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List of Cities and Counties in Iowa

Discover Iowa population facts easily with our list of counties and cities. Find out how many people live in each area, from big cities to small towns, and see how Iowa’s population is spread out across the state.

Iowa Counties by Population

A county is an administrative subdivision of a US state or territory. As of 2022, Iowa is divided into 99 counties.

The most populous county in Iowa is Polk County (0.5 million) and the least populated is Adams County. The Largest county by Land Area in Iowa is Kossuth County and the smallest in the area is Dickinson County.

read about the Population of Iowa

#CountyPopulation 2021Area (sq. mi.)
1Polk County496,844570
2Linn County228,939718
3Scott County174,170458
4Johnson County154,748614
5Black Hawk County130,368567
6Woodbury County105,607873
7Dallas County103,796586
8Story County99,472573
9Dubuque County98,718608
10Pottawattamie County93,304954
11Warren County53,402572
12Clinton County46,463695
13Cerro Gordo County42,706568
14Muscatine County42,688439
15Marshall County39,853572
16Des Moines County38,491416
17Jasper County37,764730
18Webster County37,147715
19Sioux County35,893768
20Wapello County35,256432
21Marion County33,380554
22Lee County33,215517
23Boone County26,723572
24Benton County25,691716
25Plymouth County25,650864
26Bremer County25,081428
27Washington County22,491569
28Mahaska County21,984571
29Jones County20,805575
30Buena Vista County20,771575
31Carroll County20,692569
32Buchanan County20,657571
33Henry County20,387434
34Winneshiek County19,892690
35Jackson County19,368636
36Fayette County19,258731
37Poweshiek County18,586585
38Cedar County18,410580
39Dickinson County17,851381
40Delaware County17,510578
41Clayton County16,998779
42Tama County16,867721
43Madison County16,773561
44Hardin County16,708569
45Iowa County16,568586
46Clay County16,440569
47Crawford County16,193714
48Jefferson County15,647435
49Floyd County15,413501
50Page County15,197535
51Hamilton County14,887577
52Harrison County14,669697
53Kossuth County14,529973
54Mills County14,465437
55Butler County14,332580
56O’Brien County14,015573
57Allamakee County13,926640
58Cass County13,050564
59Wright County12,785581
60Grundy County12,347503
61Appanoose County12,257496
62Union County12,018424
63Lyon County12,011588
64Chickasaw County11,887505
65Shelby County11,770591
66Cherokee County11,503577
67Louisa County10,749402
68Hancock County10,663571
69Winnebago County10,656400
70Guthrie County10,567591
71Mitchell County10,555469
72Montgomery County10,322424
73Franklin County9,952582
74Calhoun County9,915570
75Keokuk County9,914579
76Clarke County9,785431
77Sac County9,752576
78Humboldt County9,634434
79Howard County9,478473
80Emmet County9,321396
81Davis County9,138503
82Palo Alto County8,906564
83Greene County8,717568
84Lucas County8,710431
85Monona County8,574693
86Decatur County7,659532
87Monroe County7,610433
88Adair County7,541569
89Worth County7,385400
90Van Buren County7,243485
91Pocahontas County7,074578
92Ida County6,956432
93Fremont County6,567511
94Wayne County6,508526
95Osceola County6,159399
96Taylor County5,868534
97Audubon County5,635443
98Ringgold County4,639538
99Adams County3,641424

Source: US Census report 2021

read about the race and ethnicity in Iowa

Top Cities in Iowa by population

Iowa is divided into 99 counties and has 947 cities. Every incorporated place in Iowa is called a “city”, regardless of population.  The most populous city in Iowa is Des Moines with a population of 214,133 residents. It’s followed by Cedar Rapids and Davenport. Only these three cities have a population of more than 100,000. 

let’s have a look at the Top Cities in Iowa by Population

#CityPopulation 2020Area (sq. mi.)Counties
1Des Moines 214,13380.87Polk, Warren
2Cedar Rapids137,71070.8Linn
3Davenport101,72462.95Scott
4Sioux City85,79757.35Woodbury, Plymouth
5Iowa City74,82825.01Johnson
6West Des Moines68,72338.59Polk, Dallas, Warren
7Ankeny67,88729.33Polk
8Waterloo67,31461.39Black Hawk
9Ames66,42724.21Story
10Council Bluffs62,79940.97Pottawattamie
11Dubuque59,66729.97Dubuque
12Urbandale45,58021.92Polk, Dallas
13Marion41,53516.05Linn
14Cedar Falls40,71328.75Black Hawk
15Bettendorf39,10221.22Scott
16Marshalltown27,59119.28Marshall
17Mason City27,33827.81Cerro Gordo
18Ottumwa25,52915.86Wapello
19Fort Dodge24,87116.05Webster
20Clinton24,46935.15Clinton

Source: US Census 2020

Most Populous Counties in Iowa

The most populous county in Iowa is Polk County with 0.5 million residents. It is followed by Linn County (228,939) and Scott County (Scott million)

Let’s have a look at the Top 10 most populous counties

#CountyPopulation 2021
1Polk County496,844
2Linn County228,939
3Scott County174,170
4Johnson County154,748
5Black Hawk County130,368
6Woodbury County105,607
7Dallas County103,796
8Story County99,472
9Dubuque County98,718
10Pottawattamie County93,304
Least Populated Iowa County

The least populous county is Adams County with 3,641 residents, it’s followed by Ringgold County and Audubon County.

Let’s have a look at 5 least populated counties in Iowa

#CountyPopulation 2021
1Adams County3,641
2Ringgold County4,639
3Audubon County5,635
4Taylor County5,868
5Osceola County6,159

source: US Census 2021

read about religion in Iowa

Largest Counties in Iowa by area

The Largest county by Land Area in Iowa is Kossuth County with an area of 973 sq. miles. Pottawattamie County with an area of 954 sq. mi. comes next followed by Woodbury County (873 sq. mi.)

Let’s have a look at the Top 10 counties by Area

#CountyArea (sq. mi.)
1Kossuth County973
2Pottawattamie County954
3Woodbury County873
4Plymouth County864
5Clayton County779
6Sioux County768
7Fayette County731
8Jasper County730
9Tama County721
10Linn County718
Smallest County in Iowa by area

The smallest county by area in Iowa is Dickinson County with an area of 381 square miles.

#CountyArea (sq. mi.)
1Dickinson County381
2Emmet County396
3Osceola County399
4Worth County400
5Winnebago County400

Most Densely populated Counties in Iowa

The most densely populated county in Iowa is Polk County, with 871.66 people per sq. mi. Next comes Scott County with 380.28 people per sq. mi followed by Linn County (318.86/ sq.mi)

Let’s have a look at the Top 10 densely populated counties

#CountyDensity (people/sq. miles)
1Polk County871.66
2Scott County380.28
3Linn County318.86
4Johnson County252.03
5Black Hawk County229.93
6Dallas County177.13
7Story County173.60
8Dubuque County162.37
9Woodbury County120.97
10Pottawattamie County97.80
Least Densely Populated County in Iowa

Adams County with a population density of just 8.59 people per sq. miles is the least densely populated county in Iowa.

#CountyDensity (people/sq. miles)
1Adams County8.59
2Ringgold County8.62
3Taylor County10.99
4Pocahontas County12.24
5Monona County12.37

Sources

Religion in United States
Race and Ethnicity in US
US State by Population
List of Counties in Iowa 2024 | Top Cities in Iowa by population

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