The city is largely a bedroom community, made up of subdivisions whose residents work in Dubuque or Peosta.

The city was incorporated in 1933, following the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, which ended prohibition.

The city incorporated to gain the legal standing necessary to sell alcohol, as liquor licenses were still forbidden in rural areas.

During this time, the City of Dubuque grew immensely, and the sprawl reached the Asbury area beginning in the 1960s.

By 1970, Asbury had 410 residents and had grown fast enough to become the fastest growing city in the state of Iowa.

The city administrator is Beth Bonz, the current mayor is Jim Adams, and the council members are: Bob Reisch, Craig Miller, John Richey, Curt Kiessling and Larry Nagle.

In addition, Asbury sends commissioners to the Eastern Iowa Housing Authority.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.66 square miles (6.89 km2), all land.

[8] The city operates four parks and pedestrian and mountain bike trails.

to Maple Hills Park, and is part of Asbury's plan for having a citywide trail network.

[9] Serving primarily as a bedroom community, Asbury has only a small local economy.

Only a handful of businesses operate within the City of Asbury, however, this number has grown in recent years, along with an expanding population.

[14] Other students in northern, western, and southwestern Asbury (Arrowhead, Brook Haven, Forest Hills, Long Grove, Wedgewood) are zoned to Kennedy Elementary School.

Since the city is very young, and much of its growth has occurred only recently, its subdivisions are still clearly identifiable.

Generally, eastern and southern parts of the city are older, while northern and western areas are of entirely new construction.

The city is growing at a phenomenal clip, adding 544 new single-family homes since 2000.