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 2023, at 54.6%. Lucas County had the lowest, at 14.5%. The median was 21.6% and the figure for Iowa was 30.9%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest54.6Johnson County
Lowest14.5Lucas County
Median21.699 counties
Iowa30.9History

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Johnson CountyJohnson County: 54.6 %54.6Story CountyStory County: 53.3 %53.3Dallas CountyDallas County: 51.6 %51.6Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 41.6 %41.6Polk CountyPolk County: 39.6 %39.6Scott CountyScott County: 36.2 %36.2Bremer CountyBremer County: 35.2 %35.2Linn CountyLinn County: 34.8 %34.8Marion CountyMarion County: 33.1 %33.1Dubuque CountyDubuque County: 32.9 %32.9Warren CountyWarren County: 32.7 %32.7Dickinson CountyDickinson County: 32.3 %32.3Mills CountyMills County: 32.1 %32.1Winneshiek CountyWinneshiek County: 31.5 %31.5Sioux CountySioux County: 30.4 %30.4Black Hawk CountyBlack Hawk County: 30.1 %30.1Boone CountyBoone County: 28.7 %28.7Poweshiek CountyPoweshiek County: 28.2 %28.2Clay CountyClay County: 26 %26Madison CountyMadison County: 25.5 %25.5Ringgold CountyRinggold County: 25.2 %25.2Winnebago CountyWinnebago County: 25.1 %25.1Benton CountyBenton County: 24.9 %24.9Washington CountyWashington County: 24.9 %24.9Grundy CountyGrundy County: 24.7 %24.7Adams CountyAdams County: 24.5 %24.5Guthrie CountyGuthrie County: 24.3 %24.3Cerro Gordo CountyCerro Gordo County: 24.3 %24.3Decatur CountyDecatur County: 24.3 %24.3Iowa CountyIowa County: 24.3 %24.3Union CountyUnion County: 24.1 %24.1Plymouth CountyPlymouth County: 23.9 %23.9Des Moines CountyDes Moines County: 23.8 %23.8Pottawattamie CountyPottawattamie County: 23.5 %23.5Wright CountyWright County: 23.5 %23.5Carroll CountyCarroll County: 23.4 %23.4Woodbury CountyWoodbury County: 23.4 %23.4Shelby CountyShelby County: 23.3 %23.3Mahaska CountyMahaska County: 23 %23Mitchell CountyMitchell County: 22.7 %22.7
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Johnson County54.6+0.4 pts
2Story County53.3+0.8 pts
3Dallas County51.6+0.1 pts
4Jefferson County41.6+2.1 pts
5Polk County39.6+0.6 pts
6Scott County36.2+1.3 pts
7Bremer County35.2+1.2 pts
8Linn County34.8+0.2 pts
9Marion County33.1+1.4 pts
10Dubuque County32.9+0.8 pts
11Warren County32.7+0.5 pts
12Dickinson County32.3-0.4 pts
13Mills County32.1+1.5 pts
14Winneshiek County31.5+1 pts
15Sioux County30.4-0.9 pts
16Black Hawk County30.1+0.2 pts
17Boone County28.7+2.3 pts
18Poweshiek County28.2-0.7 pts
19Clay County260 pts
20Madison County25.5-0.3 pts
21Ringgold County25.2+2.6 pts
22Winnebago County25.1-0.8 pts
23Benton County24.9+1.6 pts
24Washington County24.9+0.5 pts
25Grundy County24.7-1.4 pts
26Adams County24.5+3 pts
27Guthrie County24.3+2.6 pts
28Cerro Gordo County24.3+0.3 pts
28Decatur County24.3-0.6 pts
30Iowa County24.3+1.5 pts
31Union County24.10 pts
32Plymouth County23.9-0.2 pts
33Des Moines County23.8+0.5 pts
34Pottawattamie County23.5+0.1 pts
35Wright County23.5+2.5 pts
36Carroll County23.4+1.3 pts
36Woodbury County23.4-0.6 pts
38Shelby County23.3+0.5 pts
39Mahaska County23+0.6 pts
40Mitchell County22.7+1.3 pts
40Muscatine County22.7-0.5 pts
42Henry County22.5-0.3 pts
43O'Brien County22.5+0.9 pts
44Buchanan County22.3+1.2 pts
45Kossuth County22.2+2.3 pts
46Clinton County22.1+0.5 pts
47Buena Vista County22.1+0.4 pts
48Hamilton County22-0.6 pts
49Cherokee County21.6-0.1 pts
50Cass County21.6+0.7 pts
51Calhoun County21.5+0.1 pts
52Cedar County21.5+0.6 pts
53Marshall County21.5+0.4 pts
54Hancock County21.4+1.2 pts
55Harrison County21.2+0.6 pts
56Hardin County21.2+0.4 pts
56Sac County21.2-0.5 pts
58Fremont County21.2+2 pts
59Lee County21+0.7 pts
60Lyon County20.8+1.3 pts
61Jones County20.8-1.7 pts
62Ida County20.7+1 pts
63Audubon County20.6-1.1 pts
64Palo Alto County20.5+0.4 pts
65Webster County20.5-0.2 pts
66Butler County20.4+1.1 pts
67Worth County20.1+0.6 pts
68Adair County20+1 pts
69Monroe County20-2.7 pts
70Jasper County19.9+0.2 pts
71Allamakee County19.9+1.4 pts
72Greene County19.8+0.1 pts
73Delaware County19.7+1.2 pts
74Wapello County19.4+1 pts
75Tama County19.4+1.1 pts
76Van Buren County19.4+0.9 pts
77Appanoose County19.3+0.6 pts
78Humboldt County19.3+0.9 pts
79Chickasaw County19.1+0.5 pts
80Page County18.8+1.1 pts
81Monona County18.7+3 pts
82Montgomery County18.7+0.1 pts
83Howard County18.7-0.5 pts
84Pocahontas County18.7+1.6 pts
85Floyd County18.5+0.3 pts
86Jackson County18.4-0 pts
87Crawford County18.3+2.1 pts
88Franklin County18.2-0.3 pts
89Fayette County18.2+1 pts
90Davis County17.6-1.3 pts
91Louisa County16.5+2 pts
92Wayne County16+1 pts
93Clarke County16+0.8 pts
94Keokuk County15.9-0.5 pts
95Clayton County15.7-1.4 pts
96Emmet County15.7+0.5 pts
97Taylor County15.50 pts
98Osceola County15.4+1.2 pts
99Lucas County14.5-0.4 pts

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/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Questions

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

Johnson County, with 54.6% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Lucas County, with 14.5% in 2023.

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