Counties in Iowa by farms

Sioux County had the highest farms of 99 counties in 2002, at 1,673. Mills County had the lowest, at 462. The median was 848 and the figure for Iowa was 90,655. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,673Sioux County
Lowest462Mills County
Median84899 counties
Iowa90,655History

Map of counties, 2002

Adair County: 843 countAdams County: 567 countAllamakee County: 1,083 countAppanoose County: 816 countAudubon County: 638 countBenton County: 1,186 countBlack Hawk County: 939 countBoone County: 827 countBremer County: 956 countBuchanan County: 1,067 countBuena Vista County: 825 countButler County: 1,076 countCalhoun County: 762 countCarroll County: 1,045 countCass County: 764 countCedar County: 971 countCerro Gordo County: 795 countCherokee County: 837 countChickasaw County: 951 countClarke County: 726 countClay County: 691 countClayton County: 1,601 countClinton County: 1,219 countCrawford County: 927 countDallas County: 938 countDavis County: 1,007 countDecatur County: 788 countDelaware County: 1,253 countDes Moines County: 674 countDickinson County: 492 countDubuque County: 1,481 countEmmet County: 510 countFayette County: 1,344 countFloyd County: 895 countFranklin County: 825 countFremont County: 547 countGreene County: 727 countGrundy County: 724 countGuthrie County: 885 countHamilton County: 797 countHancock County: 827 countHardin County: 829 countHarrison County: 828 countHenry County: 857 countHoward County: 891 countHumboldt County: 606 countIda County: 618 countIowa County: 1,024 countJackson County: 1,336 countJasper County: 1,212 countJefferson County: 808 countJohnson County: 1,261 countJones County: 1,024 countKeokuk County: 1,093 countKossuth County: 1,340 countLee County: 945 countLinn County: 1,445 countLouisa County: 601 countLucas County: 747 countLyon County: 1,045 countMadison County: 990 countMahaska County: 1,043 countMarion County: 1,051 countMarshall County: 848 countMills County: 462 countMitchell County: 828 countMonona County: 625 countMonroe County: 714 countMontgomery County: 583 countMuscatine County: 816 countO'Brien County: 993 countOsceola County: 636 countPage County: 873 countPalo Alto County: 783 countPlymouth County: 1,339 countPocahontas County: 730 countPolk County: 764 countPottawattamie County: 1,255 countPoweshiek County: 925 countRinggold County: 758 countSac County: 791 countScott County: 750 countShelby County: 868 countSioux County: 1,673 countStory County: 977 countTama County: 1,159 countTaylor County: 794 countUnion County: 698 countVan Buren County: 870 countWapello County: 845 countWarren County: 1,338 countWashington County: 1,200 countWayne County: 788 countWebster County: 932 countWinnebago County: 631 countWinneshiek County: 1,501 countWoodbury County: 1,148 countWorth County: 588 countWright County: 752 count
  • Under 700
  • 700 to 790
  • 790 to 850
  • 850 to 970
  • 970 to 1,200
  • 1,200 and over
count, 2002. 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, 2002

Sioux County: 1,673 countSioux County1,673Clayton County: 1,601 countClayton County1,601Winneshiek County: 1,501 countWinneshiek County1,501Dubuque County: 1,481 countDubuque County1,481Linn County: 1,445 countLinn County1,445Fayette County: 1,344 countFayette County1,344Kossuth County: 1,340 countKossuth County1,340Plymouth County: 1,339 countPlymouth County1,339Warren County: 1,338 countWarren County1,338Jackson County: 1,336 countJackson County1,336Johnson County: 1,261 countJohnson County1,261Pottawattamie County: 1,255 countPottawattamie County1,255Delaware County: 1,253 countDelaware County1,253Clinton County: 1,219 countClinton County1,219Jasper County: 1,212 countJasper County1,212Washington County: 1,200 countWashington County1,200Benton County: 1,186 countBenton County1,186Tama County: 1,159 countTama County1,159Woodbury County: 1,148 countWoodbury County1,148Keokuk County: 1,093 countKeokuk County1,093Allamakee County: 1,083 countAllamakee County1,083Butler County: 1,076 countButler County1,076Buchanan County: 1,067 countBuchanan County1,067Marion County: 1,051 countMarion County1,051Carroll County: 1,045 countCarroll County1,045Lyon County: 1,045 countLyon County1,045Mahaska County: 1,043 countMahaska County1,043Iowa County: 1,024 countIowa County1,024Jones County: 1,024 countJones County1,024Davis County: 1,007 countDavis County1,007O'Brien County: 993 countO'Brien County993Madison County: 990 countMadison County990Story County: 977 countStory County977Cedar County: 971 countCedar County971Bremer County: 956 countBremer County956Chickasaw County: 951 countChickasaw County951Lee County: 945 countLee County945Black Hawk County: 939 countBlack Hawk County939Dallas County: 938 countDallas County938Webster County: 932 countWebster County932Sioux County: 1,673 countSioux County1,673Clayton County: 1,601 countClayton County1,601Winneshiek County: 1,501 countWinneshiek County1,501Dubuque County: 1,481 countDubuque County1,481Linn County: 1,445 countLinn County1,445Fayette County: 1,344 countFayette County1,344Kossuth County: 1,340 countKossuth County1,340Plymouth County: 1,339 countPlymouth County1,339Warren County: 1,338 countWarren County1,338Jackson County: 1,336 countJackson County1,336Johnson County: 1,261 countJohnson County1,261Pottawattamie County: 1,255 countPottawattamie County1,255Delaware County: 1,253 countDelaware County1,253Clinton County: 1,219 countClinton County1,219Jasper County: 1,212 countJasper County1,212Washington County: 1,200 countWashington County1,200Benton County: 1,186 countBenton County1,186Tama County: 1,159 countTama County1,159Woodbury County: 1,148 countWoodbury County1,148Keokuk County: 1,093 countKeokuk County1,093Allamakee County: 1,083 countAllamakee County1,083Butler County: 1,076 countButler County1,076Buchanan County: 1,067 countBuchanan County1,067Marion County: 1,051 countMarion County1,051Carroll County: 1,045 countCarroll County1,045Lyon County: 1,045 countLyon County1,045Mahaska County: 1,043 countMahaska County1,043Iowa County: 1,024 countIowa County1,024Jones County: 1,024 countJones County1,024Davis County: 1,007 countDavis County1,007O'Brien County: 993 countO'Brien County993Madison County: 990 countMadison County990Story County: 977 countStory County977Cedar County: 971 countCedar County971Bremer County: 956 countBremer County956Chickasaw County: 951 countChickasaw County951Lee County: 945 countLee County945Black Hawk County: 939 countBlack Hawk County939Dallas County: 938 countDallas County938Webster County: 932 countWebster County932
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

RankCounties2002
count
1Sioux County1,673
2Clayton County1,601
3Winneshiek County1,501
4Dubuque County1,481
5Linn County1,445
6Fayette County1,344
7Kossuth County1,340
8Plymouth County1,339
9Warren County1,338
10Jackson County1,336
11Johnson County1,261
12Pottawattamie County1,255
13Delaware County1,253
14Clinton County1,219
15Jasper County1,212
16Washington County1,200
17Benton County1,186
18Tama County1,159
19Woodbury County1,148
20Keokuk County1,093
21Allamakee County1,083
22Butler County1,076
23Buchanan County1,067
24Marion County1,051
25Carroll County1,045
25Lyon County1,045
27Mahaska County1,043
28Iowa County1,024
28Jones County1,024
30Davis County1,007
31O'Brien County993
32Madison County990
33Story County977
34Cedar County971
35Bremer County956
36Chickasaw County951
37Lee County945
38Black Hawk County939
39Dallas County938
40Webster County932
41Crawford County927
42Poweshiek County925
43Floyd County895
44Howard County891
45Guthrie County885
46Page County873
47Van Buren County870
48Shelby County868
49Henry County857
50Marshall County848
51Wapello County845
52Adair County843
53Cherokee County837
54Hardin County829
55Harrison County828
55Mitchell County828
57Boone County827
57Hancock County827
59Buena Vista County825
59Franklin County825
61Appanoose County816
61Muscatine County816
63Jefferson County808
64Hamilton County797
65Cerro Gordo County795
66Taylor County794
67Sac County791
68Decatur County788
68Wayne County788
70Palo Alto County783
71Cass County764
71Polk County764
73Calhoun County762
74Ringgold County758
75Wright County752
76Scott County750
77Lucas County747
78Pocahontas County730
79Greene County727
80Clarke County726
81Grundy County724
82Monroe County714
83Union County698
84Clay County691
85Des Moines County674
86Audubon County638
87Osceola County636
88Winnebago County631
89Monona County625
90Ida County618
91Humboldt County606
92Louisa County601
93Worth County588
94Montgomery County583
95Adams County567
96Fremont County547
97Emmet County510
98Dickinson County492
99Mills County462

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, 2002) [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, 2002. 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=2002. 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, 2002. 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=2002.

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, 2002 [Dataset]. Via Data Commons. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/iowa-counties?period=2002 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_iowa_by_2002,
  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, 2002}},
  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=2002. 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, 2002
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=2002
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org).
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/iowa-counties?period=2002.
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  - 
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 farms using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"farms","level":"province","within":"Iowa","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=farms&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 farms?

Sioux County, with 1,673 in 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which county has the lowest farms?

Mills County, with 462 in 2002.

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