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 2021, at 18.084%. Buena Vista County had the lowest, at 3.675%. The median was 9.136% and the figure for Iowa was 9.234%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest18.084Fremont County
Lowest3.675Buena Vista County
Median9.13699 counties
Iowa9.234History

Map of counties, 2021

Adair County: 9.518 %Adams County: 14.637 %Allamakee County: 9.205 %Appanoose County: 9.282 %Audubon County: 12.442 %Benton County: 9.291 %Black Hawk County: 8.227 %Boone County: 8.358 %Bremer County: 7.99 %Buchanan County: 7.809 %Buena Vista County: 3.675 %Butler County: 9.829 %Calhoun County: 10.177 %Carroll County: 8.409 %Cass County: 8.514 %Cedar County: 12.097 %Cerro Gordo County: 9.365 %Cherokee County: 17.427 %Chickasaw County: 8.28 %Clarke County: 8.795 %Clay County: 7.917 %Clayton County: 8.358 %Clinton County: 7.241 %Crawford County: 4.775 %Dallas County: 9.528 %Davis County: 17.201 %Decatur County: 8.062 %Delaware County: 11.95 %Des Moines County: 9.256 %Dickinson County: 10.935 %Dubuque County: 8.066 %Emmet County: 5.087 %Fayette County: 9.369 %Floyd County: 7.621 %Franklin County: 9.462 %Fremont County: 18.084 %Greene County: 10.769 %Grundy County: 9.524 %Guthrie County: 12.271 %Hamilton County: 9.342 %Hancock County: 4.013 %Hardin County: 9.736 %Harrison County: 11.414 %Henry County: 7.42 %Howard County: 9.263 %Humboldt County: 13.927 %Ida County: 7.317 %Iowa County: 4.501 %Jackson County: 8.041 %Jasper County: 8.913 %Jefferson County: 7.787 %Johnson County: 13.082 %Jones County: 10.073 %Keokuk County: 9.17 %Kossuth County: 6.736 %Lee County: 6.64 %Linn County: 8.742 %Louisa County: 7.315 %Lucas County: 7.857 %Lyon County: 11.327 %Madison County: 13.876 %Mahaska County: 7.352 %Marion County: 10.154 %Marshall County: 6.719 %Mills County: 13.759 %Mitchell County: 13.474 %Monona County: 8.756 %Monroe County: 8.68 %Montgomery County: 15.477 %Muscatine County: 8.568 %O'Brien County: 6.69 %Osceola County: 9.228 %Page County: 14.674 %Palo Alto County: 7.571 %Plymouth County: 7.525 %Pocahontas County: 11.315 %Polk County: 9.752 %Pottawattamie County: 9.136 %Poweshiek County: 9.818 %Ringgold County: 11.711 %Sac County: 10.108 %Scott County: 9.106 %Shelby County: 10.462 %Sioux County: 12.053 %Story County: 9.953 %Tama County: 5.151 %Taylor County: 14.433 %Union County: 8.344 %Van Buren County: 8.435 %Wapello County: 6.789 %Warren County: 10.089 %Washington County: 8.17 %Wayne County: 7.263 %Webster County: 7.359 %Winnebago County: 5.588 %Winneshiek County: 7.426 %Woodbury County: 10.01 %Worth County: 5.703 %Wright County: 5.457 %
  • Under 7.3
  • 7.3 to 8.1
  • 8.1 to 9.1
  • 9.1 to 9.8
  • 9.8 to 12
  • 12 and over
%, 2021. 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, 2021

Fremont County: 18.084 %Fremont County18.084Cherokee County: 17.427 %Cherokee County17.427Davis County: 17.201 %Davis County17.201Montgomery County: 15.477 %Montgomery County15.477Page County: 14.674 %Page County14.674Adams County: 14.637 %Adams County14.637Taylor County: 14.433 %Taylor County14.433Humboldt County: 13.927 %Humboldt County13.927Madison County: 13.876 %Madison County13.876Mills County: 13.759 %Mills County13.759Mitchell County: 13.474 %Mitchell County13.474Johnson County: 13.082 %Johnson County13.082Audubon County: 12.442 %Audubon County12.442Guthrie County: 12.271 %Guthrie County12.271Cedar County: 12.097 %Cedar County12.097Sioux County: 12.053 %Sioux County12.053Delaware County: 11.95 %Delaware County11.95Ringgold County: 11.711 %Ringgold County11.711Harrison County: 11.414 %Harrison County11.414Lyon County: 11.327 %Lyon County11.327Pocahontas County: 11.315 %Pocahontas County11.315Dickinson County: 10.935 %Dickinson County10.935Greene County: 10.769 %Greene County10.769Shelby County: 10.462 %Shelby County10.462Calhoun County: 10.177 %Calhoun County10.177Marion County: 10.154 %Marion County10.154Sac County: 10.108 %Sac County10.108Warren County: 10.089 %Warren County10.089Jones County: 10.073 %Jones County10.073Woodbury County: 10.01 %Woodbury County10.01Story County: 9.953 %Story County9.953Butler County: 9.829 %Butler County9.829Poweshiek County: 9.818 %Poweshiek County9.818Polk County: 9.752 %Polk County9.752Hardin County: 9.736 %Hardin County9.736Dallas County: 9.528 %Dallas County9.528Grundy County: 9.524 %Grundy County9.524Adair County: 9.518 %Adair County9.518Franklin County: 9.462 %Franklin County9.462Fayette County: 9.369 %Fayette County9.369Fremont County: 18.084 %Fremont County18.084Cherokee County: 17.427 %Cherokee County17.427Davis County: 17.201 %Davis County17.201Montgomery County: 15.477 %Montgomery County15.477Page County: 14.674 %Page County14.674Adams County: 14.637 %Adams County14.637Taylor County: 14.433 %Taylor County14.433Humboldt County: 13.927 %Humboldt County13.927Madison County: 13.876 %Madison County13.876Mills County: 13.759 %Mills County13.759Mitchell County: 13.474 %Mitchell County13.474Johnson County: 13.082 %Johnson County13.082Audubon County: 12.442 %Audubon County12.442Guthrie County: 12.271 %Guthrie County12.271Cedar County: 12.097 %Cedar County12.097Sioux County: 12.053 %Sioux County12.053Delaware County: 11.95 %Delaware County11.95Ringgold County: 11.711 %Ringgold County11.711Harrison County: 11.414 %Harrison County11.414Lyon County: 11.327 %Lyon County11.327Pocahontas County: 11.315 %Pocahontas County11.315Dickinson County: 10.935 %Dickinson County10.935Greene County: 10.769 %Greene County10.769Shelby County: 10.462 %Shelby County10.462Calhoun County: 10.177 %Calhoun County10.177Marion County: 10.154 %Marion County10.154Sac County: 10.108 %Sac County10.108Warren County: 10.089 %Warren County10.089Jones County: 10.073 %Jones County10.073Woodbury County: 10.01 %Woodbury County10.01Story County: 9.953 %Story County9.953Butler County: 9.829 %Butler County9.829Poweshiek County: 9.818 %Poweshiek County9.818Polk County: 9.752 %Polk County9.752Hardin County: 9.736 %Hardin County9.736Dallas County: 9.528 %Dallas County9.528Grundy County: 9.524 %Grundy County9.524Adair County: 9.518 %Adair County9.518Franklin County: 9.462 %Franklin County9.462Fayette County: 9.369 %Fayette County9.369
%. 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

RankCounties2021 (%)Change on 2020
1Fremont County18.084-7.31 pts
2Cherokee County17.427+6.59 pts
3Davis County17.201+6.33 pts
4Montgomery County15.477+8.08 pts
5Page County14.674+6.72 pts
6Adams County14.637-2.85 pts
7Taylor County14.433+9.07 pts
8Humboldt County13.927+2.96 pts
9Madison County13.876+0.52 pts
10Mills County13.759-2.23 pts
11Mitchell County13.474+1.94 pts
12Johnson County13.082+4.39 pts
13Audubon County12.442+1.76 pts
14Guthrie County12.271+2.92 pts
15Cedar County12.097+1.28 pts
16Sioux County12.053-0.78 pts
17Delaware County11.95+2.99 pts
18Ringgold County11.711-3.26 pts
19Harrison County11.414+0.26 pts
20Lyon County11.327+0.89 pts
21Pocahontas County11.315-0.06 pts
22Dickinson County10.935+0.68 pts
23Greene County10.769-3.2 pts
24Shelby County10.462+0.57 pts
25Calhoun County10.177+2.1 pts
26Marion County10.154+4.12 pts
27Sac County10.108-2.14 pts
28Warren County10.089-3.37 pts
29Jones County10.073+3.88 pts
30Woodbury County10.01+0.97 pts
31Story County9.953+1.95 pts
32Butler County9.829-0.65 pts
33Poweshiek County9.818-1.11 pts
34Polk County9.752-1.4 pts
35Hardin County9.736+2.12 pts
36Dallas County9.528-2.17 pts
37Grundy County9.524-4.03 pts
38Adair County9.518+1.73 pts
39Franklin County9.462+1.7 pts
40Fayette County9.369-3.1 pts
41Cerro Gordo County9.365+1.96 pts
42Hamilton County9.342+1.4 pts
43Benton County9.291-1.22 pts
44Appanoose County9.282+1.89 pts
45Howard County9.263-10.02 pts
46Des Moines County9.256+2.36 pts
47Osceola County9.228-7.01 pts
48Allamakee County9.205+2.23 pts
49Keokuk County9.17-0.43 pts
50Pottawattamie County9.136+0.1 pts
51Scott County9.106-3.82 pts
52Jasper County8.913-4.19 pts
53Clarke County8.795+2.53 pts
54Monona County8.756+1.52 pts
55Linn County8.742-0.21 pts
56Monroe County8.68-2.76 pts
57Muscatine County8.568+1.93 pts
58Cass County8.514+0.67 pts
59Van Buren County8.435+1.78 pts
60Carroll County8.409+1.92 pts
61Boone County8.358-3.66 pts
61Clayton County8.358+1.89 pts
63Union County8.344+0.98 pts
64Chickasaw County8.28+1.43 pts
65Black Hawk County8.227+0.33 pts
66Washington County8.17-2.93 pts
67Dubuque County8.066+0.7 pts
68Decatur County8.062+2.77 pts
69Jackson County8.041-0.17 pts
70Bremer County7.99+1 pts
71Clay County7.917+1.1 pts
72Lucas County7.857+2.68 pts
73Buchanan County7.809-2.37 pts
74Jefferson County7.787-0.63 pts
75Floyd County7.621+1.36 pts
76Palo Alto County7.571-3.58 pts
77Plymouth County7.525-0.43 pts
78Winneshiek County7.426+1.66 pts
79Henry County7.42+2.34 pts
80Webster County7.359+0.67 pts
81Mahaska County7.352-1.38 pts
82Ida County7.317+2.82 pts
83Louisa County7.315-2.12 pts
84Wayne County7.263-0.68 pts
85Clinton County7.241-1.05 pts
86Wapello County6.789-1.68 pts
87Kossuth County6.7360 pts
88Marshall County6.719-2.92 pts
89O'Brien County6.69-0.68 pts
90Lee County6.64-0.28 pts
91Worth County5.703-5.1 pts
92Winnebago County5.588-0.96 pts
93Wright County5.457-12.39 pts
94Tama County5.151-1.07 pts
95Emmet County5.087-4.99 pts
96Crawford County4.775-4.07 pts
97Iowa County4.501-1.18 pts
98Hancock County4.013-2.97 pts
99Buena Vista County3.675-1.93 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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_iowa_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/iowa-counties?period=2021.
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 18.084% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Buena Vista County, with 3.675% 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, 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