Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa by job creation rate, 2023

Polk County had the highest job creation rate of 99 counties in 2023, at 18.848%. Louisa County had the lowest, at 5.638%. The median was 10.537% and the figure for Iowa was 12.822%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest18.848Polk County
Lowest5.638Louisa County
Median10.53799 counties
Iowa12.822History

Map of counties, 2023

Adair County: 8.926 %Adams County: 6.716 %Allamakee County: 12.214 %Appanoose County: 13.264 %Audubon County: 14.225 %Benton County: 11.522 %Black Hawk County: 9.739 %Boone County: 8.125 %Bremer County: 10.027 %Buchanan County: 8.122 %Buena Vista County: 9.998 %Butler County: 12.525 %Calhoun County: 12.357 %Carroll County: 8.714 %Cass County: 10.978 %Cedar County: 14.628 %Cerro Gordo County: 11.404 %Cherokee County: 13.593 %Chickasaw County: 9.15 %Clarke County: 5.96 %Clay County: 8.476 %Clayton County: 11.747 %Clinton County: 9.523 %Crawford County: 7.499 %Dallas County: 14.526 %Davis County: 15.285 %Decatur County: 11.067 %Delaware County: 9.749 %Des Moines County: 16.014 %Dickinson County: 14.716 %Dubuque County: 11.359 %Emmet County: 11.356 %Fayette County: 16.581 %Floyd County: 8.563 %Franklin County: 14.653 %Fremont County: 8.696 %Greene County: 10.324 %Grundy County: 12.728 %Guthrie County: 13.457 %Hamilton County: 9.204 %Hancock County: 9.452 %Hardin County: 9.885 %Harrison County: 14.522 %Henry County: 9.412 %Howard County: 10.911 %Humboldt County: 13.889 %Ida County: 12.406 %Iowa County: 7.43 %Jackson County: 13.289 %Jasper County: 11.014 %Jefferson County: 11.388 %Johnson County: 15.215 %Jones County: 10.03 %Keokuk County: 15.572 %Kossuth County: 6.4 %Lee County: 10.664 %Linn County: 10.537 %Louisa County: 5.638 %Lucas County: 15.241 %Lyon County: 13.342 %Madison County: 17.664 %Mahaska County: 10.514 %Marion County: 9.086 %Marshall County: 10.438 %Mills County: 16.042 %Mitchell County: 7.299 %Monona County: 12.388 %Monroe County: 10.351 %Montgomery County: 9.476 %Muscatine County: 10.167 %O'Brien County: 8.084 %Osceola County: 18.782 %Page County: 8.452 %Palo Alto County: 8.32 %Plymouth County: 9.992 %Pocahontas County: 12.798 %Polk County: 18.848 %Pottawattamie County: 11.213 %Poweshiek County: 5.693 %Ringgold County: 12.432 %Sac County: 11.919 %Scott County: 14.815 %Shelby County: 10.093 %Sioux County: 8.385 %Story County: 11.243 %Tama County: 7.627 %Taylor County: 10.445 %Union County: 10.495 %Van Buren County: 12.373 %Wapello County: 9.54 %Warren County: 16.431 %Washington County: 9.002 %Wayne County: 18.399 %Webster County: 11.276 %Winnebago County: 6.798 %Winneshiek County: 9.286 %Woodbury County: 9.35 %Worth County: 7.085 %Wright County: 6.209 %
  • Under 8.4
  • 8.4 to 9.5
  • 9.5 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 15
  • 15 and over
%, 2023. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2023

Polk County: 18.848 %Polk County18.848Osceola County: 18.782 %Osceola County18.782Wayne County: 18.399 %Wayne County18.399Madison County: 17.664 %Madison County17.664Fayette County: 16.581 %Fayette County16.581Warren County: 16.431 %Warren County16.431Mills County: 16.042 %Mills County16.042Des Moines County: 16.014 %Des Moines County16.014Keokuk County: 15.572 %Keokuk County15.572Davis County: 15.285 %Davis County15.285Lucas County: 15.241 %Lucas County15.241Johnson County: 15.215 %Johnson County15.215Scott County: 14.815 %Scott County14.815Dickinson County: 14.716 %Dickinson County14.716Franklin County: 14.653 %Franklin County14.653Cedar County: 14.628 %Cedar County14.628Dallas County: 14.526 %Dallas County14.526Harrison County: 14.522 %Harrison County14.522Audubon County: 14.225 %Audubon County14.225Humboldt County: 13.889 %Humboldt County13.889Cherokee County: 13.593 %Cherokee County13.593Guthrie County: 13.457 %Guthrie County13.457Lyon County: 13.342 %Lyon County13.342Jackson County: 13.289 %Jackson County13.289Appanoose County: 13.264 %Appanoose County13.264Pocahontas County: 12.798 %Pocahontas County12.798Grundy County: 12.728 %Grundy County12.728Butler County: 12.525 %Butler County12.525Ringgold County: 12.432 %Ringgold County12.432Ida County: 12.406 %Ida County12.406Monona County: 12.388 %Monona County12.388Van Buren County: 12.373 %Van Buren County12.373Calhoun County: 12.357 %Calhoun County12.357Allamakee County: 12.214 %Allamakee County12.214Sac County: 11.919 %Sac County11.919Clayton County: 11.747 %Clayton County11.747Benton County: 11.522 %Benton County11.522Cerro Gordo County: 11.404 %Cerro Gordo County11.404Jefferson County: 11.388 %Jefferson County11.388Dubuque County: 11.359 %Dubuque County11.359Polk County: 18.848 %Polk County18.848Osceola County: 18.782 %Osceola County18.782Wayne County: 18.399 %Wayne County18.399Madison County: 17.664 %Madison County17.664Fayette County: 16.581 %Fayette County16.581Warren County: 16.431 %Warren County16.431Mills County: 16.042 %Mills County16.042Des Moines County: 16.014 %Des Moines County16.014Keokuk County: 15.572 %Keokuk County15.572Davis County: 15.285 %Davis County15.285Lucas County: 15.241 %Lucas County15.241Johnson County: 15.215 %Johnson County15.215Scott County: 14.815 %Scott County14.815Dickinson County: 14.716 %Dickinson County14.716Franklin County: 14.653 %Franklin County14.653Cedar County: 14.628 %Cedar County14.628Dallas County: 14.526 %Dallas County14.526Harrison County: 14.522 %Harrison County14.522Audubon County: 14.225 %Audubon County14.225Humboldt County: 13.889 %Humboldt County13.889Cherokee County: 13.593 %Cherokee County13.593Guthrie County: 13.457 %Guthrie County13.457Lyon County: 13.342 %Lyon County13.342Jackson County: 13.289 %Jackson County13.289Appanoose County: 13.264 %Appanoose County13.264Pocahontas County: 12.798 %Pocahontas County12.798Grundy County: 12.728 %Grundy County12.728Butler County: 12.525 %Butler County12.525Ringgold County: 12.432 %Ringgold County12.432Ida County: 12.406 %Ida County12.406Monona County: 12.388 %Monona County12.388Van Buren County: 12.373 %Van Buren County12.373Calhoun County: 12.357 %Calhoun County12.357Allamakee County: 12.214 %Allamakee County12.214Sac County: 11.919 %Sac County11.919Clayton County: 11.747 %Clayton County11.747Benton County: 11.522 %Benton County11.522Cerro Gordo County: 11.404 %Cerro Gordo County11.404Jefferson County: 11.388 %Jefferson County11.388Dubuque County: 11.359 %Dubuque County11.359
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Polk County18.848+1.71 pts
2Osceola County18.782+4.52 pts
3Wayne County18.399+8.33 pts
4Madison County17.664-0.8 pts
5Fayette County16.581+5.92 pts
6Warren County16.431-0.31 pts
7Mills County16.042-2.08 pts
8Des Moines County16.014+5.34 pts
9Keokuk County15.572+1.15 pts
10Davis County15.285+3.86 pts
11Lucas County15.241+10.44 pts
12Johnson County15.215+2.01 pts
13Scott County14.815+1.69 pts
14Dickinson County14.716+0.72 pts
15Franklin County14.653+6.42 pts
16Cedar County14.628+0.83 pts
17Dallas County14.526+0.72 pts
18Harrison County14.522-6.35 pts
19Audubon County14.225-0.68 pts
20Humboldt County13.889+6.54 pts
21Cherokee County13.593+3.79 pts
22Guthrie County13.457-1.52 pts
23Lyon County13.342+3.09 pts
24Jackson County13.289-0.8 pts
25Appanoose County13.264-5.65 pts
26Pocahontas County12.798-0.99 pts
27Grundy County12.728-4.71 pts
28Butler County12.525+0.81 pts
29Ringgold County12.432-2.6 pts
30Ida County12.406+4.06 pts
31Monona County12.388-1.12 pts
32Van Buren County12.373+4.74 pts
33Calhoun County12.357+1.13 pts
34Allamakee County12.214+2.86 pts
35Sac County11.919+1.41 pts
36Clayton County11.747-7.43 pts
37Benton County11.522+0.28 pts
38Cerro Gordo County11.404-0.83 pts
39Jefferson County11.388-0.27 pts
40Dubuque County11.359-1.25 pts
41Emmet County11.356+0.52 pts
42Webster County11.276-0.47 pts
43Story County11.243-3.99 pts
44Pottawattamie County11.213-0.86 pts
45Decatur County11.067+3.75 pts
46Jasper County11.014-3.69 pts
47Cass County10.978+0.31 pts
48Howard County10.911-1.38 pts
49Lee County10.664+3.1 pts
50Linn County10.537-2.28 pts
51Mahaska County10.514+2.68 pts
52Union County10.495+2.2 pts
53Taylor County10.445+2.44 pts
54Marshall County10.438-1.28 pts
55Monroe County10.351-3.6 pts
56Greene County10.324-3.05 pts
57Muscatine County10.167+0.49 pts
58Shelby County10.093-1.65 pts
59Jones County10.03-3.76 pts
60Bremer County10.027-1.4 pts
61Buena Vista County9.998+1.18 pts
62Plymouth County9.992+0.76 pts
63Hardin County9.885-1.97 pts
64Delaware County9.749-1.86 pts
65Black Hawk County9.739-2.9 pts
66Wapello County9.54-0.75 pts
67Clinton County9.523-1.36 pts
68Montgomery County9.476-4.7 pts
69Hancock County9.452-0.18 pts
70Henry County9.412+0.4 pts
71Woodbury County9.35-1.3 pts
72Winneshiek County9.286+0.14 pts
73Hamilton County9.204+0.36 pts
74Chickasaw County9.15-3.48 pts
75Marion County9.086-0.8 pts
76Washington County9.002-2.83 pts
77Adair County8.926-3.87 pts
78Carroll County8.714-4.72 pts
79Fremont County8.696-2 pts
80Floyd County8.563-1.43 pts
81Clay County8.476-0.93 pts
82Page County8.452-8.92 pts
83Sioux County8.385-2.87 pts
84Palo Alto County8.32-3.38 pts
85Boone County8.125-1.88 pts
86Buchanan County8.122-4.56 pts
87O'Brien County8.084-3.3 pts
88Tama County7.627-1.66 pts
89Crawford County7.499-8.32 pts
90Iowa County7.43-0.77 pts
91Mitchell County7.299-3 pts
92Worth County7.085-2.14 pts
93Winnebago County6.798-1.9 pts
94Adams County6.716-27.45 pts
95Kossuth County6.4-7.37 pts
96Wright County6.209-5.3 pts
97Clarke County5.96-2.04 pts
98Poweshiek County5.693-8.99 pts
99Louisa County5.638+1.12 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Jobs added at opening and expanding establishments during the year, as a percentage of average employment in the two years. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics.

A gross flow: jobs lost elsewhere are not subtracted, so the net change is this rate minus job_destruction_rate. Not the same as payroll job growth from the monthly employment surveys. The year is the twelve months to March: 2023 compares March 2022 with March 2023.

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. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. 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. (2025). Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010 (Counties in Iowa by job creation rate, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Iowa by job creation rate, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/iowa-counties. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Counties in Iowa by job creation rate, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/iowa-counties.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Iowa by job creation rate, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/iowa-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_iowa_by_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in Iowa by job creation rate, 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/iowa-counties. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in Iowa by job creation rate, 2023
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/09/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/iowa-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/iowa-counties.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest job creation rate?

Polk County, with 18.848% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Louisa County, with 5.638% 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, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Job creation rate: other rankings

Counties in Iowa: more rankings