Counties in Iowa by foreign-born share of the population

Buena Vista County had the highest foreign-born share of the population of 99 counties in 2022, at 21%. Monona County had the lowest, at 0.3%. The median was 2% and the figure for Iowa was 5.6%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Lowest0.3Monona County
Median299 counties
Iowa5.6History

Top 40 counties, 2022

CSVChart (SVG)

Buena Vista CountyBuena Vista County: 21 %21Crawford CountyCrawford County: 15.1 %15.1Marshall CountyMarshall County: 13.7 %13.7Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 11.9 %11.9Johnson CountyJohnson County: 11 %11Polk CountyPolk County: 9.7 %9.7Woodbury CountyWoodbury County: 9.6 %9.6Dallas CountyDallas County: 9.3 %9.3Story CountyStory County: 9 %9Louisa CountyLouisa County: 8.6 %8.6Wapello CountyWapello County: 8.5 %8.5Muscatine CountyMuscatine County: 7 %7Black Hawk CountyBlack Hawk County: 6.4 %6.4Allamakee CountyAllamakee County: 5.8 %5.8Sioux CountySioux County: 5.8 %5.8Clarke CountyClarke County: 5.7 %5.7Franklin CountyFranklin County: 5.4 %5.4Osceola CountyOsceola County: 5.3 %5.3Tama CountyTama County: 5.3 %5.3Linn CountyLinn County: 5.1 %5.1Taylor CountyTaylor County: 5 %5Emmet CountyEmmet County: 4.8 %4.8Wright CountyWright County: 4.6 %4.6Plymouth CountyPlymouth County: 4.5 %4.5Scott CountyScott County: 4.3 %4.3Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 4.2 %4.2Pottawattamie CountyPottawattamie County: 4.1 %4.1Washington CountyWashington County: 3.7 %3.7Henry CountyHenry County: 3.6 %3.6O'Brien CountyO'Brien County: 3.5 %3.5Floyd CountyFloyd County: 3.4 %3.4Pocahontas CountyPocahontas County: 3.3 %3.3Dubuque CountyDubuque County: 3.3 %3.3Poweshiek CountyPoweshiek County: 3.2 %3.2Kossuth CountyKossuth County: 3.1 %3.1Winnebago CountyWinnebago County: 3.1 %3.1Humboldt CountyHumboldt County: 3 %3Hardin CountyHardin County: 2.8 %2.8Lucas CountyLucas County: 2.7 %2.7Sac CountySac County: 2.7 %2.7
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Buena Vista County21+0.4 pts
2Crawford County15.1-1.8 pts
3Marshall County13.7+0.5 pts
4Jefferson County11.9-0.1 pts
5Johnson County11+0.2 pts
6Polk County9.7+0.3 pts
7Woodbury County9.6+0.2 pts
8Dallas County9.3+0.2 pts
9Story County9-0.2 pts
10Louisa County8.6-1 pts
11Wapello County8.5+1.1 pts
12Muscatine County7+0.1 pts
13Black Hawk County6.4-0.1 pts
14Allamakee County5.8+0.5 pts
15Sioux County5.8-0.1 pts
16Clarke County5.7-1 pts
17Franklin County5.4+0.4 pts
18Osceola County5.30 pts
19Tama County5.3-0.2 pts
20Linn County5.1+0.1 pts
21Taylor County5+0.3 pts
22Emmet County4.8-0.8 pts
23Wright County4.6+0.5 pts
24Plymouth County4.5+0.9 pts
25Scott County4.3+0.1 pts
26Hamilton County4.2+0.6 pts
27Pottawattamie County4.1+0.1 pts
28Washington County3.7+0.2 pts
29Henry County3.6-0.4 pts
30O'Brien County3.5+1.1 pts
31Floyd County3.4-0.4 pts
32Pocahontas County3.3+0.7 pts
33Dubuque County3.3+0.5 pts
34Poweshiek County3.2+0.5 pts
35Kossuth County3.1+1.3 pts
36Winnebago County3.1-0 pts
37Humboldt County3+0.1 pts
38Hardin County2.8-0.4 pts
39Lucas County2.7-0.1 pts
40Sac County2.7+1 pts
41Webster County2.6-0 pts
42Jasper County2.4+0.1 pts
43Cerro Gordo County2.3+0.3 pts
44Decatur County2.2+0.1 pts
45Des Moines County2.2+0.2 pts
45Dickinson County2.2+0.2 pts
47Bremer County2.1+0.2 pts
48Palo Alto County2.1-0.3 pts
49Clinton County2.1+0.7 pts
50Carroll County2+0.1 pts
51Butler County2+0.4 pts
52Clayton County1.9+0.2 pts
52Union County1.9-0 pts
54Mitchell County1.9+0.3 pts
55Shelby County1.9-0.1 pts
55Winneshiek County1.9-0.3 pts
57Marion County1.9-0.3 pts
58Grundy County1.8+0.2 pts
58Hancock County1.8+0.3 pts
60Cherokee County1.8-0.7 pts
60Guthrie County1.8+0.1 pts
62Page County1.7+0.2 pts
63Mahaska County1.7-0.2 pts
64Lyon County1.7-0.2 pts
64Mills County1.7+0.4 pts
66Monroe County1.6+0.3 pts
66Warren County1.6-0 pts
68Buchanan County1.6+0.1 pts
69Ida County1.5+0.2 pts
70Greene County1.5-0 pts
71Cedar County1.5-0.2 pts
72Fayette County1.4-0.1 pts
73Lee County1.4-0.3 pts
74Chickasaw County1.30 pts
75Van Buren County1.3-0.1 pts
76Boone County1.3-0.4 pts
77Davis County1.2-0.4 pts
78Jackson County1.2+0.1 pts
78Madison County1.2-0.1 pts
80Iowa County1.1+0.1 pts
81Appanoose County1.1+0.3 pts
82Howard County1.1+0.1 pts
83Ringgold County1.1+0.5 pts
84Keokuk County1.1+0.1 pts
85Clay County1-0.4 pts
86Jones County0.9+0.2 pts
86Wayne County0.9-0.1 pts
88Adair County0.9-0.4 pts
89Audubon County0.9-0 pts
89Fremont County0.9-0.1 pts
91Harrison County0.8+0.2 pts
92Benton County0.7-0 pts
93Calhoun County0.7-0.7 pts
93Montgomery County0.70 pts
95Cass County0.6-1 pts
96Worth County0.4-0.3 pts
97Adams County0.4+0.1 pts
98Delaware County0.3-0.1 pts
99Monona County0.3-0.1 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People who were not US citizens at birth, as a percentage of the total population. Includes naturalized citizens, lawful permanent residents, temporary migrants and unauthorized immigrants. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Based on place of birth, not nationality: a naturalized citizen counts as foreign born, and people born in Puerto Rico, the US island areas or abroad to American parents count as native. Not comparable with foreign_population_share, which counts foreign nationals in Spain and the EU. Calculated from counts in ACS table B05002, 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 B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-b05002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Rank Counties in Iowa by foreign-born share of the population using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest foreign-born share of the population?

Buena Vista County, with 21% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest foreign-born share of the population?

Monona County, with 0.3% in 2022.

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 B05002: foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Foreign-born population share: other rankings

Counties in Iowa: more rankings