Counties in Iowa by annual precipitation

Winneshiek County had the highest annual precipitation of 99 counties in 2016, at 54.87 inches. Monroe County had the lowest, at 26.45 inches. The median was 37.14 inches and the figure for Iowa was 38.1 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest54.87Winneshiek County
Lowest26.45Monroe County
Median37.1499 counties
Iowa38.1History

Map of counties, 2016

Adair County: 37.06 inchesAdams County: 39.07 inchesAllamakee County: 52.89 inchesAppanoose County: 28.26 inchesAudubon County: 38.6 inchesBenton County: 39.39 inchesBlack Hawk County: 41.65 inchesBoone County: 39.27 inchesBremer County: 45.67 inchesBuchanan County: 42.25 inchesBuena Vista County: 37.18 inchesButler County: 45.18 inchesCalhoun County: 35.67 inchesCarroll County: 36.29 inchesCass County: 38.19 inchesCedar County: 39.17 inchesCerro Gordo County: 46.61 inchesCherokee County: 36.83 inchesChickasaw County: 52.52 inchesClarke County: 31.87 inchesClay County: 41.21 inchesClayton County: 44.83 inchesClinton County: 40.72 inchesCrawford County: 35.03 inchesDallas County: 35.49 inchesDavis County: 29.98 inchesDecatur County: 30.21 inchesDelaware County: 42.1 inchesDes Moines County: 35.94 inchesDickinson County: 39.66 inchesDubuque County: 42.76 inchesEmmet County: 35.39 inchesFayette County: 45.27 inchesFloyd County: 52.83 inchesFranklin County: 42.95 inchesFremont County: 40.84 inchesGreene County: 38.04 inchesGrundy County: 37.96 inchesGuthrie County: 36.38 inchesHamilton County: 38.15 inchesHancock County: 43.66 inchesHardin County: 37.96 inchesHarrison County: 35.53 inchesHenry County: 33.3 inchesHoward County: 53.78 inchesHumboldt County: 34.69 inchesIda County: 34.87 inchesIowa County: 35.67 inchesJackson County: 39.95 inchesJasper County: 34.34 inchesJefferson County: 31.74 inchesJohnson County: 36.7 inchesJones County: 41.83 inchesKeokuk County: 31.37 inchesKossuth County: 38.47 inchesLee County: 31.86 inchesLinn County: 41.83 inchesLouisa County: 36.93 inchesLucas County: 29.73 inchesLyon County: 34.32 inchesMadison County: 33.01 inchesMahaska County: 30.77 inchesMarion County: 32.7 inchesMarshall County: 36.05 inchesMills County: 39.87 inchesMitchell County: 51.65 inchesMonona County: 32.17 inchesMonroe County: 26.45 inchesMontgomery County: 42.62 inchesMuscatine County: 35.36 inchesO'Brien County: 38.87 inchesOsceola County: 38.66 inchesPage County: 42.83 inchesPalo Alto County: 37.46 inchesPlymouth County: 33.34 inchesPocahontas County: 36.02 inchesPolk County: 36.3 inchesPottawattamie County: 37.11 inchesPoweshiek County: 35.17 inchesRinggold County: 36.04 inchesSac County: 34.66 inchesScott County: 40.71 inchesShelby County: 37.14 inchesSioux County: 34.43 inchesStory County: 38.89 inchesTama County: 35.18 inchesTaylor County: 41.84 inchesUnion County: 35.49 inchesVan Buren County: 30.26 inchesWapello County: 27.13 inchesWarren County: 33.91 inchesWashington County: 32.26 inchesWayne County: 29.02 inchesWebster County: 38.47 inchesWinnebago County: 45.82 inchesWinneshiek County: 54.87 inchesWoodbury County: 32.21 inchesWorth County: 48.36 inchesWright County: 38.35 inches
  • Under 33
  • 33 to 35
  • 35 to 37
  • 37 to 39
  • 39 to 43
  • 43 and over
inches, 2016. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2016

Winneshiek County: 54.87 inchesWinneshiek County54.87Howard County: 53.78 inchesHoward County53.78Allamakee County: 52.89 inchesAllamakee County52.89Floyd County: 52.83 inchesFloyd County52.83Chickasaw County: 52.52 inchesChickasaw County52.52Mitchell County: 51.65 inchesMitchell County51.65Worth County: 48.36 inchesWorth County48.36Cerro Gordo County: 46.61 inchesCerro Gordo County46.61Winnebago County: 45.82 inchesWinnebago County45.82Bremer County: 45.67 inchesBremer County45.67Fayette County: 45.27 inchesFayette County45.27Butler County: 45.18 inchesButler County45.18Clayton County: 44.83 inchesClayton County44.83Hancock County: 43.66 inchesHancock County43.66Franklin County: 42.95 inchesFranklin County42.95Page County: 42.83 inchesPage County42.83Dubuque County: 42.76 inchesDubuque County42.76Montgomery County: 42.62 inchesMontgomery County42.62Buchanan County: 42.25 inchesBuchanan County42.25Delaware County: 42.1 inchesDelaware County42.1Taylor County: 41.84 inchesTaylor County41.84Jones County: 41.83 inchesJones County41.83Linn County: 41.83 inchesLinn County41.83Black Hawk County: 41.65 inchesBlack Hawk County41.65Clay County: 41.21 inchesClay County41.21Fremont County: 40.84 inchesFremont County40.84Clinton County: 40.72 inchesClinton County40.72Scott County: 40.71 inchesScott County40.71Jackson County: 39.95 inchesJackson County39.95Mills County: 39.87 inchesMills County39.87Dickinson County: 39.66 inchesDickinson County39.66Benton County: 39.39 inchesBenton County39.39Boone County: 39.27 inchesBoone County39.27Cedar County: 39.17 inchesCedar County39.17Adams County: 39.07 inchesAdams County39.07Story County: 38.89 inchesStory County38.89O'Brien County: 38.87 inchesO'Brien County38.87Osceola County: 38.66 inchesOsceola County38.66Audubon County: 38.6 inchesAudubon County38.6Kossuth County: 38.47 inchesKossuth County38.47Winneshiek County: 54.87 inchesWinneshiek County54.87Howard County: 53.78 inchesHoward County53.78Allamakee County: 52.89 inchesAllamakee County52.89Floyd County: 52.83 inchesFloyd County52.83Chickasaw County: 52.52 inchesChickasaw County52.52Mitchell County: 51.65 inchesMitchell County51.65Worth County: 48.36 inchesWorth County48.36Cerro Gordo County: 46.61 inchesCerro Gordo County46.61Winnebago County: 45.82 inchesWinnebago County45.82Bremer County: 45.67 inchesBremer County45.67Fayette County: 45.27 inchesFayette County45.27Butler County: 45.18 inchesButler County45.18Clayton County: 44.83 inchesClayton County44.83Hancock County: 43.66 inchesHancock County43.66Franklin County: 42.95 inchesFranklin County42.95Page County: 42.83 inchesPage County42.83Dubuque County: 42.76 inchesDubuque County42.76Montgomery County: 42.62 inchesMontgomery County42.62Buchanan County: 42.25 inchesBuchanan County42.25Delaware County: 42.1 inchesDelaware County42.1Taylor County: 41.84 inchesTaylor County41.84Jones County: 41.83 inchesJones County41.83Linn County: 41.83 inchesLinn County41.83Black Hawk County: 41.65 inchesBlack Hawk County41.65Clay County: 41.21 inchesClay County41.21Fremont County: 40.84 inchesFremont County40.84Clinton County: 40.72 inchesClinton County40.72Scott County: 40.71 inchesScott County40.71Jackson County: 39.95 inchesJackson County39.95Mills County: 39.87 inchesMills County39.87Dickinson County: 39.66 inchesDickinson County39.66Benton County: 39.39 inchesBenton County39.39Boone County: 39.27 inchesBoone County39.27Cedar County: 39.17 inchesCedar County39.17Adams County: 39.07 inchesAdams County39.07Story County: 38.89 inchesStory County38.89O'Brien County: 38.87 inchesO'Brien County38.87Osceola County: 38.66 inchesOsceola County38.66Audubon County: 38.6 inchesAudubon County38.6Kossuth County: 38.47 inchesKossuth County38.47
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016
inches
Change on 2015
1Winneshiek County54.87+49.7%
2Howard County53.78+50.3%
3Allamakee County52.89+43.9%
4Floyd County52.83+40.8%
5Chickasaw County52.52+48.4%
6Mitchell County51.65+32.4%
7Worth County48.36+20.4%
8Cerro Gordo County46.61+18%
9Winnebago County45.82+22%
10Bremer County45.67+18.5%
11Fayette County45.27+21%
12Butler County45.18+12%
13Clayton County44.83+21.7%
14Hancock County43.66+12%
15Franklin County42.95+5.4%
16Page County42.83-14.7%
17Dubuque County42.76+8.2%
18Montgomery County42.62-13.1%
19Buchanan County42.25+11.5%
20Delaware County42.1+7.9%
21Taylor County41.84-24.3%
22Jones County41.83-1.6%
22Linn County41.83-1.9%
24Black Hawk County41.65+6.8%
25Clay County41.21+20.1%
26Fremont County40.84-12.7%
27Clinton County40.72-13.1%
28Scott County40.71-12%
29Jackson County39.95-7.4%
30Mills County39.87-13.5%
31Dickinson County39.66+27.8%
32Benton County39.39-7%
33Boone County39.27-17.9%
34Cedar County39.17-10%
35Adams County39.07-22.7%
36Story County38.89-18.5%
37O'Brien County38.87+12.2%
38Osceola County38.66+17.5%
39Audubon County38.6-24.6%
40Kossuth County38.47+0.5%
40Webster County38.47-11.7%
42Wright County38.35-6.1%
43Cass County38.19-19.2%
44Hamilton County38.15-10.4%
45Greene County38.04-21.6%
46Grundy County37.96-9.5%
46Hardin County37.96-10.3%
48Palo Alto County37.46+1%
49Buena Vista County37.18-4.9%
50Shelby County37.14-22.9%
51Pottawattamie County37.11-17.1%
52Adair County37.06-26.4%
53Louisa County36.93-8.4%
54Cherokee County36.83-4.4%
55Johnson County36.7-14.6%
56Guthrie County36.38-27.9%
57Polk County36.3-19.7%
58Carroll County36.29-27.8%
59Marshall County36.05-21.5%
60Ringgold County36.04-25.6%
61Pocahontas County36.02-11.7%
62Des Moines County35.94-17.9%
63Calhoun County35.67-16.8%
63Iowa County35.67-17.7%
65Harrison County35.53-18.7%
66Dallas County35.49-24.3%
66Union County35.49-27.5%
68Emmet County35.39+7.5%
69Muscatine County35.36-19.3%
70Tama County35.18-16.5%
71Poweshiek County35.17-25.7%
72Crawford County35.03-27.4%
73Ida County34.87-16.1%
74Humboldt County34.69-18.4%
75Sac County34.66-20.4%
76Sioux County34.43+10.5%
77Jasper County34.34-22.7%
78Lyon County34.32+9.1%
79Warren County33.91-25%
80Plymouth County33.34-2.8%
81Henry County33.3-21.6%
82Madison County33.01-27.4%
83Marion County32.7-31%
84Washington County32.26-25.6%
85Woodbury County32.21-12.8%
86Monona County32.17-16.5%
87Clarke County31.87-29.7%
88Lee County31.86-28.7%
89Jefferson County31.74-25.3%
90Keokuk County31.37-24.9%
91Mahaska County30.77-29.9%
92Van Buren County30.26-31%
93Decatur County30.21-33.4%
94Davis County29.98-37.9%
95Lucas County29.73-37.1%
96Wayne County29.02-41.4%
97Appanoose County28.26-45.4%
98Wapello County27.13-36.5%
99Monroe County26.45-42%

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, 2016) [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, 2016. 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=2016. 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, 2016. 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=2016.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Iowa by annual precipitation, 2016 [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=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_iowa_by_2016,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Iowa by annual precipitation, 2016}},
  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=2016. 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, 2016
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=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/iowa-counties?period=2016.
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?

Winneshiek County, with 54.87 inches in 2016, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Monroe County, with 26.45 inches in 2016.

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