Counties in Iowa by annual precipitation

Bremer County had the highest annual precipitation of 99 counties in 2018, at 60.59 inches. Davis County had the lowest, at 34.42 inches. The median was 45.36 inches and the figure for Iowa was 45.08 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest60.59Bremer County
Lowest34.42Davis County
Median45.3699 counties
Iowa45.08History

Map of counties, 2018

Adair County: 40.37 inchesAdams County: 41.16 inchesAllamakee County: 55.17 inchesAppanoose County: 35.86 inchesAudubon County: 42.4 inchesBenton County: 45.53 inchesBlack Hawk County: 55.24 inchesBoone County: 47.11 inchesBremer County: 60.59 inchesBuchanan County: 52.36 inchesBuena Vista County: 35.36 inchesButler County: 53.52 inchesCalhoun County: 43.65 inchesCarroll County: 43.33 inchesCass County: 42.28 inchesCedar County: 47.03 inchesCerro Gordo County: 51.74 inchesCherokee County: 37.46 inchesChickasaw County: 60.18 inchesClarke County: 42.47 inchesClay County: 43.06 inchesClayton County: 53.04 inchesClinton County: 47.49 inchesCrawford County: 40.69 inchesDallas County: 39.21 inchesDavis County: 34.42 inchesDecatur County: 42.54 inchesDelaware County: 52.2 inchesDes Moines County: 38.92 inchesDickinson County: 47.14 inchesDubuque County: 51.06 inchesEmmet County: 46.96 inchesFayette County: 55.88 inchesFloyd County: 56.11 inchesFranklin County: 51.61 inchesFremont County: 38.27 inchesGreene County: 43.45 inchesGrundy County: 49.49 inchesGuthrie County: 40.7 inchesHamilton County: 49.67 inchesHancock County: 49.12 inchesHardin County: 48.29 inchesHarrison County: 41.32 inchesHenry County: 39.39 inchesHoward County: 56 inchesHumboldt County: 44.17 inchesIda County: 35.06 inchesIowa County: 46.35 inchesJackson County: 49.56 inchesJasper County: 46.37 inchesJefferson County: 39.21 inchesJohnson County: 48.01 inchesJones County: 48.9 inchesKeokuk County: 40.04 inchesKossuth County: 46.56 inchesLee County: 40.75 inchesLinn County: 45.69 inchesLouisa County: 42.75 inchesLucas County: 40.63 inchesLyon County: 46.52 inchesMadison County: 37.23 inchesMahaska County: 39.65 inchesMarion County: 40.77 inchesMarshall County: 47.03 inchesMills County: 41.1 inchesMitchell County: 50.58 inchesMonona County: 37.93 inchesMonroe County: 35.55 inchesMontgomery County: 41.89 inchesMuscatine County: 45.72 inchesO'Brien County: 47.44 inchesOsceola County: 49.3 inchesPage County: 38.37 inchesPalo Alto County: 47.68 inchesPlymouth County: 39.62 inchesPocahontas County: 45.64 inchesPolk County: 44.31 inchesPottawattamie County: 42.41 inchesPoweshiek County: 48.83 inchesRinggold County: 42.62 inchesSac County: 37.89 inchesScott County: 45.5 inchesShelby County: 42.75 inchesSioux County: 46.22 inchesStory County: 51.95 inchesTama County: 46.58 inchesTaylor County: 41.51 inchesUnion County: 41.14 inchesVan Buren County: 36.98 inchesWapello County: 35.81 inchesWarren County: 41.7 inchesWashington County: 45.36 inchesWayne County: 39.07 inchesWebster County: 46.94 inchesWinnebago County: 46.81 inchesWinneshiek County: 56.26 inchesWoodbury County: 37.29 inchesWorth County: 49.43 inchesWright County: 47.9 inches
  • Under 39
  • 39 to 42
  • 42 to 45
  • 45 to 47
  • 47 to 50
  • 50 and over
inches, 2018. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2018

Bremer County: 60.59 inchesBremer County60.59Chickasaw County: 60.18 inchesChickasaw County60.18Winneshiek County: 56.26 inchesWinneshiek County56.26Floyd County: 56.11 inchesFloyd County56.11Howard County: 56 inchesHoward County56Fayette County: 55.88 inchesFayette County55.88Black Hawk County: 55.24 inchesBlack Hawk County55.24Allamakee County: 55.17 inchesAllamakee County55.17Butler County: 53.52 inchesButler County53.52Clayton County: 53.04 inchesClayton County53.04Buchanan County: 52.36 inchesBuchanan County52.36Delaware County: 52.2 inchesDelaware County52.2Story County: 51.95 inchesStory County51.95Cerro Gordo County: 51.74 inchesCerro Gordo County51.74Franklin County: 51.61 inchesFranklin County51.61Dubuque County: 51.06 inchesDubuque County51.06Mitchell County: 50.58 inchesMitchell County50.58Hamilton County: 49.67 inchesHamilton County49.67Jackson County: 49.56 inchesJackson County49.56Grundy County: 49.49 inchesGrundy County49.49Worth County: 49.43 inchesWorth County49.43Osceola County: 49.3 inchesOsceola County49.3Hancock County: 49.12 inchesHancock County49.12Jones County: 48.9 inchesJones County48.9Poweshiek County: 48.83 inchesPoweshiek County48.83Hardin County: 48.29 inchesHardin County48.29Johnson County: 48.01 inchesJohnson County48.01Wright County: 47.9 inchesWright County47.9Palo Alto County: 47.68 inchesPalo Alto County47.68Clinton County: 47.49 inchesClinton County47.49O'Brien County: 47.44 inchesO'Brien County47.44Dickinson County: 47.14 inchesDickinson County47.14Boone County: 47.11 inchesBoone County47.11Cedar County: 47.03 inchesCedar County47.03Marshall County: 47.03 inchesMarshall County47.03Emmet County: 46.96 inchesEmmet County46.96Webster County: 46.94 inchesWebster County46.94Winnebago County: 46.81 inchesWinnebago County46.81Tama County: 46.58 inchesTama County46.58Kossuth County: 46.56 inchesKossuth County46.56Bremer County: 60.59 inchesBremer County60.59Chickasaw County: 60.18 inchesChickasaw County60.18Winneshiek County: 56.26 inchesWinneshiek County56.26Floyd County: 56.11 inchesFloyd County56.11Howard County: 56 inchesHoward County56Fayette County: 55.88 inchesFayette County55.88Black Hawk County: 55.24 inchesBlack Hawk County55.24Allamakee County: 55.17 inchesAllamakee County55.17Butler County: 53.52 inchesButler County53.52Clayton County: 53.04 inchesClayton County53.04Buchanan County: 52.36 inchesBuchanan County52.36Delaware County: 52.2 inchesDelaware County52.2Story County: 51.95 inchesStory County51.95Cerro Gordo County: 51.74 inchesCerro Gordo County51.74Franklin County: 51.61 inchesFranklin County51.61Dubuque County: 51.06 inchesDubuque County51.06Mitchell County: 50.58 inchesMitchell County50.58Hamilton County: 49.67 inchesHamilton County49.67Jackson County: 49.56 inchesJackson County49.56Grundy County: 49.49 inchesGrundy County49.49Worth County: 49.43 inchesWorth County49.43Osceola County: 49.3 inchesOsceola County49.3Hancock County: 49.12 inchesHancock County49.12Jones County: 48.9 inchesJones County48.9Poweshiek County: 48.83 inchesPoweshiek County48.83Hardin County: 48.29 inchesHardin County48.29Johnson County: 48.01 inchesJohnson County48.01Wright County: 47.9 inchesWright County47.9Palo Alto County: 47.68 inchesPalo Alto County47.68Clinton County: 47.49 inchesClinton County47.49O'Brien County: 47.44 inchesO'Brien County47.44Dickinson County: 47.14 inchesDickinson County47.14Boone County: 47.11 inchesBoone County47.11Cedar County: 47.03 inchesCedar County47.03Marshall County: 47.03 inchesMarshall County47.03Emmet County: 46.96 inchesEmmet County46.96Webster County: 46.94 inchesWebster County46.94Winnebago County: 46.81 inchesWinnebago County46.81Tama County: 46.58 inchesTama County46.58Kossuth County: 46.56 inchesKossuth County46.56
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018
inches
Change on 2017
1Bremer County60.59+58.4%
2Chickasaw County60.18+49.6%
3Winneshiek County56.26+56.4%
4Floyd County56.11+49.7%
5Howard County56+53.6%
6Fayette County55.88+37.1%
7Black Hawk County55.24+74.6%
8Allamakee County55.17+51.2%
9Butler County53.52+54.8%
10Clayton County53.04+37.6%
11Buchanan County52.36+56.3%
12Delaware County52.2+43.5%
13Story County51.95+60.4%
14Cerro Gordo County51.74+61.2%
15Franklin County51.61+50.2%
16Dubuque County51.06+33.8%
17Mitchell County50.58+42.5%
18Hamilton County49.67+51.9%
19Jackson County49.56+38.6%
20Grundy County49.49+55.6%
21Worth County49.43+51.3%
22Osceola County49.3+62%
23Hancock County49.12+64.2%
24Jones County48.9+35.3%
25Poweshiek County48.83+72%
26Hardin County48.29+48.7%
27Johnson County48.01+58.2%
28Wright County47.9+48.9%
29Palo Alto County47.68+63.1%
30Clinton County47.49+29.4%
31O'Brien County47.44+56.2%
32Dickinson County47.14+39.4%
33Boone County47.11+49.2%
34Cedar County47.03+44%
34Marshall County47.03+61.2%
36Emmet County46.96+54.7%
37Webster County46.94+54%
38Winnebago County46.81+55.9%
39Tama County46.58+62.9%
40Kossuth County46.56+56.9%
41Lyon County46.52+69.5%
42Jasper County46.37+62.7%
43Iowa County46.35+71%
44Sioux County46.22+53.5%
45Muscatine County45.72+32.3%
46Linn County45.69+46.3%
47Pocahontas County45.64+55.8%
48Benton County45.53+65.9%
49Scott County45.5+21.9%
50Washington County45.36+46.4%
51Polk County44.31+38.9%
52Humboldt County44.17+47.2%
53Calhoun County43.65+46.2%
54Greene County43.45+40.2%
55Carroll County43.33+30.4%
56Clay County43.06+33.5%
57Louisa County42.75+30.6%
57Shelby County42.75+13.6%
59Ringgold County42.62+32.9%
60Decatur County42.54+37.5%
61Clarke County42.47+44.3%
62Pottawattamie County42.41+31.3%
63Audubon County42.4+13.7%
64Cass County42.28+20.5%
65Montgomery County41.89+20.5%
66Warren County41.7+43%
67Taylor County41.51+15.3%
68Harrison County41.32+21.7%
69Adams County41.16+22.1%
70Union County41.14+34.8%
71Mills County41.1+22.7%
72Marion County40.77+42.2%
73Lee County40.75+35%
74Guthrie County40.7+13.1%
75Crawford County40.69+3.2%
76Lucas County40.63+21.3%
77Adair County40.37+12%
78Keokuk County40.04+59.8%
79Mahaska County39.65+56.8%
80Plymouth County39.62+32.6%
81Henry County39.39+26.3%
82Dallas County39.21+21.8%
82Jefferson County39.21+37.3%
84Wayne County39.07+18.2%
85Des Moines County38.92+23%
86Page County38.37+7.7%
87Fremont County38.27+10.4%
88Monona County37.93+11.1%
89Sac County37.89+23%
90Cherokee County37.46+38.1%
91Woodbury County37.29+16.3%
92Madison County37.23+19.8%
93Van Buren County36.98+28.4%
94Appanoose County35.86+13.1%
95Wapello County35.81+35.7%
96Monroe County35.55+20.3%
97Buena Vista County35.36+30.6%
98Ida County35.06+8.3%
99Davis County34.42+18.6%

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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Iowa by annual precipitation, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_iowa_by_2018,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Iowa by annual precipitation, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/iowa-counties?period=2018.
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?

Bremer County, with 60.59 inches in 2018, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Davis County, with 34.42 inches in 2018.

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