Data / Rankings / Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over / Counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa by share of adults with a bachelor's degree

Johnson County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 99 counties in 2021, at 54.1%. Clarke County had the lowest, at 14.7%. The median was 21% and the figure for Iowa was 29.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest54.1Johnson County
Lowest14.7Clarke County
Median2199 counties
Iowa29.7History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Johnson CountyJohnson County: 54.1 %54.1Story CountyStory County: 51.1 %51.1Dallas CountyDallas County: 50.4 %50.4Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 38.3 %38.3Polk CountyPolk County: 38 %38Linn CountyLinn County: 34.3 %34.3Bremer CountyBremer County: 33.7 %33.7Scott CountyScott County: 33.6 %33.6Warren CountyWarren County: 32.3 %32.3Dubuque CountyDubuque County: 32.1 %32.1Dickinson CountyDickinson County: 31.5 %31.5Sioux CountySioux County: 31.1 %31.1Marion CountyMarion County: 30.9 %30.9Winneshiek CountyWinneshiek County: 30.6 %30.6Poweshiek CountyPoweshiek County: 29.6 %29.6Black Hawk CountyBlack Hawk County: 29.5 %29.5Mills CountyMills County: 28.7 %28.7Decatur CountyDecatur County: 26.4 %26.4Grundy CountyGrundy County: 25.9 %25.9Boone CountyBoone County: 25.6 %25.6Madison CountyMadison County: 24.8 %24.8Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 24.3 %24.3Winnebago CountyWinnebago County: 24.1 %24.1Cerro Gordo CountyCerro Gordo County: 23.9 %23.9Clay CountyClay County: 23.9 %23.9Plymouth CountyPlymouth County: 23.8 %23.8Washington CountyWashington County: 23.6 %23.6Woodbury CountyWoodbury County: 23.3 %23.3Palo Alto CountyPalo Alto County: 23.3 %23.3Iowa CountyIowa County: 23.1 %23.1Muscatine CountyMuscatine County: 22.9 %22.9Pottawattamie CountyPottawattamie County: 22.9 %22.9Union CountyUnion County: 22.7 %22.7Adams CountyAdams County: 22.3 %22.3Carroll CountyCarroll County: 22.1 %22.1Shelby CountyShelby County: 22 %22Des Moines CountyDes Moines County: 21.9 %21.9Cedar CountyCedar County: 21.8 %21.8Jones CountyJones County: 21.7 %21.7Henry CountyHenry County: 21.7 %21.7
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)
1Johnson County54.1
2Story County51.1
3Dallas County50.4
4Jefferson County38.3
5Polk County38
6Linn County34.3
7Bremer County33.7
8Scott County33.6
9Warren County32.3
10Dubuque County32.1
11Dickinson County31.5
12Sioux County31.1
13Marion County30.9
14Winneshiek County30.6
15Poweshiek County29.6
16Black Hawk County29.5
17Mills County28.7
18Decatur County26.4
19Grundy County25.9
20Boone County25.6
21Madison County24.8
22Hamilton County24.3
23Winnebago County24.1
24Cerro Gordo County23.9
25Clay County23.9
26Plymouth County23.8
27Washington County23.6
28Woodbury County23.3
29Palo Alto County23.3
30Iowa County23.1
31Muscatine County22.9
32Pottawattamie County22.9
33Union County22.7
34Adams County22.3
35Carroll County22.1
36Shelby County22
37Des Moines County21.9
38Cedar County21.8
39Jones County21.7
40Henry County21.7
41Buena Vista County21.7
42Benton County21.6
43Audubon County21.5
44Mitchell County21.5
45Buchanan County21.4
46Cherokee County21.4
47Clinton County21.3
47O'Brien County21.3
49Mahaska County21
50Cass County21
51Calhoun County20.9
52Marshall County20.7
53Guthrie County20.6
54Greene County20.5
55Floyd County20.3
56Hancock County20.3
56Ringgold County20.3
58Worth County20
59Webster County19.9
60Monroe County19.8
61Hardin County19.7
62Adair County19.5
63Wright County19.4
64Jackson County19.3
65Lyon County19.3
66Harrison County19.3
67Ida County19.3
68Lee County19.2
69Davis County19.2
70Jasper County19.1
71Butler County19.1
72Wapello County19.1
73Kossuth County18.9
74Appanoose County18.9
75Delaware County18.8
76Montgomery County18.7
77Chickasaw County18.4
78Humboldt County18.3
79Howard County18.2
80Sac County18.1
81Franklin County18
82Fremont County18
83Clayton County17.4
84Allamakee County17.3
85Page County17.3
86Fayette County17.2
87Taylor County17.2
88Pocahontas County17.1
89Osceola County17
90Keokuk County17
91Crawford County16.8
92Tama County16.5
93Emmet County16.3
94Van Buren County16.3
95Louisa County15.3
96Wayne County15.2
97Monona County15
98Lucas County15
99Clarke County14.7

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a bachelor's, master's, professional school or doctorate degree, as a percentage of all people aged 25 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Excludes associate degrees and college without a degree. Not comparable with EU tertiary attainment, which includes short-cycle tertiary education and usually covers ages 25 to 64. Calculated from counts in ACS table B15003, which are stored as inputs.

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

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Rank Counties in Iowa by share of adults with a bachelor's degree using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Johnson County, with 54.1% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Clarke County, with 14.7% in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over: other rankings

Counties in Iowa: more rankings