Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa by job creation rate

Van Buren County had the highest job creation rate of 99 counties in 2012, at 46.863%. Winnebago County had the lowest, at 4.166%. The median was 11.343% and the figure for Iowa was 11.714%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest46.863Van Buren County
Lowest4.166Winnebago County
Median11.34399 counties
Iowa11.714History

Map of counties, 2012

Adair County: 11.51 %Adams County: 10.286 %Allamakee County: 8.197 %Appanoose County: 8.096 %Audubon County: 12.405 %Benton County: 15.088 %Black Hawk County: 11.664 %Boone County: 10.22 %Bremer County: 8.04 %Buchanan County: 9.682 %Buena Vista County: 9.841 %Butler County: 14.459 %Calhoun County: 7.699 %Carroll County: 9.354 %Cass County: 14.156 %Cedar County: 10.805 %Cerro Gordo County: 9.663 %Cherokee County: 9.07 %Chickasaw County: 13.669 %Clarke County: 12.214 %Clay County: 9.815 %Clayton County: 14.985 %Clinton County: 8.94 %Crawford County: 6.398 %Dallas County: 12.081 %Davis County: 11.994 %Decatur County: 5.892 %Delaware County: 12.894 %Des Moines County: 11.524 %Dickinson County: 14.743 %Dubuque County: 11.547 %Emmet County: 10.796 %Fayette County: 12.374 %Floyd County: 8.524 %Franklin County: 10.177 %Fremont County: 12.754 %Greene County: 14.046 %Grundy County: 17.102 %Guthrie County: 13.361 %Hamilton County: 9.509 %Hancock County: 14.557 %Hardin County: 19.38 %Harrison County: 15.505 %Henry County: 14.538 %Howard County: 9.566 %Humboldt County: 10.246 %Ida County: 9.697 %Iowa County: 8.243 %Jackson County: 11.27 %Jasper County: 15.032 %Jefferson County: 14.714 %Johnson County: 8.821 %Jones County: 16.217 %Keokuk County: 11.317 %Kossuth County: 11.405 %Lee County: 13.247 %Linn County: 11.306 %Louisa County: 5.674 %Lucas County: 19.488 %Lyon County: 27.39 %Madison County: 16.997 %Mahaska County: 8.776 %Marion County: 8.108 %Marshall County: 6.447 %Mills County: 13.2 %Mitchell County: 10.452 %Monona County: 9.01 %Monroe County: 12.492 %Montgomery County: 8.392 %Muscatine County: 11.893 %O'Brien County: 11.072 %Osceola County: 7.392 %Page County: 9.591 %Palo Alto County: 9.286 %Plymouth County: 10.641 %Pocahontas County: 16.576 %Polk County: 12.942 %Pottawattamie County: 11.533 %Poweshiek County: 9.777 %Ringgold County: 8.667 %Sac County: 19.527 %Scott County: 11.574 %Shelby County: 8.719 %Sioux County: 10.744 %Story County: 22.226 %Tama County: 11.343 %Taylor County: 19.673 %Union County: 11.965 %Van Buren County: 46.863 %Wapello County: 11.687 %Warren County: 12.628 %Washington County: 15.496 %Wayne County: 9.426 %Webster County: 9.909 %Winnebago County: 4.166 %Winneshiek County: 7.652 %Woodbury County: 11.162 %Worth County: 12.701 %Wright County: 11.449 %
  • Under 8.7
  • 8.7 to 9.8
  • 9.8 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 15
  • 15 and over
%, 2012. 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, 2012

Van Buren County: 46.863 %Van Buren County46.863Lyon County: 27.39 %Lyon County27.39Story County: 22.226 %Story County22.226Taylor County: 19.673 %Taylor County19.673Sac County: 19.527 %Sac County19.527Lucas County: 19.488 %Lucas County19.488Hardin County: 19.38 %Hardin County19.38Grundy County: 17.102 %Grundy County17.102Madison County: 16.997 %Madison County16.997Pocahontas County: 16.576 %Pocahontas County16.576Jones County: 16.217 %Jones County16.217Harrison County: 15.505 %Harrison County15.505Washington County: 15.496 %Washington County15.496Benton County: 15.088 %Benton County15.088Jasper County: 15.032 %Jasper County15.032Clayton County: 14.985 %Clayton County14.985Dickinson County: 14.743 %Dickinson County14.743Jefferson County: 14.714 %Jefferson County14.714Hancock County: 14.557 %Hancock County14.557Henry County: 14.538 %Henry County14.538Butler County: 14.459 %Butler County14.459Cass County: 14.156 %Cass County14.156Greene County: 14.046 %Greene County14.046Chickasaw County: 13.669 %Chickasaw County13.669Guthrie County: 13.361 %Guthrie County13.361Lee County: 13.247 %Lee County13.247Mills County: 13.2 %Mills County13.2Polk County: 12.942 %Polk County12.942Delaware County: 12.894 %Delaware County12.894Fremont County: 12.754 %Fremont County12.754Worth County: 12.701 %Worth County12.701Warren County: 12.628 %Warren County12.628Monroe County: 12.492 %Monroe County12.492Audubon County: 12.405 %Audubon County12.405Fayette County: 12.374 %Fayette County12.374Clarke County: 12.214 %Clarke County12.214Dallas County: 12.081 %Dallas County12.081Davis County: 11.994 %Davis County11.994Union County: 11.965 %Union County11.965Muscatine County: 11.893 %Muscatine County11.893Van Buren County: 46.863 %Van Buren County46.863Lyon County: 27.39 %Lyon County27.39Story County: 22.226 %Story County22.226Taylor County: 19.673 %Taylor County19.673Sac County: 19.527 %Sac County19.527Lucas County: 19.488 %Lucas County19.488Hardin County: 19.38 %Hardin County19.38Grundy County: 17.102 %Grundy County17.102Madison County: 16.997 %Madison County16.997Pocahontas County: 16.576 %Pocahontas County16.576Jones County: 16.217 %Jones County16.217Harrison County: 15.505 %Harrison County15.505Washington County: 15.496 %Washington County15.496Benton County: 15.088 %Benton County15.088Jasper County: 15.032 %Jasper County15.032Clayton County: 14.985 %Clayton County14.985Dickinson County: 14.743 %Dickinson County14.743Jefferson County: 14.714 %Jefferson County14.714Hancock County: 14.557 %Hancock County14.557Henry County: 14.538 %Henry County14.538Butler County: 14.459 %Butler County14.459Cass County: 14.156 %Cass County14.156Greene County: 14.046 %Greene County14.046Chickasaw County: 13.669 %Chickasaw County13.669Guthrie County: 13.361 %Guthrie County13.361Lee County: 13.247 %Lee County13.247Mills County: 13.2 %Mills County13.2Polk County: 12.942 %Polk County12.942Delaware County: 12.894 %Delaware County12.894Fremont County: 12.754 %Fremont County12.754Worth County: 12.701 %Worth County12.701Warren County: 12.628 %Warren County12.628Monroe County: 12.492 %Monroe County12.492Audubon County: 12.405 %Audubon County12.405Fayette County: 12.374 %Fayette County12.374Clarke County: 12.214 %Clarke County12.214Dallas County: 12.081 %Dallas County12.081Davis County: 11.994 %Davis County11.994Union County: 11.965 %Union County11.965Muscatine County: 11.893 %Muscatine County11.893
%. 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

RankCounties2012 (%)Change on 2011
1Van Buren County46.863+40.96 pts
2Lyon County27.39+17.31 pts
3Story County22.226+11.46 pts
4Taylor County19.673+10.55 pts
5Sac County19.527+9.64 pts
6Lucas County19.488+14.61 pts
7Hardin County19.38+9.38 pts
8Grundy County17.102+5.77 pts
9Madison County16.997+6.42 pts
10Pocahontas County16.576+5.91 pts
11Jones County16.217+4.17 pts
12Harrison County15.505+8.13 pts
13Washington County15.496+5.43 pts
14Benton County15.088+5.27 pts
15Jasper County15.032+2.91 pts
16Clayton County14.985+6.3 pts
17Dickinson County14.743+3.6 pts
18Jefferson County14.714+0.99 pts
19Hancock County14.557+4.9 pts
20Henry County14.538+7.31 pts
21Butler County14.459+0.72 pts
22Cass County14.156+6.65 pts
23Greene County14.046+5.85 pts
24Chickasaw County13.669-0.79 pts
25Guthrie County13.361+4.64 pts
26Lee County13.247+0.93 pts
27Mills County13.2+0.89 pts
28Polk County12.942+1.59 pts
29Delaware County12.894+0.14 pts
30Fremont County12.754-3.3 pts
31Worth County12.701+6.15 pts
32Warren County12.628+0.25 pts
33Monroe County12.492+4.9 pts
34Audubon County12.405+3.13 pts
35Fayette County12.374+0.89 pts
36Clarke County12.214+5.8 pts
37Dallas County12.081+0.77 pts
38Davis County11.994+0.2 pts
39Union County11.965+3.11 pts
40Muscatine County11.893+1.05 pts
41Wapello County11.687+2.96 pts
42Black Hawk County11.664+2.38 pts
43Scott County11.574-1.5 pts
44Dubuque County11.547+0.27 pts
45Pottawattamie County11.533-0.1 pts
46Des Moines County11.524+1.68 pts
47Adair County11.51+1.63 pts
48Wright County11.449-1.19 pts
49Kossuth County11.405+3.52 pts
50Tama County11.343+3.59 pts
51Keokuk County11.317-1.18 pts
52Linn County11.306+1.35 pts
53Jackson County11.27+1.74 pts
54Woodbury County11.162-0.41 pts
55O'Brien County11.072+0.83 pts
56Cedar County10.805+1.12 pts
57Emmet County10.796+0.21 pts
58Sioux County10.744+0.35 pts
59Plymouth County10.641+0.12 pts
60Mitchell County10.452+3.2 pts
61Adams County10.286+2.65 pts
62Humboldt County10.246-0.08 pts
63Boone County10.22-1.87 pts
64Franklin County10.177-2.39 pts
65Webster County9.909+2.51 pts
66Buena Vista County9.841+3.58 pts
67Clay County9.815-3.53 pts
68Poweshiek County9.777+1.05 pts
69Ida County9.697+2.06 pts
70Buchanan County9.682-0.28 pts
71Cerro Gordo County9.663+0.33 pts
72Page County9.591-3.71 pts
73Howard County9.566+1.21 pts
74Hamilton County9.509+2.44 pts
75Wayne County9.426+3.12 pts
76Carroll County9.354-0.8 pts
77Palo Alto County9.286+4.66 pts
78Cherokee County9.07-1.64 pts
79Monona County9.01-5.71 pts
80Clinton County8.94+0.37 pts
81Johnson County8.821-1.77 pts
82Mahaska County8.776+1.42 pts
83Shelby County8.719-5.67 pts
84Ringgold County8.667-0.66 pts
85Floyd County8.524-0.6 pts
86Montgomery County8.392-0.26 pts
87Iowa County8.243-4.3 pts
88Allamakee County8.197-3.3 pts
89Marion County8.108+0.14 pts
90Appanoose County8.096-2.1 pts
91Bremer County8.04+0.81 pts
92Calhoun County7.699-1.47 pts
93Winneshiek County7.652-0.54 pts
94Osceola County7.392-5.45 pts
95Marshall County6.447-1.1 pts
96Crawford County6.398+0.59 pts
97Decatur County5.892+0.69 pts
98Louisa County5.674-0.25 pts
99Winnebago County4.166-5.5 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, 2012) [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, 2012. 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?period=2012. 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, 2012. 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?period=2012.

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, 2012 [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?period=2012 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_iowa_by_2012,
  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, 2012}},
  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?period=2012. 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, 2012
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?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/iowa-counties?period=2012.
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?

Van Buren County, with 46.863% in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Winnebago County, with 4.166% in 2012.

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