Counties in Iowa by annual precipitation

Decatur County had the highest annual precipitation of 99 counties in 2014, at 46.46 inches. Dickinson County had the lowest, at 26.93 inches. The median was 38.96 inches and the figure for Iowa was 38.69 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest46.46Decatur County
Lowest26.93Dickinson County
Median38.9699 counties
Iowa38.69History

Map of counties, 2014

Adair County: 45.33 inchesAdams County: 44.08 inchesAllamakee County: 37.62 inchesAppanoose County: 40.13 inchesAudubon County: 43.88 inchesBenton County: 37.4 inchesBlack Hawk County: 35.04 inchesBoone County: 42.18 inchesBremer County: 35.73 inchesBuchanan County: 32.99 inchesBuena Vista County: 34.78 inchesButler County: 36.81 inchesCalhoun County: 37.6 inchesCarroll County: 41.97 inchesCass County: 43.03 inchesCedar County: 40.82 inchesCerro Gordo County: 36.63 inchesCherokee County: 35.63 inchesChickasaw County: 38.4 inchesClarke County: 43.47 inchesClay County: 32.57 inchesClayton County: 36.06 inchesClinton County: 37.01 inchesCrawford County: 45.6 inchesDallas County: 40.47 inchesDavis County: 38.03 inchesDecatur County: 46.46 inchesDelaware County: 35.97 inchesDes Moines County: 40.35 inchesDickinson County: 26.93 inchesDubuque County: 37.56 inchesEmmet County: 29.51 inchesFayette County: 37.19 inchesFloyd County: 37.49 inchesFranklin County: 40.5 inchesFremont County: 34.29 inchesGreene County: 40.86 inchesGrundy County: 39.06 inchesGuthrie County: 42.18 inchesHamilton County: 39.68 inchesHancock County: 35.55 inchesHardin County: 40.69 inchesHarrison County: 38.21 inchesHenry County: 39.77 inchesHoward County: 38.95 inchesHumboldt County: 36.93 inchesIda County: 38.99 inchesIowa County: 39.47 inchesJackson County: 37.64 inchesJasper County: 42.57 inchesJefferson County: 41.29 inchesJohnson County: 41.35 inchesJones County: 39.85 inchesKeokuk County: 42.35 inchesKossuth County: 35.02 inchesLee County: 40.86 inchesLinn County: 39.3 inchesLouisa County: 37.61 inchesLucas County: 40.64 inchesLyon County: 29.02 inchesMadison County: 40.09 inchesMahaska County: 42.86 inchesMarion County: 43.79 inchesMarshall County: 41.45 inchesMills County: 38.02 inchesMitchell County: 37.56 inchesMonona County: 36.85 inchesMonroe County: 38.96 inchesMontgomery County: 41.55 inchesMuscatine County: 41.42 inchesO'Brien County: 30.35 inchesOsceola County: 27.82 inchesPage County: 38.3 inchesPalo Alto County: 37.39 inchesPlymouth County: 30.97 inchesPocahontas County: 36.42 inchesPolk County: 42.39 inchesPottawattamie County: 42.5 inchesPoweshiek County: 43.61 inchesRinggold County: 43.28 inchesSac County: 37.8 inchesScott County: 37.86 inchesShelby County: 44.58 inchesSioux County: 27.46 inchesStory County: 43.35 inchesTama County: 39.33 inchesTaylor County: 43.28 inchesUnion County: 41.79 inchesVan Buren County: 38.73 inchesWapello County: 40.03 inchesWarren County: 43.29 inchesWashington County: 42.78 inchesWayne County: 41.77 inchesWebster County: 37.95 inchesWinnebago County: 33.23 inchesWinneshiek County: 38.04 inchesWoodbury County: 36.54 inchesWorth County: 35.15 inchesWright County: 38.76 inches
  • Under 36
  • 36 to 38
  • 38 to 39
  • 39 to 41
  • 41 to 43
  • 43 and over
inches, 2014. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2014

Decatur County: 46.46 inchesDecatur County46.46Crawford County: 45.6 inchesCrawford County45.6Adair County: 45.33 inchesAdair County45.33Shelby County: 44.58 inchesShelby County44.58Adams County: 44.08 inchesAdams County44.08Audubon County: 43.88 inchesAudubon County43.88Marion County: 43.79 inchesMarion County43.79Poweshiek County: 43.61 inchesPoweshiek County43.61Clarke County: 43.47 inchesClarke County43.47Story County: 43.35 inchesStory County43.35Warren County: 43.29 inchesWarren County43.29Ringgold County: 43.28 inchesRinggold County43.28Taylor County: 43.28 inchesTaylor County43.28Cass County: 43.03 inchesCass County43.03Mahaska County: 42.86 inchesMahaska County42.86Washington County: 42.78 inchesWashington County42.78Jasper County: 42.57 inchesJasper County42.57Pottawattamie County: 42.5 inchesPottawattamie County42.5Polk County: 42.39 inchesPolk County42.39Keokuk County: 42.35 inchesKeokuk County42.35Boone County: 42.18 inchesBoone County42.18Guthrie County: 42.18 inchesGuthrie County42.18Carroll County: 41.97 inchesCarroll County41.97Union County: 41.79 inchesUnion County41.79Wayne County: 41.77 inchesWayne County41.77Montgomery County: 41.55 inchesMontgomery County41.55Marshall County: 41.45 inchesMarshall County41.45Muscatine County: 41.42 inchesMuscatine County41.42Johnson County: 41.35 inchesJohnson County41.35Jefferson County: 41.29 inchesJefferson County41.29Greene County: 40.86 inchesGreene County40.86Lee County: 40.86 inchesLee County40.86Cedar County: 40.82 inchesCedar County40.82Hardin County: 40.69 inchesHardin County40.69Lucas County: 40.64 inchesLucas County40.64Franklin County: 40.5 inchesFranklin County40.5Dallas County: 40.47 inchesDallas County40.47Des Moines County: 40.35 inchesDes Moines County40.35Appanoose County: 40.13 inchesAppanoose County40.13Madison County: 40.09 inchesMadison County40.09Decatur County: 46.46 inchesDecatur County46.46Crawford County: 45.6 inchesCrawford County45.6Adair County: 45.33 inchesAdair County45.33Shelby County: 44.58 inchesShelby County44.58Adams County: 44.08 inchesAdams County44.08Audubon County: 43.88 inchesAudubon County43.88Marion County: 43.79 inchesMarion County43.79Poweshiek County: 43.61 inchesPoweshiek County43.61Clarke County: 43.47 inchesClarke County43.47Story County: 43.35 inchesStory County43.35Warren County: 43.29 inchesWarren County43.29Ringgold County: 43.28 inchesRinggold County43.28Taylor County: 43.28 inchesTaylor County43.28Cass County: 43.03 inchesCass County43.03Mahaska County: 42.86 inchesMahaska County42.86Washington County: 42.78 inchesWashington County42.78Jasper County: 42.57 inchesJasper County42.57Pottawattamie County: 42.5 inchesPottawattamie County42.5Polk County: 42.39 inchesPolk County42.39Keokuk County: 42.35 inchesKeokuk County42.35Boone County: 42.18 inchesBoone County42.18Guthrie County: 42.18 inchesGuthrie County42.18Carroll County: 41.97 inchesCarroll County41.97Union County: 41.79 inchesUnion County41.79Wayne County: 41.77 inchesWayne County41.77Montgomery County: 41.55 inchesMontgomery County41.55Marshall County: 41.45 inchesMarshall County41.45Muscatine County: 41.42 inchesMuscatine County41.42Johnson County: 41.35 inchesJohnson County41.35Jefferson County: 41.29 inchesJefferson County41.29Greene County: 40.86 inchesGreene County40.86Lee County: 40.86 inchesLee County40.86Cedar County: 40.82 inchesCedar County40.82Hardin County: 40.69 inchesHardin County40.69Lucas County: 40.64 inchesLucas County40.64Franklin County: 40.5 inchesFranklin County40.5Dallas County: 40.47 inchesDallas County40.47Des Moines County: 40.35 inchesDes Moines County40.35Appanoose County: 40.13 inchesAppanoose County40.13Madison County: 40.09 inchesMadison County40.09
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2014
inches
Change on 2013
1Decatur County46.46+39.8%
2Crawford County45.6+61.6%
3Adair County45.33+39.4%
4Shelby County44.58+45.3%
5Adams County44.08+39.2%
6Audubon County43.88+44.2%
7Marion County43.79+27.4%
8Poweshiek County43.61+9.9%
9Clarke County43.47+43%
10Story County43.35+25.3%
11Warren County43.29+33.2%
12Ringgold County43.28+36.7%
12Taylor County43.28+35.3%
14Cass County43.03+39.5%
15Mahaska County42.86+23.3%
16Washington County42.78+14.6%
17Jasper County42.57+19.4%
18Pottawattamie County42.5+37.4%
19Polk County42.39+30.1%
20Keokuk County42.35+12.5%
21Boone County42.18+33.8%
21Guthrie County42.18+27.9%
23Carroll County41.97+47.4%
24Union County41.79+37%
25Wayne County41.77+15.7%
26Montgomery County41.55+34.2%
27Marshall County41.45+6.6%
28Muscatine County41.42+12.6%
29Johnson County41.35+6%
30Jefferson County41.29+9.4%
31Greene County40.86+34.1%
31Lee County40.86+7.5%
33Cedar County40.82+1.6%
34Hardin County40.69+6.1%
35Lucas County40.64+17.7%
36Franklin County40.5+3.9%
37Dallas County40.47+30.3%
38Des Moines County40.35+11.6%
39Appanoose County40.13+5.1%
40Madison County40.09+30.6%
41Wapello County40.03+9%
42Jones County39.85-1.4%
43Henry County39.77+8.2%
44Hamilton County39.68+20.5%
45Iowa County39.47+5.7%
46Tama County39.33+0.2%
47Linn County39.3-0.4%
48Grundy County39.06-1%
49Ida County38.99+37.6%
50Monroe County38.96+9.9%
51Howard County38.95-12.3%
52Wright County38.76+12.6%
53Van Buren County38.73+7.3%
54Chickasaw County38.4+0.7%
55Page County38.3+30.9%
56Harrison County38.21+36.9%
57Winneshiek County38.04-16.4%
58Davis County38.03+4.4%
59Mills County38.02+26.9%
60Webster County37.95+25.9%
61Scott County37.86+0.8%
62Sac County37.8+50.7%
63Jackson County37.64+2.6%
64Allamakee County37.62-15.8%
65Louisa County37.61+9.1%
66Calhoun County37.6+37.2%
67Dubuque County37.56-6.9%
67Mitchell County37.56-12.5%
69Floyd County37.49-8.8%
70Benton County37.4-2.5%
71Palo Alto County37.39+20%
72Fayette County37.19-9.2%
73Clinton County37.01+4.1%
74Humboldt County36.93+23.1%
75Monona County36.85+34%
76Butler County36.81-8.3%
77Cerro Gordo County36.63-7.8%
78Woodbury County36.54+36.2%
79Pocahontas County36.42+31.5%
80Clayton County36.06-17.4%
81Delaware County35.97-16.2%
82Bremer County35.73-10.6%
83Cherokee County35.63+16%
84Hancock County35.55+1.3%
85Worth County35.15-15.5%
86Black Hawk County35.04-11.4%
87Kossuth County35.02+8.2%
88Buena Vista County34.78+33.1%
89Fremont County34.29+17.9%
90Winnebago County33.23-10.4%
91Buchanan County32.99-15.6%
92Clay County32.57+13.1%
93Plymouth County30.97+8.9%
94O'Brien County30.35+1.6%
95Emmet County29.51+12.8%
96Lyon County29.02+1.4%
97Osceola County27.82+3.8%
98Sioux County27.46-6.5%
99Dickinson County26.93+13.9%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total precipitation from January to December, in inches: rain plus the water content of snow and other frozen precipitation. NOAA computes it from its climate divisional dataset (nClimDiv): station readings interpolated onto a 5 km grid and averaged over the area.

Values are area averages, not the reading at one weather station. NOAA revises the last two years every month.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2026). NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties (Counties in Iowa by annual precipitation, 2014) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping

MLA 9

NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Iowa by annual precipitation, 2014. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/iowa-counties?period=2014. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Counties in Iowa by annual precipitation, 2014. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/iowa-counties?period=2014.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Iowa by annual precipitation, 2014 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/iowa-counties?period=2014 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_iowa_by_2014,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Iowa by annual precipitation, 2014}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/iowa-counties?period=2014. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
TI  - NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Iowa by annual precipitation, 2014
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
PB  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/iowa-counties?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/iowa-counties?period=2014.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in Iowa by annual precipitation using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Decatur County, with 46.46 inches in 2014, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Dickinson County, with 26.93 inches in 2014.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Annual precipitation: other rankings

Counties in Iowa: more rankings