa's Hispanic population grew by 100 percent in the past 15 years. The state's Asian and black populations are slow-growing — but still growing.

And when it comes to politics, it's tough to criticize Iowa's "representative-ness." It's current two U.S. senators are Republicans, but the state voted for President Barack Obama in the past two elections. It's competitive for both parties, and that's more than a lot of states on the coasts or in the Deep South can say.

Perhaps there's more to Iowa than some would have you think.