Data / Rankings / Business establishments (QCEW) / Counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa by business establishments (QCEW), 2025

Polk County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 99 counties in 2025, at 20,515. Adams County had the lowest, at 146. The median was 526 and the figure for Iowa was 111,274. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest20,515Polk County
Lowest146Adams County
Median52699 counties
Iowa111,274History

Map of counties, 2025

Adair County: 330 countAdams County: 146 countAllamakee County: 473 countAppanoose County: 391 countAudubon County: 234 countBenton County: 710 countBlack Hawk County: 3,966 countBoone County: 741 countBremer County: 760 countBuchanan County: 637 countBuena Vista County: 598 countButler County: 430 countCalhoun County: 322 countCarroll County: 933 countCass County: 526 countCedar County: 591 countCerro Gordo County: 1,689 countCherokee County: 445 countChickasaw County: 414 countClarke County: 245 countClay County: 714 countClayton County: 618 countClinton County: 1,485 countCrawford County: 502 countDallas County: 3,696 countDavis County: 246 countDecatur County: 226 countDelaware County: 597 countDes Moines County: 1,410 countDickinson County: 950 countDubuque County: 3,702 countEmmet County: 332 countFayette County: 678 countFloyd County: 473 countFranklin County: 361 countFremont County: 285 countGreene County: 300 countGrundy County: 387 countGuthrie County: 384 countHamilton County: 482 countHancock County: 370 countHardin County: 629 countHarrison County: 488 countHenry County: 632 countHoward County: 348 countHumboldt County: 358 countIda County: 297 countIowa County: 722 countJackson County: 665 countJasper County: 978 countJefferson County: 764 countJohnson County: 5,131 countJones County: 653 countKeokuk County: 312 countKossuth County: 636 countLee County: 1,034 countLinn County: 7,837 countLouisa County: 284 countLucas County: 244 countLyon County: 551 countMadison County: 562 countMahaska County: 616 countMarion County: 1,074 countMarshall County: 998 countMills County: 475 countMitchell County: 370 countMonona County: 298 countMonroe County: 248 countMontgomery County: 366 countMuscatine County: 1,214 countO'Brien County: 609 countOsceola County: 268 countPage County: 465 countPalo Alto County: 330 countPlymouth County: 870 countPocahontas County: 253 countPolk County: 20,515 countPottawattamie County: 2,728 countPoweshiek County: 694 countRinggold County: 181 countSac County: 382 countScott County: 6,280 countShelby County: 434 countSioux County: 1,560 countStory County: 3,026 countTama County: 435 countTaylor County: 190 countUnion County: 450 countVan Buren County: 224 countWapello County: 872 countWarren County: 1,425 countWashington County: 858 countWayne County: 178 countWebster County: 1,168 countWinnebago County: 382 countWinneshiek County: 764 countWoodbury County: 3,258 countWorth County: 227 countWright County: 460 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 400
  • 400 to 500
  • 500 to 700
  • 700 to 1,100
  • 1,100 and over
count, 2025. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2025

Polk County: 20,515 countPolk County20,515Linn County: 7,837 countLinn County7,837Scott County: 6,280 countScott County6,280Johnson County: 5,131 countJohnson County5,131Black Hawk County: 3,966 countBlack Hawk County3,966Dubuque County: 3,702 countDubuque County3,702Dallas County: 3,696 countDallas County3,696Woodbury County: 3,258 countWoodbury County3,258Story County: 3,026 countStory County3,026Pottawattamie County: 2,728 countPottawattamie County2,728Cerro Gordo County: 1,689 countCerro Gordo County1,689Sioux County: 1,560 countSioux County1,560Clinton County: 1,485 countClinton County1,485Warren County: 1,425 countWarren County1,425Des Moines County: 1,410 countDes Moines County1,410Muscatine County: 1,214 countMuscatine County1,214Webster County: 1,168 countWebster County1,168Marion County: 1,074 countMarion County1,074Lee County: 1,034 countLee County1,034Marshall County: 998 countMarshall County998Jasper County: 978 countJasper County978Dickinson County: 950 countDickinson County950Carroll County: 933 countCarroll County933Wapello County: 872 countWapello County872Plymouth County: 870 countPlymouth County870Washington County: 858 countWashington County858Jefferson County: 764 countJefferson County764Winneshiek County: 764 countWinneshiek County764Bremer County: 760 countBremer County760Boone County: 741 countBoone County741Iowa County: 722 countIowa County722Clay County: 714 countClay County714Benton County: 710 countBenton County710Poweshiek County: 694 countPoweshiek County694Fayette County: 678 countFayette County678Jackson County: 665 countJackson County665Jones County: 653 countJones County653Buchanan County: 637 countBuchanan County637Kossuth County: 636 countKossuth County636Henry County: 632 countHenry County632Polk County: 20,515 countPolk County20,515Linn County: 7,837 countLinn County7,837Scott County: 6,280 countScott County6,280Johnson County: 5,131 countJohnson County5,131Black Hawk County: 3,966 countBlack Hawk County3,966Dubuque County: 3,702 countDubuque County3,702Dallas County: 3,696 countDallas County3,696Woodbury County: 3,258 countWoodbury County3,258Story County: 3,026 countStory County3,026Pottawattamie County: 2,728 countPottawattamie County2,728Cerro Gordo County: 1,689 countCerro Gordo County1,689Sioux County: 1,560 countSioux County1,560Clinton County: 1,485 countClinton County1,485Warren County: 1,425 countWarren County1,425Des Moines County: 1,410 countDes Moines County1,410Muscatine County: 1,214 countMuscatine County1,214Webster County: 1,168 countWebster County1,168Marion County: 1,074 countMarion County1,074Lee County: 1,034 countLee County1,034Marshall County: 998 countMarshall County998Jasper County: 978 countJasper County978Dickinson County: 950 countDickinson County950Carroll County: 933 countCarroll County933Wapello County: 872 countWapello County872Plymouth County: 870 countPlymouth County870Washington County: 858 countWashington County858Jefferson County: 764 countJefferson County764Winneshiek County: 764 countWinneshiek County764Bremer County: 760 countBremer County760Boone County: 741 countBoone County741Iowa County: 722 countIowa County722Clay County: 714 countClay County714Benton County: 710 countBenton County710Poweshiek County: 694 countPoweshiek County694Fayette County: 678 countFayette County678Jackson County: 665 countJackson County665Jones County: 653 countJones County653Buchanan County: 637 countBuchanan County637Kossuth County: 636 countKossuth County636Henry County: 632 countHenry County632
count. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2025
count		Change on 2024
1Polk County20,515-0.3%
2Linn County7,837+1%
3Scott County6,280+0.7%
4Johnson County5,131-0.2%
5Black Hawk County3,966+0.5%
6Dubuque County3,702-0.7%
7Dallas County3,696+2.7%
8Woodbury County3,258-1.5%
9Story County3,026-1.3%
10Pottawattamie County2,728-0.7%
11Cerro Gordo County1,689+0.5%
12Sioux County1,560-1%
13Clinton County1,485-0.9%
14Warren County1,425+1.1%
15Des Moines County1,410+0.4%
16Muscatine County1,214-1.5%
17Webster County1,168-2.5%
18Marion County1,074+1.1%
19Lee County1,034-2.5%
20Marshall County998-2.7%
21Jasper County978-0.6%
22Dickinson County950-0.8%
23Carroll County933-3.6%
24Wapello County872-1.7%
25Plymouth County870-0.9%
26Washington County8580%
27Jefferson County764-3.9%
27Winneshiek County764-0.4%
29Bremer County760+1.5%
30Boone County741-1.1%
31Iowa County722+2%
32Clay County714-3.8%
33Benton County710-1.4%
34Poweshiek County694-0.7%
35Fayette County678-0.3%
36Jackson County665-1.3%
37Jones County653-2.1%
38Buchanan County637-0.2%
39Kossuth County636-1.2%
40Henry County632-0.9%
41Hardin County629-3.2%
42Clayton County618+0.7%
43Mahaska County616-1.4%
44O'Brien County609-2.7%
45Buena Vista County598-2%
46Delaware County597-1.5%
47Cedar County591+0.5%
48Madison County562-0.7%
49Lyon County551-0.4%
50Cass County526-2.8%
51Crawford County502-2.3%
52Harrison County488+3.4%
53Hamilton County482-1%
54Mills County475+3.7%
55Allamakee County473+0.2%
55Floyd County473-1%
57Page County465-3.5%
58Wright County460-1.7%
59Union County450-2%
60Cherokee County445-1.5%
61Tama County435-1.1%
62Shelby County434-2.3%
63Butler County430+1.4%
64Chickasaw County414-3.7%
65Appanoose County391-4.6%
66Grundy County387-0.5%
67Guthrie County384-2.8%
68Sac County382-2.6%
68Winnebago County382-2.8%
70Hancock County370-2.4%
70Mitchell County370-0.5%
72Montgomery County366-3.2%
73Franklin County361-0.8%
74Humboldt County358-2.5%
75Howard County348+2.1%
76Emmet County332+0.6%
77Adair County330-0.6%
77Palo Alto County330-1.8%
79Calhoun County322-0.9%
80Keokuk County312-1.3%
81Greene County300-3.2%
82Monona County298-0.3%
83Ida County297-1.7%
84Fremont County2850%
85Louisa County284+1.1%
86Osceola County268-1.5%
87Pocahontas County253-4.5%
88Monroe County248-2.4%
89Davis County246-3.9%
90Clarke County245-1.2%
91Lucas County244-3.2%
92Audubon County234-2.1%
93Worth County227-2.6%
94Decatur County226+0.9%
95Van Buren County2240%
96Taylor County190-1%
97Ringgold County181-0.5%
98Wayne County178-3.8%
99Adams County146-1.4%

Other periods

About this ranking

Average number of establishments with jobs covered by unemployment insurance during the year, all industries, private and government, from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. An establishment is a single place of business, such as a factory, store or office; a company with several locations has several.

Counts places of business, not firms: for firms use employer_firms. Changes in how large employers report their locations can move the count without any change in activity.

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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. 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

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties (Counties in Iowa by business establishments (QCEW), 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv

MLA 9

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Counties in Iowa by business establishments (QCEW), 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/iowa-counties. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Counties in Iowa by business establishments (QCEW), 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/iowa-counties.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Counties in Iowa by business establishments (QCEW), 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/iowa-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_iowa_by_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Counties in Iowa by business establishments (QCEW), 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/iowa-counties. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Counties in Iowa by business establishments (QCEW), 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/iowa-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/iowa-counties.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Iowa by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"establishments_qcew","level":"province","within":"Iowa","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=establishments_qcew&level=province&within=Iowa&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Polk County, with 20,515 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Adams County, with 146 in 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Business establishments (QCEW): other rankings

Counties in Iowa: more rankings