Counties in Iowa by farms

Sioux County had the highest farms of 99 counties in 1997, at 1,819. Mills County had the lowest, at 535. The median was 908 and the figure for Iowa was 96,705. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,819Sioux County
Lowest535Mills County
Median90899 counties
Iowa96,705History

Map of counties, 1997

Adair County: 837 countAdams County: 608 countAllamakee County: 1,025 countAppanoose County: 862 countAudubon County: 686 countBenton County: 1,286 countBlack Hawk County: 1,061 countBoone County: 920 countBremer County: 1,044 countBuchanan County: 1,203 countBuena Vista County: 904 countButler County: 1,158 countCalhoun County: 829 countCarroll County: 1,151 countCass County: 852 countCedar County: 1,023 countCerro Gordo County: 880 countCherokee County: 930 countChickasaw County: 979 countClarke County: 737 countClay County: 705 countClayton County: 1,738 countClinton County: 1,355 countCrawford County: 1,169 countDallas County: 1,002 countDavis County: 964 countDecatur County: 803 countDelaware County: 1,318 countDes Moines County: 697 countDickinson County: 551 countDubuque County: 1,669 countEmmet County: 556 countFayette County: 1,369 countFloyd County: 908 countFranklin County: 896 countFremont County: 607 countGreene County: 802 countGrundy County: 791 countGuthrie County: 910 countHamilton County: 832 countHancock County: 895 countHardin County: 902 countHarrison County: 938 countHenry County: 899 countHoward County: 915 countHumboldt County: 630 countIda County: 673 countIowa County: 1,049 countJackson County: 1,368 countJasper County: 1,275 countJefferson County: 828 countJohnson County: 1,369 countJones County: 1,100 countKeokuk County: 1,035 countKossuth County: 1,468 countLee County: 932 countLinn County: 1,608 countLouisa County: 639 countLucas County: 771 countLyon County: 1,201 countMadison County: 1,064 countMahaska County: 1,083 countMarion County: 1,059 countMarshall County: 979 countMills County: 535 countMitchell County: 871 countMonona County: 740 countMonroe County: 739 countMontgomery County: 616 countMuscatine County: 844 countO'Brien County: 1,011 countOsceola County: 677 countPage County: 902 countPalo Alto County: 831 countPlymouth County: 1,566 countPocahontas County: 810 countPolk County: 886 countPottawattamie County: 1,416 countPoweshiek County: 1,005 countRinggold County: 728 countSac County: 847 countScott County: 845 countShelby County: 963 countSioux County: 1,819 countStory County: 1,004 countTama County: 1,227 countTaylor County: 807 countUnion County: 726 countVan Buren County: 875 countWapello County: 863 countWarren County: 1,329 countWashington County: 1,114 countWayne County: 783 countWebster County: 988 countWinnebago County: 654 countWinneshiek County: 1,561 countWoodbury County: 1,418 countWorth County: 649 countWright County: 759 count
  • Under 730
  • 730 to 840
  • 840 to 910
  • 910 to 1,000
  • 1,000 to 1,300
  • 1,300 and over
count, 1997. Source: USDA NASS, Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) via Data Commons. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 1997

Sioux County: 1,819 countSioux County1,819Clayton County: 1,738 countClayton County1,738Dubuque County: 1,669 countDubuque County1,669Linn County: 1,608 countLinn County1,608Plymouth County: 1,566 countPlymouth County1,566Winneshiek County: 1,561 countWinneshiek County1,561Kossuth County: 1,468 countKossuth County1,468Woodbury County: 1,418 countWoodbury County1,418Pottawattamie County: 1,416 countPottawattamie County1,416Fayette County: 1,369 countFayette County1,369Johnson County: 1,369 countJohnson County1,369Jackson County: 1,368 countJackson County1,368Clinton County: 1,355 countClinton County1,355Warren County: 1,329 countWarren County1,329Delaware County: 1,318 countDelaware County1,318Benton County: 1,286 countBenton County1,286Jasper County: 1,275 countJasper County1,275Tama County: 1,227 countTama County1,227Buchanan County: 1,203 countBuchanan County1,203Lyon County: 1,201 countLyon County1,201Crawford County: 1,169 countCrawford County1,169Butler County: 1,158 countButler County1,158Carroll County: 1,151 countCarroll County1,151Washington County: 1,114 countWashington County1,114Jones County: 1,100 countJones County1,100Mahaska County: 1,083 countMahaska County1,083Madison County: 1,064 countMadison County1,064Black Hawk County: 1,061 countBlack Hawk County1,061Marion County: 1,059 countMarion County1,059Iowa County: 1,049 countIowa County1,049Bremer County: 1,044 countBremer County1,044Keokuk County: 1,035 countKeokuk County1,035Allamakee County: 1,025 countAllamakee County1,025Cedar County: 1,023 countCedar County1,023O'Brien County: 1,011 countO'Brien County1,011Poweshiek County: 1,005 countPoweshiek County1,005Story County: 1,004 countStory County1,004Dallas County: 1,002 countDallas County1,002Webster County: 988 countWebster County988Chickasaw County: 979 countChickasaw County979Sioux County: 1,819 countSioux County1,819Clayton County: 1,738 countClayton County1,738Dubuque County: 1,669 countDubuque County1,669Linn County: 1,608 countLinn County1,608Plymouth County: 1,566 countPlymouth County1,566Winneshiek County: 1,561 countWinneshiek County1,561Kossuth County: 1,468 countKossuth County1,468Woodbury County: 1,418 countWoodbury County1,418Pottawattamie County: 1,416 countPottawattamie County1,416Fayette County: 1,369 countFayette County1,369Johnson County: 1,369 countJohnson County1,369Jackson County: 1,368 countJackson County1,368Clinton County: 1,355 countClinton County1,355Warren County: 1,329 countWarren County1,329Delaware County: 1,318 countDelaware County1,318Benton County: 1,286 countBenton County1,286Jasper County: 1,275 countJasper County1,275Tama County: 1,227 countTama County1,227Buchanan County: 1,203 countBuchanan County1,203Lyon County: 1,201 countLyon County1,201Crawford County: 1,169 countCrawford County1,169Butler County: 1,158 countButler County1,158Carroll County: 1,151 countCarroll County1,151Washington County: 1,114 countWashington County1,114Jones County: 1,100 countJones County1,100Mahaska County: 1,083 countMahaska County1,083Madison County: 1,064 countMadison County1,064Black Hawk County: 1,061 countBlack Hawk County1,061Marion County: 1,059 countMarion County1,059Iowa County: 1,049 countIowa County1,049Bremer County: 1,044 countBremer County1,044Keokuk County: 1,035 countKeokuk County1,035Allamakee County: 1,025 countAllamakee County1,025Cedar County: 1,023 countCedar County1,023O'Brien County: 1,011 countO'Brien County1,011Poweshiek County: 1,005 countPoweshiek County1,005Story County: 1,004 countStory County1,004Dallas County: 1,002 countDallas County1,002Webster County: 988 countWebster County988Chickasaw County: 979 countChickasaw County979
count. Source: USDA NASS, Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) via Data Commons. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties1997
count
1Sioux County1,819
2Clayton County1,738
3Dubuque County1,669
4Linn County1,608
5Plymouth County1,566
6Winneshiek County1,561
7Kossuth County1,468
8Woodbury County1,418
9Pottawattamie County1,416
10Fayette County1,369
10Johnson County1,369
12Jackson County1,368
13Clinton County1,355
14Warren County1,329
15Delaware County1,318
16Benton County1,286
17Jasper County1,275
18Tama County1,227
19Buchanan County1,203
20Lyon County1,201
21Crawford County1,169
22Butler County1,158
23Carroll County1,151
24Washington County1,114
25Jones County1,100
26Mahaska County1,083
27Madison County1,064
28Black Hawk County1,061
29Marion County1,059
30Iowa County1,049
31Bremer County1,044
32Keokuk County1,035
33Allamakee County1,025
34Cedar County1,023
35O'Brien County1,011
36Poweshiek County1,005
37Story County1,004
38Dallas County1,002
39Webster County988
40Chickasaw County979
40Marshall County979
42Davis County964
43Shelby County963
44Harrison County938
45Lee County932
46Cherokee County930
47Boone County920
48Howard County915
49Guthrie County910
50Floyd County908
51Buena Vista County904
52Hardin County902
52Page County902
54Henry County899
55Franklin County896
56Hancock County895
57Polk County886
58Cerro Gordo County880
59Van Buren County875
60Mitchell County871
61Wapello County863
62Appanoose County862
63Cass County852
64Sac County847
65Scott County845
66Muscatine County844
67Adair County837
68Hamilton County832
69Palo Alto County831
70Calhoun County829
71Jefferson County828
72Pocahontas County810
73Taylor County807
74Decatur County803
75Greene County802
76Grundy County791
77Wayne County783
78Lucas County771
79Wright County759
80Monona County740
81Monroe County739
82Clarke County737
83Ringgold County728
84Union County726
85Clay County705
86Des Moines County697
87Audubon County686
88Osceola County677
89Ida County673
90Winnebago County654
91Worth County649
92Louisa County639
93Humboldt County630
94Montgomery County616
95Adams County608
96Fremont County607
97Emmet County556
98Dickinson County551
99Mills County535

Other periods

About this ranking

Places from which 1,000 dollars or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year, as counted by the USDA Census of Agriculture every five years.

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

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

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. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. (2026). Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) (Counties in Iowa by farms, 1997) [Data set]. Data Commons. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/

MLA 9

Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022), Counties in Iowa by farms, 1997. U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 11 Oct. 2026, https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Data Commons, https://datacommons.org. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/iowa-counties?period=1997. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2026. Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Counties in Iowa by farms, 1997. Dataset. Distributed by Data Commons. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/iowa-counties?period=1997.

Harvard

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (2026) Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022), Counties in Iowa by farms, 1997 [Dataset]. Via Data Commons. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/iowa-counties?period=1997 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_iowa_by_1997,
  author = {{U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service}},
  title = {{Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022): Counties in Iowa by farms, 1997}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  publisher = {Data Commons},
  url = {https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/},
  urldate = {2026-10-11},
  note = {Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org). Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/iowa-counties?period=1997. Publisher attribution: Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service
TI  - Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022): Counties in Iowa by farms, 1997
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/11
PB  - Data Commons
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/iowa-counties?period=1997
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org).
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/iowa-counties?period=1997.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest farms?

Sioux County, with 1,819 in 1997, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which county has the lowest farms?

Mills County, with 535 in 1997.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Farms: other rankings

Counties in Iowa: more rankings