placestats

Iowa

Population3.2m
Counties99county-level areas on the 2024 Census map
Density22.1people per km² of land
Median household income$73,14742nd percentile of states

How it has changed

The state’s own figures from 2010 to 2024. A measure published for only one year shows as a single point instead of a line.

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The state figure, and the range across its counties

The state figure is the one its own agency publishes. It is never an average of the counties. You cannot average medians (middle values) to get a new median, and a rate has to be worked out again from the added-up counts. The county range next to it shows what a single state number has to hide.

Sometimes fewer counties report than the state has. The missing ones were held back because their counts were too small to publish — mostly deaths. A range from only part of the state is not the state’s full range. It can even sit entirely above or below the state figure. So the number of counties reporting is shown next to it.

You can sort by any column. 47 of these 188 measures have a clear better end, and those are ranked best first. For example, the lowest infant death rate is first place, and so is the highest life expectancy. The rest have no better end, so they are ranked highest first, and the cell says “highest” instead of “best”. A state is not winning or losing by how much of its tax comes from severance taxes (taxes on oil, gas and minerals taken from the ground).

Alcohol-involved share of driving deaths0.256%17th best of 510%0.313%0.611%59
Always wears a seatbelt9426th best of 49————
Arrivals per 100 people staying2.2940th highest of 512.884.759.8399
Arrivals per 100 staying, $200,000 or more1.543rd highest of 51————
Arthritis26.529th best of 46————
Binge drinking22.848th best of 49————
Births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 5056.312th highest of 5226.463.116585
Black Protestant adherents0.7432nd highest of 51008.4799
Black-white residential segregation62.825th highest of 5128.555.783.639
Business closing rate8.4139th highest of 512.128.2114.999
Business opening rate8.5750th highest of 513.427.9313.999
Catholic adherents14.828th highest of 510.9111.946.899
Checkup in the past year7625th highest of 49————
Child mortality46.413th best of 5132.750.679.223
Child poverty rate, ages 0-1713%20th best of 515.4%13.6%25.7%99
Children in single-parent households0.201%43rd highest of 510.05%0.172%0.307%98
Congregations per 10,000 people15.117th highest of 517.4622.643.299
Current asthma910th best of 47————
Current smoking15.735th best of 49————
Departures per 100 people staying2.3543rd highest of 513.15.048.8499
Departures per 100 staying, $200,000 or more1.7949th highest of 51————
Depression20.115th best of 49————
Diabetes13.220th best of 45————
Difficulty concentrating or deciding1316th best of 49————
Difficulty running errands alone6.3911th best of 46————
Difficulty walking or climbing stairs13.514th best of 47————
Disability-free score0.33113th highest of 47-0.2370.6271.6299
Drug overdose deaths14.43rd best of 517.7315.128.617
Effective general sales tax rate2.5822nd highest of 51————
Effective individual income tax rate2.3627th highest of 51————
Effective property tax rate1.4310th highest of 520.921.341.7999
Effective property tax rate on income3.3312th highest of 51————
Evangelical Protestant adherents1135th highest of 511.4411.731.199
Fair or poor health17.420th best of 49————
Fine particulate matter7.428th best of 516.57.49.699
Firearm fatalities10.49th best of 515.871231.524
Firearm share of suicides, standardised89.340th highest of 5160.596.613642
Firearm suicide rate8.2434th highest of 514.7610.127.942
Flu vaccination among Medicare enrollees0.54%5th best of 510.18%0.5%0.69%99
Gini index of income inequality0.4456th best of 520.3740.430.50199
Has health insurance93.613th highest of 49————
Health score0.31416th highest of 49-0.3290.3981.2199
High blood pressure34.329th best of 49————
High cholesterol33.619th best of 49————
High school graduation0.897%8th best of 480.677%0.924%0.975%82
Homeownership rate71.5%10th highest of 5256%76.4%84.3%99
Homicide rate2.879th best of 511.414.616.239
Homicide rate, annual3.1543rd highest of 513.175.245.743
How much faster the top bracket arrives than everyone else-0.22234th highest of 51————
Income gap between arrivals and departures$-3,20929th highest of 51$-10,680$-1,017$28,55099
Infant mortality5.0312th best of 513.55.717.6713
Injury deaths73.38th best of 5140.27711198
Life expectancy77.8 years21st best of 5174.5 years77.6 years82.6 years99
Local income tax as a share of income0.060211th highest of 130.002140.07380.24899
Mainline Protestant adherents15.73rd highest of 513.5220.456.599
Material security score0.9147th highest of 51-0.08190.7051.4599
Mean adjusted gross income per return$84,75134th best of 51$59,510$76,410$127,50099
Mean income of arriving households$61,58644th highest of 51$34,700$53,950$88,43099
Mean income of departing households$64,79542nd highest of 51$41,370$52,490$86,91099
Mean travel time to work19.8 min8th best of 5212.7 min20.1 min27.6 min99
Median age38.6 years34th highest of 5227 years42.2 years48.1 years99
Median gross rent$94945th highest of 52$599$800$1,23999
Median home value$195,90045th highest of 52$93,300$148,600$333,40099
Median household income$73,14731st best of 52$51,150$68,700$102,30099
Median household income (model-based)$71,66234th best of 51$54,410$68,650$102,20099
Median property tax bill2,79522nd highest of 521,0661,9764,84999
Meets aerobic guidelines58.932nd best of 49————
Membership organisations14.24th best of 515.4814.627.199
Millionaire returns as a share of all returns0.29145th highest of 52————
Millionaires' share of all income10.142nd highest of 52————
Motor vehicle crash deaths11.422nd best of 514.5114.638.562
Net business formation rate0.15950th highest of 51-7.7406.3699
Net domestic migration rate-1.1533rd highest of 51————
Net migration per 100 people staying-0.06129th highest of 51-3.21-0.1621.9699
Net migration per 100 staying, $200,000 or more-0.28531st highest of 51————
Obesity38.242nd best of 49————
Orthodox Christian adherents0.0938th highest of 51000.7399
Other religion adherents2.540th highest of 5101.076.0299
People per tax return29th highest of 5122299
Per capita income$39,72830th best of 52$27,510$36,880$52,72099
Per capita personal income$62,68835th best of 51$44,040$61,310$100,30099
Poverty rate11%22nd best of 525.33%10.4%20.4%99
Poverty rate (model-based)11.1%21st best of 515.8%10.5%18.3%99
Premature mortality37318th best of 5121038652399
Preventable hospital stays2,36417th best of 516522,1446,39199
Private job growth1.1850th highest of 52-9.460.917.9699
Religious adherents44.933rd highest of 5129.348.68299
Republican share of the two-party vote, 202456.722nd highest of 5130.768.885.999
Returns claiming charitable contributions4.44%39th highest of 511.18%3.22%8.7%99
Returns claiming the earned income credit12%34th highest of 517.55%12%19.2%99
Returns reporting capital gains20.2%18th highest of 5112.5%20.9%29.4%99
Returns reporting unemployment compensation3.17%13th highest of 511.15%2.94%7.85%99
Safety score0.37210th highest of 51-1.440.5691.2924
Share aged 65 and over17.8%21st highest of 5212.5%21.1%27.6%99
Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not Hispanic0.173%30th highest of 510%0%5.78%17
Share Asian, not Hispanic2.42%32nd highest of 520%0.696%10%66
Share Black, not Hispanic3.76%37th highest of 520%1.68%9.46%52
Share divorced10.6%34th highest of 524.44%11.1%16.4%99
Share foreign-born5.71%35th highest of 520.697%2.75%21.6%80
Share Hispanic or Latino, any race6.99%37th highest of 521.29%3.49%30.1%96
Share in the same house a year ago85.8%31st highest of 5170.8%88.2%92.6%99
Share Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, not Hispanic0.133%14th highest of 490%0%2.51%58
Share never married31.4%39th highest of 5218.7%26.1%50.9%99
Share now married52.2%6th highest of 5239.3%55.4%65.6%99
Share of births to unmarried women26.6%38th highest of 520%34.4%75.9%21
Share of some other race, not Hispanic0.248%50th highest of 520%0%0.505%21
Share of suicides by firearm48.9%40th highest of 5133.9%53.1%75%42
Share of taxes from alcohol0.094946th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from corporate income4.0339th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from corporation licences0.39613th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from death and gift0.41813th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from gambling1.718th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from general sales and gross receipts2525th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from individual income22.925th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from insurance premiums0.83344th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from licences5.910th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from motor fuel3.2916th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from motor vehicle licences3.792nd highest of 51————
Share of taxes from occupation and business licences0.82230th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from other taxes0.58241st highest of 51————
Share of taxes from property32.417th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from property transfer0.14630th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from public utilities1.4713th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from selective sales9.233rd highest of 51————
Share of taxes from severance051st highest of 51————
Share of taxes from sports betting and pari-mutuels0.08218th highest of 51————
Share of taxes from tobacco0.88520th highest of 51————
Share of two or more races, not Hispanic3.2%45th highest of 520.899%2.5%5.82%94
Share separated1.1%43rd highest of 520.57%1.21%2.21%42
Share White, not Hispanic83.1%6th highest of 5253.5%91.7%95.7%99
Share widowed5.8%22nd highest of 523.19%6.79%12.1%99
Share with a bachelor's degree or higher30.9%39th best of 5214.5%21.6%54.6%99
State and local income tax as a share of income2.369th highest of 12————
State income tax as a share of income2.322nd highest of 50————
State taxes as a share of income6.4223rd highest of 50————
Suicide rate17.231st best of 5110.419.739.541
Top state income tax rate6%16th highest of 50————
Total tax burden10.319th highest of 51————
Two weeks of poor mental health16.326th best of 49————
Two weeks of poor physical health11.710th best of 47————
Unemployment rate2.97%18th best of 522%2.8%5.8%99
Vacancy rate8.65%40th highest of 524.55%9.7%38.5%98
Went without care over cost8.184th best of 49————
Years of potential life lost7,20115th best of 513,9147,13110,25098
Aggregate travel time to work28,378,000 min34th highest of 5230,120 min140,200 min4,462,000 min99
Business establishments75,78731st highest of 519637412,44099
Business establishments closed6,37132nd highest of 513311,15599
Business establishments opened6,49132nd highest of 517281,29299
Employed1,657,40031st highest of 521,7087,568271,80099
Foreign-born population182,59035th highest of 528346549,50080
Gross domestic product$253,170,000k32nd highest of 51$210,500k$1,034,000k$59,550,000k99
Housing units1,427,20031st highest of 521,8927,056215,00099
Labour force1,708,10031st highest of 521,7567,799279,90099
Local income tax collected$121,440k12th highest of 13$67k$783k$9,748k99
Millionaire tax returns4,31033rd highest of 52————
Net domestic migration-3,67434th highest of 51————
Occupied housing units1,303,80030th highest of 521,5306,317202,40099
Owner-occupied housing units932,62030th highest of 521,1744,749135,80099
People covered by a tax return2,816,00031st highest of 513,30013,580451,40099
People in households earning $200,000 or more who did not move237,40030th highest of 51————
People who did not move2,521,50031st highest of 512,89112,010400,00099
Personal income$201,760,000k32nd highest of 51$230,000k$959,700k$34,050,000k99
Population3,218,40031st highest of 513,55315,010507,50099
Population3,207,00031st highest of 513,54415,010505,30099
Population (firearm measures)2,984,50031st highest of 519,11127,790455,20042
Population (WONDER)3,207,00031st highest of 51174,300229,000505,3003
Population aged 15 and over2,589,90031st highest of 522,98212,640395,80099
Population aged 25 and over2,140,50032nd highest of 522,65310,630331,60099
Population aged 65 and over569,08031st highest of 528743,22868,03099
Population below the poverty line340,36035th highest of 523391,50049,16099
Population below the poverty line344,88034th highest of 514051,43757,16099
Population for whom poverty status is determined3,096,90033rd highest of 523,56114,660488,70099
Population for whom poverty status is determined3,107,00032nd highest of 513,49114,550497,10099
Population in the same house one year ago2,742,50031st highest of 513,24613,450420,60099
Population with a bachelor's degree or higher660,62033rd highest of 526372,167131,10099
Population, decennial census3,190,40031st highest of 513,70415,210492,40099
Presidential votes cast, 20241,663,50029th highest of 512,1538,015258,10099
Private jobs1,312,60032nd highest of 528914,586276,00099
State and local tax collections$20,779,000k30th highest of 51————
State individual income tax collected$4,635,000k26th highest of 50————
State tax collected, all taxes$12,950,000k34th highest of 50————
Tax returns filed1,481,80032nd highest of 511,7007,000242,70099
Total population3,195,90032nd highest of 523,64115,170497,40099
Unemployed50,72632nd highest of 52482458,07699
Vacant housing units123,41037th highest of 5226176412,61098
Women aged 15 to 50712,81033rd highest of 526462,894121,70099
Women who gave birth in the past year40,15130th highest of 52482245,93885
Workers aged 16 and over who commute1,434,40030th highest of 521,5356,561223,90099

Links inside Iowa

These are the site’s strongest pairs nationwide, worked out again using only this state’s counties. The r column shows how closely two measures rise and fall together, from −1 (opposite) to +1 (in step); 0 means no link. A link that shows up nationally but disappears inside every state is really about differences between states. A link that also holds here is not.

These figures are before adjusting for anything. Unlike the national figures, they do not take out population density, income or education.

Pairr within IAcounties
Median age × Share aged 65 and overInside Iowa, where Median age is higher, Share aged 65 and over tends to be higher: a strong link across 99 counties, before adjusting for anything.+0.8899
Self-care disability × Material security scoreInside Iowa, where Self-care disability is higher, Material security score tends to be lower: a strong link across 99 counties, before adjusting for anything.-0.8199
Stroke × Material security scoreInside Iowa, where Stroke is higher, Material security score tends to be lower: a strong link across 99 counties, before adjusting for anything.-0.8199
Food insecurity × Returns claiming the earned income creditInside Iowa, where Food insecurity is higher, Returns claiming the earned income credit tends to be higher: a strong link across 99 counties, before adjusting for anything.+0.7799
Lack of reliable transportation × Returns claiming the earned income creditInside Iowa, where Lack of reliable transportation is higher, Returns claiming the earned income credit tends to be higher: a strong link across 99 counties, before adjusting for anything.+0.7999
Vision disability × Material security scoreInside Iowa, where Vision disability is higher, Material security score tends to be lower: a strong link across 99 counties, before adjusting for anything.-0.7899
Housing insecurity × Returns claiming the earned income creditInside Iowa, where Housing insecurity is higher, Returns claiming the earned income credit tends to be higher: a strong link across 99 counties, before adjusting for anything.+0.7699
Received food stamps × Material security scoreInside Iowa, where Received food stamps is higher, Material security score tends to be lower: a strong link across 99 counties, before adjusting for anything.-0.8399
Self-care disability × Returns claiming the earned income creditInside Iowa, where Self-care disability is higher, Returns claiming the earned income credit tends to be higher: a strong link across 99 counties, before adjusting for anything.+0.7699
Vision disability × Returns claiming the earned income creditInside Iowa, where Vision disability is higher, Returns claiming the earned income credit tends to be higher: a strong link across 99 counties, before adjusting for anything.+0.7699
Fair or poor self-rated health × Material security scoreInside Iowa, where Fair or poor self-rated health is higher, Material security score tends to be lower: a strong link across 99 counties, before adjusting for anything.-0.7599
Independent-living disability × Material security scoreInside Iowa, where Independent-living disability is higher, Material security score tends to be lower: a strong link across 99 counties, before adjusting for anything.-0.7699

What this state is divided into

99 county-level areas, largest first. Each one is compared with its peers — the counties across the country most like it — not with the rest of this state.

Polk County · Linn County · Scott County · Johnson County · Black Hawk County · Woodbury County · Dallas County · Dubuque County · Story County · Pottawattamie County · Warren County · Clinton County · Cerro Gordo County · Muscatine County · Marshall County · Des Moines County · Jasper County · Webster County · Sioux County · Wapello County · Marion County · Lee County · Boone County · Plymouth County · Benton County · Bremer County · Washington County · Mahaska County · Jones County · Buena Vista County · Carroll County · Buchanan County · Henry County · Winneshiek County · Jackson County · Fayette County · Poweshiek County · Cedar County · Dickinson County · Delaware County · Clayton County · Tama County · Madison County · Hardin County · Iowa County · Clay County · Crawford County · Jefferson County · Floyd County · Page County · Hamilton County · Harrison County · Kossuth County · Mills County · Butler County · O'Brien County · Allamakee County · Cass County · Wright County · Grundy County · Appanoose County · Lyon County · Union County · Chickasaw County · Shelby County · Cherokee County · Hancock County · Louisa County · Winnebago County · Guthrie County · Mitchell County · Montgomery County · Franklin County · Keokuk County · Calhoun County · Sac County · Clarke County · Humboldt County · Howard County · Emmet County · Davis County · Palo Alto County · Greene County · Lucas County · Monona County · Decatur County · Monroe County · Adair County · Worth County · Van Buren County · Pocahontas County · Ida County · Fremont County · Wayne County · Osceola County · Taylor County · Audubon County · Ringgold County · Adams County