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 2023, at 21.6%. Delaware County had the lowest, at 0.2%. The median was 2.1% and the figure for Iowa was 5.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Median2.199 counties
Iowa5.7History

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Buena Vista CountyBuena Vista County: 21.6 %21.6Crawford CountyCrawford County: 15.9 %15.9Marshall CountyMarshall County: 14 %14Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 11.8 %11.8Johnson CountyJohnson County: 10.3 %10.3Dallas CountyDallas County: 10 %10Polk CountyPolk County: 10 %10Woodbury CountyWoodbury County: 9.9 %9.9Wapello CountyWapello County: 9.2 %9.2Story CountyStory County: 8.3 %8.3Louisa CountyLouisa County: 8.1 %8.1Muscatine CountyMuscatine County: 7.6 %7.6Sioux CountySioux County: 7.6 %7.6Franklin CountyFranklin County: 7 %7Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 6.7 %6.7Allamakee CountyAllamakee County: 6.7 %6.7Black Hawk CountyBlack Hawk County: 6.4 %6.4Wright CountyWright County: 6.2 %6.2Clarke CountyClarke County: 6.1 %6.1Osceola CountyOsceola County: 5.4 %5.4Linn CountyLinn County: 5.3 %5.3Tama CountyTama County: 5 %5Scott CountyScott County: 4.4 %4.4Plymouth CountyPlymouth County: 4.3 %4.3Emmet CountyEmmet County: 4.2 %4.2O'Brien CountyO'Brien County: 4.2 %4.2Humboldt CountyHumboldt County: 4 %4Pottawattamie CountyPottawattamie County: 3.8 %3.8Washington CountyWashington County: 3.7 %3.7Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 3.6 %3.6Taylor CountyTaylor County: 3.5 %3.5Poweshiek CountyPoweshiek County: 3.4 %3.4Kossuth CountyKossuth County: 3.3 %3.3Webster CountyWebster County: 3.3 %3.3Dubuque CountyDubuque County: 3.3 %3.3Winnebago CountyWinnebago County: 3.2 %3.2Floyd CountyFloyd County: 3.1 %3.1Sac CountySac County: 3.1 %3.1Hardin CountyHardin County: 3.1 %3.1Pocahontas CountyPocahontas County: 2.9 %2.9
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Buena Vista County21.6+0.6 pts
2Crawford County15.9+0.8 pts
3Marshall County14+0.3 pts
4Jefferson County11.8-0.1 pts
5Johnson County10.3-0.8 pts
6Dallas County10+0.7 pts
7Polk County10+0.2 pts
8Woodbury County9.9+0.3 pts
9Wapello County9.2+0.7 pts
10Story County8.3-0.7 pts
11Louisa County8.1-0.5 pts
12Muscatine County7.6+0.7 pts
13Sioux County7.6+1.8 pts
14Franklin County7+1.7 pts
15Hamilton County6.7+2.5 pts
16Allamakee County6.7+0.9 pts
17Black Hawk County6.4-0.1 pts
18Wright County6.2+1.6 pts
19Clarke County6.1+0.4 pts
20Osceola County5.4+0.1 pts
21Linn County5.3+0.2 pts
22Tama County5-0.2 pts
23Scott County4.4+0.1 pts
24Plymouth County4.3-0.3 pts
25Emmet County4.2-0.6 pts
26O'Brien County4.2+0.6 pts
27Humboldt County4+1 pts
28Pottawattamie County3.8-0.2 pts
29Washington County3.7-0.1 pts
30Cherokee County3.6+1.8 pts
31Taylor County3.5-1.5 pts
32Poweshiek County3.4+0.2 pts
33Kossuth County3.3+0.2 pts
33Webster County3.3+0.7 pts
35Dubuque County3.30 pts
36Winnebago County3.2+0.1 pts
37Floyd County3.1-0.2 pts
38Sac County3.1+0.4 pts
39Hardin County3.1+0.3 pts
40Pocahontas County2.9-0.5 pts
41Des Moines County2.6+0.4 pts
42Hancock County2.4+0.6 pts
43Henry County2.4-1.2 pts
44Jasper County2.40 pts
45Winneshiek County2.3+0.5 pts
46Palo Alto County2.2+0.2 pts
47Lucas County2.2-0.5 pts
48Butler County2.2+0.2 pts
49Cerro Gordo County2.1-0.1 pts
50Mahaska County2.1+0.4 pts
51Chickasaw County2.1+0.7 pts
52Clayton County2.1+0.1 pts
53Marion County2+0.2 pts
54Ida County1.9+0.4 pts
55Clinton County1.9-0.1 pts
55Decatur County1.9-0.3 pts
57Guthrie County1.9+0.1 pts
58Greene County1.9+0.3 pts
59Carroll County1.8-0.2 pts
60Dickinson County1.8-0.5 pts
61Page County1.7+0.1 pts
62Lyon County1.70 pts
63Mitchell County1.7-0.2 pts
64Monroe County1.60 pts
65Adair County1.6+0.7 pts
65Buchanan County1.6+0.1 pts
65Fayette County1.6+0.2 pts
68Bremer County1.6-0.5 pts
69Warren County1.6-0.1 pts
70Fremont County1.4+0.5 pts
70Montgomery County1.4+0.7 pts
72Madison County1.4+0.2 pts
73Davis County1.3+0.1 pts
74Mills County1.3-0.3 pts
75Cedar County1.3-0.2 pts
76Grundy County1.3-0.5 pts
77Shelby County1.2-0.6 pts
78Appanoose County1.2+0.1 pts
78Howard County1.2+0.1 pts
80Wayne County1.2+0.3 pts
81Lee County1.1-0.3 pts
82Boone County1-0.2 pts
82Clay County10 pts
84Jones County10 pts
85Union County1-0.9 pts
86Van Buren County0.9-0.4 pts
87Iowa County0.9-0.2 pts
88Audubon County0.9-0 pts
89Keokuk County0.8-0.3 pts
90Benton County0.8+0.1 pts
91Jackson County0.8-0.4 pts
92Calhoun County0.70 pts
93Ringgold County0.7-0.4 pts
94Harrison County0.7-0.1 pts
95Worth County0.6+0.2 pts
96Cass County0.4-0.2 pts
96Monona County0.4+0.1 pts
98Adams County0.3-0.2 pts
99Delaware County0.2-0.1 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/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-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 21.6% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Delaware County, with 0.2% 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 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