Data / Rankings / Households / Counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa by households

Polk County had the highest households of 99 counties in 2021, at 195,263. Adams County had the lowest, at 1,529. The median was 6,171 and the figure for Iowa was 1.28 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest195,263Polk County
Lowest1,529Adams County
Median6,17199 counties
Iowa1,275,893History

Map of counties, 2021

Adair County: 3,180 countAdams County: 1,529 countAllamakee County: 5,814 countAppanoose County: 4,920 countAudubon County: 2,498 countBenton County: 10,075 countBlack Hawk County: 53,465 countBoone County: 10,720 countBremer County: 9,638 countBuchanan County: 7,787 countBuena Vista County: 7,506 countButler County: 5,860 countCalhoun County: 3,932 countCarroll County: 8,761 countCass County: 5,777 countCedar County: 7,381 countCerro Gordo County: 19,569 countCherokee County: 5,126 countChickasaw County: 5,005 countClarke County: 3,740 countClay County: 7,137 countClayton County: 7,319 countClinton County: 19,103 countCrawford County: 6,159 countDallas County: 37,970 countDavis County: 3,150 countDecatur County: 3,053 countDelaware County: 6,944 countDes Moines County: 17,042 countDickinson County: 8,096 countDubuque County: 39,534 countEmmet County: 3,856 countFayette County: 8,107 countFloyd County: 6,712 countFranklin County: 4,108 countFremont County: 2,742 countGreene County: 3,790 countGrundy County: 5,024 countGuthrie County: 4,463 countHamilton County: 5,993 countHancock County: 4,610 countHardin County: 7,033 countHarrison County: 5,932 countHenry County: 7,565 countHoward County: 3,708 countHumboldt County: 4,189 countIda County: 2,951 countIowa County: 6,765 countJackson County: 8,020 countJasper County: 14,370 countJefferson County: 6,688 countJohnson County: 60,573 countJones County: 8,053 countKeokuk County: 4,136 countKossuth County: 6,422 countLee County: 14,068 countLinn County: 93,602 countLouisa County: 4,043 countLucas County: 3,614 countLyon County: 4,364 countMadison County: 6,377 countMahaska County: 8,813 countMarion County: 13,241 countMarshall County: 15,298 countMills County: 5,301 countMitchell County: 4,400 countMonona County: 3,786 countMonroe County: 2,998 countMontgomery County: 4,380 countMuscatine County: 16,785 countO'Brien County: 5,670 countOsceola County: 2,659 countPage County: 6,171 countPalo Alto County: 3,685 countPlymouth County: 10,191 countPocahontas County: 3,121 countPolk County: 195,263 countPottawattamie County: 36,964 countPoweshiek County: 7,820 countRinggold County: 1,860 countSac County: 4,196 countScott County: 69,955 countShelby County: 4,918 countSioux County: 12,284 countStory County: 37,944 countTama County: 6,655 countTaylor County: 2,446 countUnion County: 4,936 countVan Buren County: 2,858 countWapello County: 14,120 countWarren County: 19,517 countWashington County: 8,833 countWayne County: 2,536 countWebster County: 15,659 countWinnebago County: 4,473 countWinneshiek County: 8,156 countWoodbury County: 39,826 countWorth County: 3,164 countWright County: 5,343 count
  • Under 4,000
  • 4,000 to 5,000
  • 5,000 to 6,000
  • 6,000 to 8,000
  • 8,000 to 15K
  • 15K and over
count, 2021. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households). Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2021

Polk County: 195,263 countPolk County195,263Linn County: 93,602 countLinn County93,602Scott County: 69,955 countScott County69,955Johnson County: 60,573 countJohnson County60,573Black Hawk County: 53,465 countBlack Hawk County53,465Woodbury County: 39,826 countWoodbury County39,826Dubuque County: 39,534 countDubuque County39,534Dallas County: 37,970 countDallas County37,970Story County: 37,944 countStory County37,944Pottawattamie County: 36,964 countPottawattamie County36,964Cerro Gordo County: 19,569 countCerro Gordo County19,569Warren County: 19,517 countWarren County19,517Clinton County: 19,103 countClinton County19,103Des Moines County: 17,042 countDes Moines County17,042Muscatine County: 16,785 countMuscatine County16,785Webster County: 15,659 countWebster County15,659Marshall County: 15,298 countMarshall County15,298Jasper County: 14,370 countJasper County14,370Wapello County: 14,120 countWapello County14,120Lee County: 14,068 countLee County14,068Marion County: 13,241 countMarion County13,241Sioux County: 12,284 countSioux County12,284Boone County: 10,720 countBoone County10,720Plymouth County: 10,191 countPlymouth County10,191Benton County: 10,075 countBenton County10,075Bremer County: 9,638 countBremer County9,638Washington County: 8,833 countWashington County8,833Mahaska County: 8,813 countMahaska County8,813Carroll County: 8,761 countCarroll County8,761Winneshiek County: 8,156 countWinneshiek County8,156Fayette County: 8,107 countFayette County8,107Dickinson County: 8,096 countDickinson County8,096Jones County: 8,053 countJones County8,053Jackson County: 8,020 countJackson County8,020Poweshiek County: 7,820 countPoweshiek County7,820Buchanan County: 7,787 countBuchanan County7,787Henry County: 7,565 countHenry County7,565Buena Vista County: 7,506 countBuena Vista County7,506Cedar County: 7,381 countCedar County7,381Clayton County: 7,319 countClayton County7,319Polk County: 195,263 countPolk County195,263Linn County: 93,602 countLinn County93,602Scott County: 69,955 countScott County69,955Johnson County: 60,573 countJohnson County60,573Black Hawk County: 53,465 countBlack Hawk County53,465Woodbury County: 39,826 countWoodbury County39,826Dubuque County: 39,534 countDubuque County39,534Dallas County: 37,970 countDallas County37,970Story County: 37,944 countStory County37,944Pottawattamie County: 36,964 countPottawattamie County36,964Cerro Gordo County: 19,569 countCerro Gordo County19,569Warren County: 19,517 countWarren County19,517Clinton County: 19,103 countClinton County19,103Des Moines County: 17,042 countDes Moines County17,042Muscatine County: 16,785 countMuscatine County16,785Webster County: 15,659 countWebster County15,659Marshall County: 15,298 countMarshall County15,298Jasper County: 14,370 countJasper County14,370Wapello County: 14,120 countWapello County14,120Lee County: 14,068 countLee County14,068Marion County: 13,241 countMarion County13,241Sioux County: 12,284 countSioux County12,284Boone County: 10,720 countBoone County10,720Plymouth County: 10,191 countPlymouth County10,191Benton County: 10,075 countBenton County10,075Bremer County: 9,638 countBremer County9,638Washington County: 8,833 countWashington County8,833Mahaska County: 8,813 countMahaska County8,813Carroll County: 8,761 countCarroll County8,761Winneshiek County: 8,156 countWinneshiek County8,156Fayette County: 8,107 countFayette County8,107Dickinson County: 8,096 countDickinson County8,096Jones County: 8,053 countJones County8,053Jackson County: 8,020 countJackson County8,020Poweshiek County: 7,820 countPoweshiek County7,820Buchanan County: 7,787 countBuchanan County7,787Henry County: 7,565 countHenry County7,565Buena Vista County: 7,506 countBuena Vista County7,506Cedar County: 7,381 countCedar County7,381Clayton County: 7,319 countClayton County7,319
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
count
1Polk County195,263
2Linn County93,602
3Scott County69,955
4Johnson County60,573
5Black Hawk County53,465
6Woodbury County39,826
7Dubuque County39,534
8Dallas County37,970
9Story County37,944
10Pottawattamie County36,964
11Cerro Gordo County19,569
12Warren County19,517
13Clinton County19,103
14Des Moines County17,042
15Muscatine County16,785
16Webster County15,659
17Marshall County15,298
18Jasper County14,370
19Wapello County14,120
20Lee County14,068
21Marion County13,241
22Sioux County12,284
23Boone County10,720
24Plymouth County10,191
25Benton County10,075
26Bremer County9,638
27Washington County8,833
28Mahaska County8,813
29Carroll County8,761
30Winneshiek County8,156
31Fayette County8,107
32Dickinson County8,096
33Jones County8,053
34Jackson County8,020
35Poweshiek County7,820
36Buchanan County7,787
37Henry County7,565
38Buena Vista County7,506
39Cedar County7,381
40Clayton County7,319
41Clay County7,137
42Hardin County7,033
43Delaware County6,944
44Iowa County6,765
45Floyd County6,712
46Jefferson County6,688
47Tama County6,655
48Kossuth County6,422
49Madison County6,377
50Page County6,171
51Crawford County6,159
52Hamilton County5,993
53Harrison County5,932
54Butler County5,860
55Allamakee County5,814
56Cass County5,777
57O'Brien County5,670
58Wright County5,343
59Mills County5,301
60Cherokee County5,126
61Grundy County5,024
62Chickasaw County5,005
63Union County4,936
64Appanoose County4,920
65Shelby County4,918
66Hancock County4,610
67Winnebago County4,473
68Guthrie County4,463
69Mitchell County4,400
70Montgomery County4,380
71Lyon County4,364
72Sac County4,196
73Humboldt County4,189
74Keokuk County4,136
75Franklin County4,108
76Louisa County4,043
77Calhoun County3,932
78Emmet County3,856
79Greene County3,790
80Monona County3,786
81Clarke County3,740
82Howard County3,708
83Palo Alto County3,685
84Lucas County3,614
85Adair County3,180
86Worth County3,164
87Davis County3,150
88Pocahontas County3,121
89Decatur County3,053
90Monroe County2,998
91Ida County2,951
92Van Buren County2,858
93Fremont County2,742
94Osceola County2,659
95Wayne County2,536
96Audubon County2,498
97Taylor County2,446
98Ringgold County1,860
99Adams County1,529

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of households, which equals the number of occupied housing units. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

People living in group quarters, such as college dormitories, nursing homes and prisons, are not in households.

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 B25003: occupied housing units (households). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat. 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. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households) (Counties in Iowa by households, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), Counties in Iowa by households, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/iowa-counties?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households). Counties in Iowa by households, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/iowa-counties?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households), Counties in Iowa by households, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/iowa-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_iowa_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households): Counties in Iowa by households, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/iowa-counties?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households): Counties in Iowa by households, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/iowa-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/households/iowa-counties?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25003: occupied housing units (households). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest households?

Polk County, with 195,263 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest households?

Adams County, with 1,529 in 2021.

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 B25003: occupied housing units (households). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Households: other rankings

Counties in Iowa: more rankings