Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa by job creation rate

Fremont County had the highest job creation rate of 99 counties in 2020, at 25.394%. Ida County had the lowest, at 4.5%. The median was 8.69% and the figure for Iowa was 9.813%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest25.394Fremont County
Lowest4.5Ida County
Median8.6999 counties
Iowa9.813History

Map of counties, 2020

Adair County: 7.787 %Adams County: 17.491 %Allamakee County: 6.977 %Appanoose County: 7.388 %Audubon County: 10.68 %Benton County: 10.512 %Black Hawk County: 7.897 %Boone County: 12.018 %Bremer County: 6.995 %Buchanan County: 10.178 %Buena Vista County: 5.602 %Butler County: 10.483 %Calhoun County: 8.075 %Carroll County: 6.493 %Cass County: 7.848 %Cedar County: 10.818 %Cerro Gordo County: 7.403 %Cherokee County: 10.84 %Chickasaw County: 6.852 %Clarke County: 6.261 %Clay County: 6.813 %Clayton County: 6.468 %Clinton County: 8.293 %Crawford County: 8.847 %Dallas County: 11.694 %Davis County: 10.87 %Decatur County: 5.292 %Delaware County: 8.96 %Des Moines County: 6.892 %Dickinson County: 10.259 %Dubuque County: 7.365 %Emmet County: 10.073 %Fayette County: 12.465 %Floyd County: 6.266 %Franklin County: 7.766 %Fremont County: 25.394 %Greene County: 13.97 %Grundy County: 13.556 %Guthrie County: 9.347 %Hamilton County: 7.939 %Hancock County: 6.981 %Hardin County: 7.613 %Harrison County: 11.152 %Henry County: 5.082 %Howard County: 19.282 %Humboldt County: 10.967 %Ida County: 4.5 %Iowa County: 5.685 %Jackson County: 8.21 %Jasper County: 13.104 %Jefferson County: 8.413 %Johnson County: 8.69 %Jones County: 6.197 %Keokuk County: 9.597 %Kossuth County: 6.732 %Lee County: 6.919 %Linn County: 8.957 %Louisa County: 9.44 %Lucas County: 5.178 %Lyon County: 10.435 %Madison County: 13.358 %Mahaska County: 8.731 %Marion County: 6.033 %Marshall County: 9.639 %Mills County: 15.991 %Mitchell County: 11.53 %Monona County: 7.236 %Monroe County: 11.435 %Montgomery County: 7.4 %Muscatine County: 6.641 %O'Brien County: 7.375 %Osceola County: 16.242 %Page County: 7.953 %Palo Alto County: 11.151 %Plymouth County: 7.959 %Pocahontas County: 11.373 %Polk County: 11.148 %Pottawattamie County: 9.035 %Poweshiek County: 10.929 %Ringgold County: 14.967 %Sac County: 12.253 %Scott County: 12.929 %Shelby County: 9.888 %Sioux County: 12.836 %Story County: 8.007 %Tama County: 6.218 %Taylor County: 5.366 %Union County: 7.363 %Van Buren County: 6.656 %Wapello County: 8.47 %Warren County: 13.46 %Washington County: 11.103 %Wayne County: 7.947 %Webster County: 6.685 %Winnebago County: 6.552 %Winneshiek County: 5.768 %Woodbury County: 9.035 %Worth County: 10.799 %Wright County: 17.848 %
  • Under 6.6
  • 6.6 to 7.4
  • 7.4 to 8.7
  • 8.7 to 10
  • 10 to 12
  • 12 and over
%, 2020. 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, 2020

Fremont County: 25.394 %Fremont County25.394Howard County: 19.282 %Howard County19.282Wright County: 17.848 %Wright County17.848Adams County: 17.491 %Adams County17.491Osceola County: 16.242 %Osceola County16.242Mills County: 15.991 %Mills County15.991Ringgold County: 14.967 %Ringgold County14.967Greene County: 13.97 %Greene County13.97Grundy County: 13.556 %Grundy County13.556Warren County: 13.46 %Warren County13.46Madison County: 13.358 %Madison County13.358Jasper County: 13.104 %Jasper County13.104Scott County: 12.929 %Scott County12.929Sioux County: 12.836 %Sioux County12.836Fayette County: 12.465 %Fayette County12.465Sac County: 12.253 %Sac County12.253Boone County: 12.018 %Boone County12.018Dallas County: 11.694 %Dallas County11.694Mitchell County: 11.53 %Mitchell County11.53Monroe County: 11.435 %Monroe County11.435Pocahontas County: 11.373 %Pocahontas County11.373Harrison County: 11.152 %Harrison County11.152Palo Alto County: 11.151 %Palo Alto County11.151Polk County: 11.148 %Polk County11.148Washington County: 11.103 %Washington County11.103Humboldt County: 10.967 %Humboldt County10.967Poweshiek County: 10.929 %Poweshiek County10.929Davis County: 10.87 %Davis County10.87Cherokee County: 10.84 %Cherokee County10.84Cedar County: 10.818 %Cedar County10.818Worth County: 10.799 %Worth County10.799Audubon County: 10.68 %Audubon County10.68Benton County: 10.512 %Benton County10.512Butler County: 10.483 %Butler County10.483Lyon County: 10.435 %Lyon County10.435Dickinson County: 10.259 %Dickinson County10.259Buchanan County: 10.178 %Buchanan County10.178Emmet County: 10.073 %Emmet County10.073Shelby County: 9.888 %Shelby County9.888Marshall County: 9.639 %Marshall County9.639Fremont County: 25.394 %Fremont County25.394Howard County: 19.282 %Howard County19.282Wright County: 17.848 %Wright County17.848Adams County: 17.491 %Adams County17.491Osceola County: 16.242 %Osceola County16.242Mills County: 15.991 %Mills County15.991Ringgold County: 14.967 %Ringgold County14.967Greene County: 13.97 %Greene County13.97Grundy County: 13.556 %Grundy County13.556Warren County: 13.46 %Warren County13.46Madison County: 13.358 %Madison County13.358Jasper County: 13.104 %Jasper County13.104Scott County: 12.929 %Scott County12.929Sioux County: 12.836 %Sioux County12.836Fayette County: 12.465 %Fayette County12.465Sac County: 12.253 %Sac County12.253Boone County: 12.018 %Boone County12.018Dallas County: 11.694 %Dallas County11.694Mitchell County: 11.53 %Mitchell County11.53Monroe County: 11.435 %Monroe County11.435Pocahontas County: 11.373 %Pocahontas County11.373Harrison County: 11.152 %Harrison County11.152Palo Alto County: 11.151 %Palo Alto County11.151Polk County: 11.148 %Polk County11.148Washington County: 11.103 %Washington County11.103Humboldt County: 10.967 %Humboldt County10.967Poweshiek County: 10.929 %Poweshiek County10.929Davis County: 10.87 %Davis County10.87Cherokee County: 10.84 %Cherokee County10.84Cedar County: 10.818 %Cedar County10.818Worth County: 10.799 %Worth County10.799Audubon County: 10.68 %Audubon County10.68Benton County: 10.512 %Benton County10.512Butler County: 10.483 %Butler County10.483Lyon County: 10.435 %Lyon County10.435Dickinson County: 10.259 %Dickinson County10.259Buchanan County: 10.178 %Buchanan County10.178Emmet County: 10.073 %Emmet County10.073Shelby County: 9.888 %Shelby County9.888Marshall County: 9.639 %Marshall County9.639
%. 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

RankCounties2020 (%)Change on 2019
1Fremont County25.394+18.01 pts
2Howard County19.282+10.64 pts
3Wright County17.848-0.59 pts
4Adams County17.491+10.11 pts
5Osceola County16.242+7.95 pts
6Mills County15.991+1.68 pts
7Ringgold County14.967+1.75 pts
8Greene County13.97+1.58 pts
9Grundy County13.556+4.15 pts
10Warren County13.46+3.92 pts
11Madison County13.358+2.08 pts
12Jasper County13.104+2.13 pts
13Scott County12.929+2.25 pts
14Sioux County12.836+4.65 pts
15Fayette County12.465+3.1 pts
16Sac County12.253+1.78 pts
17Boone County12.018+1.94 pts
18Dallas County11.694+2.56 pts
19Mitchell County11.53+3.74 pts
20Monroe County11.435+1.12 pts
21Pocahontas County11.373+3.18 pts
22Harrison County11.152+4.15 pts
23Palo Alto County11.151+2.48 pts
24Polk County11.148-0.18 pts
25Washington County11.103+2.27 pts
26Humboldt County10.967+3.28 pts
27Poweshiek County10.929+4.22 pts
28Davis County10.87+0.13 pts
29Cherokee County10.84-3.59 pts
30Cedar County10.818+1.09 pts
31Worth County10.799+4.75 pts
32Audubon County10.68+1.16 pts
33Benton County10.512-0.57 pts
34Butler County10.483+2.62 pts
35Lyon County10.435+2.43 pts
36Dickinson County10.259-1.47 pts
37Buchanan County10.178+1.23 pts
38Emmet County10.073+3.65 pts
39Shelby County9.888+3.58 pts
40Marshall County9.639+0.67 pts
41Keokuk County9.597+2.76 pts
42Louisa County9.44+3.97 pts
43Guthrie County9.347-10.13 pts
44Pottawattamie County9.035+0.78 pts
44Woodbury County9.035-0.39 pts
46Delaware County8.96+2.8 pts
47Linn County8.957-2.21 pts
48Crawford County8.847+0.4 pts
49Mahaska County8.731-0.46 pts
50Johnson County8.69+0.43 pts
51Wapello County8.47-0.14 pts
52Jefferson County8.413-0.23 pts
53Clinton County8.293+0.59 pts
54Jackson County8.21-2.21 pts
55Calhoun County8.075-0.23 pts
56Story County8.007-3.58 pts
57Plymouth County7.959-3.14 pts
58Page County7.953+1.66 pts
59Wayne County7.947-0.24 pts
60Hamilton County7.939+1.21 pts
61Black Hawk County7.897-2.39 pts
62Cass County7.848-0.92 pts
63Adair County7.787-4.86 pts
64Franklin County7.766-1.74 pts
65Hardin County7.613-1.2 pts
66Cerro Gordo County7.403-2.04 pts
67Montgomery County7.4-4.8 pts
68Appanoose County7.388-3.63 pts
69O'Brien County7.375-1.3 pts
70Dubuque County7.365-0.85 pts
71Union County7.363-0.12 pts
72Monona County7.236+0.73 pts
73Bremer County6.995+0.24 pts
74Hancock County6.981-1.58 pts
75Allamakee County6.977+0.85 pts
76Lee County6.919-0.81 pts
77Des Moines County6.892-1.81 pts
78Chickasaw County6.852-6.72 pts
79Clay County6.813-1.17 pts
80Kossuth County6.732-3.21 pts
81Webster County6.685-3.29 pts
82Van Buren County6.656+1.12 pts
83Muscatine County6.641-1.15 pts
84Winnebago County6.552+0.06 pts
85Carroll County6.493-2.6 pts
86Clayton County6.468-0.79 pts
87Floyd County6.266-3.98 pts
88Clarke County6.261-4.37 pts
89Tama County6.218+0.76 pts
90Jones County6.197-18.27 pts
91Marion County6.033-4.12 pts
92Winneshiek County5.768-0.29 pts
93Iowa County5.685-2.56 pts
94Buena Vista County5.602-2.23 pts
95Taylor County5.366-8.4 pts
96Decatur County5.292-4.29 pts
97Lucas County5.178-19.36 pts
98Henry County5.082-2.54 pts
99Ida County4.5-5.41 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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_iowa_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/iowa-counties?period=2020.
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?

Fremont County, with 25.394% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Ida County, with 4.5% in 2020.

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