Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa by job creation rate

Jasper County had the highest job creation rate of 99 counties in 2017, at 24.437%. Pocahontas County had the lowest, at 4.799%. The median was 9.633% and the figure for Iowa was 11.306%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest24.437Jasper County
Lowest4.799Pocahontas County
Median9.63399 counties
Iowa11.306History

Map of counties, 2017

Adair County: 9.408 %Adams County: 8.729 %Allamakee County: 7.329 %Appanoose County: 12.212 %Audubon County: 18.1 %Benton County: 13.506 %Black Hawk County: 9.665 %Boone County: 9.328 %Bremer County: 10.281 %Buchanan County: 9.646 %Buena Vista County: 8.123 %Butler County: 12.688 %Calhoun County: 9.331 %Carroll County: 8.165 %Cass County: 12.632 %Cedar County: 8.773 %Cerro Gordo County: 9.633 %Cherokee County: 19.399 %Chickasaw County: 9.288 %Clarke County: 12.293 %Clay County: 13.549 %Clayton County: 13.556 %Clinton County: 11.45 %Crawford County: 7.914 %Dallas County: 13.632 %Davis County: 12.126 %Decatur County: 5.985 %Delaware County: 7.573 %Des Moines County: 12.985 %Dickinson County: 13.636 %Dubuque County: 8.876 %Emmet County: 11.178 %Fayette County: 6.94 %Floyd County: 23.902 %Franklin County: 9.857 %Fremont County: 9.983 %Greene County: 8.007 %Grundy County: 7.1 %Guthrie County: 12.489 %Hamilton County: 11.178 %Hancock County: 10.726 %Hardin County: 9.031 %Harrison County: 8.172 %Henry County: 8.838 %Howard County: 5.485 %Humboldt County: 11.003 %Ida County: 17.11 %Iowa County: 11.09 %Jackson County: 7.778 %Jasper County: 24.437 %Jefferson County: 14.953 %Johnson County: 22.041 %Jones County: 11.471 %Keokuk County: 11.972 %Kossuth County: 8.206 %Lee County: 10.398 %Linn County: 9.302 %Louisa County: 11.796 %Lucas County: 13.046 %Lyon County: 7.615 %Madison County: 13.368 %Mahaska County: 7.062 %Marion County: 8.414 %Marshall County: 6.664 %Mills County: 9.61 %Mitchell County: 14.36 %Monona County: 6.613 %Monroe County: 7.463 %Montgomery County: 8.603 %Muscatine County: 8.017 %O'Brien County: 8.777 %Osceola County: 6.221 %Page County: 7.039 %Palo Alto County: 12.17 %Plymouth County: 11.324 %Pocahontas County: 4.799 %Polk County: 11.276 %Pottawattamie County: 10.438 %Poweshiek County: 10.595 %Ringgold County: 10.637 %Sac County: 5.479 %Scott County: 10.519 %Shelby County: 7.371 %Sioux County: 8.324 %Story County: 11.78 %Tama County: 6.907 %Taylor County: 6.86 %Union County: 8.51 %Van Buren County: 7.503 %Wapello County: 8.299 %Warren County: 14.705 %Washington County: 10.003 %Wayne County: 6.974 %Webster County: 10.441 %Winnebago County: 6.719 %Winneshiek County: 5.52 %Woodbury County: 9.872 %Worth County: 6.082 %Wright County: 6.716 %
  • Under 7.1
  • 7.1 to 8.3
  • 8.3 to 9.6
  • 9.6 to 11
  • 11 to 13
  • 13 and over
%, 2017. 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, 2017

Jasper County: 24.437 %Jasper County24.437Floyd County: 23.902 %Floyd County23.902Johnson County: 22.041 %Johnson County22.041Cherokee County: 19.399 %Cherokee County19.399Audubon County: 18.1 %Audubon County18.1Ida County: 17.11 %Ida County17.11Jefferson County: 14.953 %Jefferson County14.953Warren County: 14.705 %Warren County14.705Mitchell County: 14.36 %Mitchell County14.36Dickinson County: 13.636 %Dickinson County13.636Dallas County: 13.632 %Dallas County13.632Clayton County: 13.556 %Clayton County13.556Clay County: 13.549 %Clay County13.549Benton County: 13.506 %Benton County13.506Madison County: 13.368 %Madison County13.368Lucas County: 13.046 %Lucas County13.046Des Moines County: 12.985 %Des Moines County12.985Butler County: 12.688 %Butler County12.688Cass County: 12.632 %Cass County12.632Guthrie County: 12.489 %Guthrie County12.489Clarke County: 12.293 %Clarke County12.293Appanoose County: 12.212 %Appanoose County12.212Palo Alto County: 12.17 %Palo Alto County12.17Davis County: 12.126 %Davis County12.126Keokuk County: 11.972 %Keokuk County11.972Louisa County: 11.796 %Louisa County11.796Story County: 11.78 %Story County11.78Jones County: 11.471 %Jones County11.471Clinton County: 11.45 %Clinton County11.45Plymouth County: 11.324 %Plymouth County11.324Polk County: 11.276 %Polk County11.276Emmet County: 11.178 %Emmet County11.178Hamilton County: 11.178 %Hamilton County11.178Iowa County: 11.09 %Iowa County11.09Humboldt County: 11.003 %Humboldt County11.003Hancock County: 10.726 %Hancock County10.726Ringgold County: 10.637 %Ringgold County10.637Poweshiek County: 10.595 %Poweshiek County10.595Scott County: 10.519 %Scott County10.519Webster County: 10.441 %Webster County10.441Jasper County: 24.437 %Jasper County24.437Floyd County: 23.902 %Floyd County23.902Johnson County: 22.041 %Johnson County22.041Cherokee County: 19.399 %Cherokee County19.399Audubon County: 18.1 %Audubon County18.1Ida County: 17.11 %Ida County17.11Jefferson County: 14.953 %Jefferson County14.953Warren County: 14.705 %Warren County14.705Mitchell County: 14.36 %Mitchell County14.36Dickinson County: 13.636 %Dickinson County13.636Dallas County: 13.632 %Dallas County13.632Clayton County: 13.556 %Clayton County13.556Clay County: 13.549 %Clay County13.549Benton County: 13.506 %Benton County13.506Madison County: 13.368 %Madison County13.368Lucas County: 13.046 %Lucas County13.046Des Moines County: 12.985 %Des Moines County12.985Butler County: 12.688 %Butler County12.688Cass County: 12.632 %Cass County12.632Guthrie County: 12.489 %Guthrie County12.489Clarke County: 12.293 %Clarke County12.293Appanoose County: 12.212 %Appanoose County12.212Palo Alto County: 12.17 %Palo Alto County12.17Davis County: 12.126 %Davis County12.126Keokuk County: 11.972 %Keokuk County11.972Louisa County: 11.796 %Louisa County11.796Story County: 11.78 %Story County11.78Jones County: 11.471 %Jones County11.471Clinton County: 11.45 %Clinton County11.45Plymouth County: 11.324 %Plymouth County11.324Polk County: 11.276 %Polk County11.276Emmet County: 11.178 %Emmet County11.178Hamilton County: 11.178 %Hamilton County11.178Iowa County: 11.09 %Iowa County11.09Humboldt County: 11.003 %Humboldt County11.003Hancock County: 10.726 %Hancock County10.726Ringgold County: 10.637 %Ringgold County10.637Poweshiek County: 10.595 %Poweshiek County10.595Scott County: 10.519 %Scott County10.519Webster County: 10.441 %Webster County10.441
%. 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

RankCounties2017 (%)Change on 2016
1Jasper County24.437+13.61 pts
2Floyd County23.902+13.38 pts
3Johnson County22.041+10.39 pts
4Cherokee County19.399+11.93 pts
5Audubon County18.1-0.43 pts
6Ida County17.11+8.51 pts
7Jefferson County14.953+5.52 pts
8Warren County14.705+3.38 pts
9Mitchell County14.36+3.93 pts
10Dickinson County13.636-1.22 pts
11Dallas County13.632+0.63 pts
12Clayton County13.556+3.36 pts
13Clay County13.549+2.63 pts
14Benton County13.506+1.37 pts
15Madison County13.368+3.63 pts
16Lucas County13.046+3.72 pts
17Des Moines County12.985+2.32 pts
18Butler County12.688+5.37 pts
19Cass County12.632+4.14 pts
20Guthrie County12.489+1.79 pts
21Clarke County12.293-0.08 pts
22Appanoose County12.212-0.66 pts
23Palo Alto County12.17+2.35 pts
24Davis County12.126+0.36 pts
25Keokuk County11.972+0.41 pts
26Louisa County11.796+2.89 pts
27Story County11.78+0.38 pts
28Jones County11.471-0.63 pts
29Clinton County11.45+1.61 pts
30Plymouth County11.324+1.65 pts
31Polk County11.276-0.3 pts
32Emmet County11.178+3.7 pts
32Hamilton County11.178+2.07 pts
34Iowa County11.09-2.14 pts
35Humboldt County11.003+0.73 pts
36Hancock County10.726-1.45 pts
37Ringgold County10.637-1.55 pts
38Poweshiek County10.595+3.64 pts
39Scott County10.519+0.46 pts
40Webster County10.441+2.39 pts
41Pottawattamie County10.438+2.63 pts
42Lee County10.398+3 pts
43Bremer County10.281-0.57 pts
44Washington County10.003+1.18 pts
45Fremont County9.983+3.9 pts
46Woodbury County9.872-1.61 pts
47Franklin County9.857-0.21 pts
48Black Hawk County9.665+1.03 pts
49Buchanan County9.646+2.64 pts
50Cerro Gordo County9.633+0.37 pts
51Mills County9.61-4.57 pts
52Adair County9.408-1.93 pts
53Calhoun County9.331-1.1 pts
54Boone County9.328+2.31 pts
55Linn County9.302+0.53 pts
56Chickasaw County9.288+1.33 pts
57Hardin County9.031-0.4 pts
58Dubuque County8.876+0.61 pts
59Henry County8.838-2.84 pts
60O'Brien County8.777+3.27 pts
61Cedar County8.773-1.95 pts
62Adams County8.729+1.8 pts
63Montgomery County8.603-5.07 pts
64Union County8.51-5.55 pts
65Marion County8.414+2.33 pts
66Sioux County8.324-0.6 pts
67Wapello County8.299+0.48 pts
68Kossuth County8.206+0.38 pts
69Harrison County8.172-2.96 pts
70Carroll County8.165-1.72 pts
71Buena Vista County8.123-1.88 pts
72Muscatine County8.017-0.62 pts
73Greene County8.007-11.06 pts
74Crawford County7.914-1.22 pts
75Jackson County7.778-2.62 pts
76Lyon County7.615-4.29 pts
77Delaware County7.573-6.77 pts
78Van Buren County7.503-3.73 pts
79Monroe County7.463-2.72 pts
80Shelby County7.371-1.77 pts
81Allamakee County7.329+0.46 pts
82Grundy County7.1-3.69 pts
83Mahaska County7.062+0.75 pts
84Page County7.039-0.75 pts
85Wayne County6.974+1.07 pts
86Fayette County6.94-4.02 pts
87Tama County6.907-3.1 pts
88Taylor County6.86-3.41 pts
89Winnebago County6.719-7.11 pts
90Wright County6.716-2.59 pts
91Marshall County6.664-1.19 pts
92Monona County6.613-5.1 pts
93Osceola County6.221-10.93 pts
94Worth County6.082-9.45 pts
95Decatur County5.985+0.14 pts
96Winneshiek County5.52-0.02 pts
97Howard County5.485-1.65 pts
98Sac County5.479-1.69 pts
99Pocahontas County4.799-3.08 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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.

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, 2017 [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=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_iowa_by_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/iowa-counties?period=2017.
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?

Jasper County, with 24.437% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Pocahontas County, with 4.799% in 2017.

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