Data / Rankings / Unemployment rate / Cities in Iowa

Cities in Iowa by unemployment rate

Marshalltown, IA had the highest unemployment rate of 23 cities in September 2025, at 5.3%. Iowa City, IA had the lowest, at 2.5%. The median was 3.3% and the figure for Iowa was 3.4%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest5.3Marshalltown, IA
Lowest2.5Iowa City, IA
Median3.323 cities
Iowa3.4History

All cities, September 2025

Marshalltown, IA: 5.3 %Marshalltown, IA5.3Clinton, IA: 5.2 %Clinton, IA5.2Davenport, IA: 5 %Davenport, IA5Waterloo, IA: 4.7 %Waterloo, IA4.7Ottumwa, IA: 4.6 %Ottumwa, IA4.6Bettendorf, IA: 4 %Bettendorf, IA4Burlington, IA: 4 %Burlington, IA4Cedar Rapids, IA: 3.8 %Cedar Rapids, IA3.8Council Bluffs, IA: 3.8 %Council Bluffs, IA3.8Des Moines, IA: 3.8 %Des Moines, IA3.8Fort Dodge, IA: 3.4 %Fort Dodge, IA3.4Dubuque, IA: 3.3 %Dubuque, IA3.3Sioux City, IA: 3.3 %Sioux City, IA3.3Urbandale, IA: 3.2 %Urbandale, IA3.2Cedar Falls, IA: 3 %Cedar Falls, IA3Johnston, IA: 3 %Johnston, IA3Marion, IA: 2.9 %Marion, IA2.9Mason City, IA: 2.9 %Mason City, IA2.9West Des Moines, IA: 2.9 %West Des Moines, IA2.9Ames, IA: 2.8 %Ames, IA2.8Ankeny, IA: 2.8 %Ankeny, IA2.8Waukee, IA: 2.8 %Waukee, IA2.8Iowa City, IA: 2.5 %Iowa City, IA2.5Marshalltown, IA: 5.3 %Marshalltown, IA5.3Clinton, IA: 5.2 %Clinton, IA5.2Davenport, IA: 5 %Davenport, IA5Waterloo, IA: 4.7 %Waterloo, IA4.7Ottumwa, IA: 4.6 %Ottumwa, IA4.6Bettendorf, IA: 4 %Bettendorf, IA4Burlington, IA: 4 %Burlington, IA4Cedar Rapids, IA: 3.8 %Cedar Rapids, IA3.8Council Bluffs, IA: 3.8 %Council Bluffs, IA3.8Des Moines, IA: 3.8 %Des Moines, IA3.8Fort Dodge, IA: 3.4 %Fort Dodge, IA3.4Dubuque, IA: 3.3 %Dubuque, IA3.3Sioux City, IA: 3.3 %Sioux City, IA3.3Urbandale, IA: 3.2 %Urbandale, IA3.2Cedar Falls, IA: 3 %Cedar Falls, IA3Johnston, IA: 3 %Johnston, IA3Marion, IA: 2.9 %Marion, IA2.9Mason City, IA: 2.9 %Mason City, IA2.9West Des Moines, IA: 2.9 %West Des Moines, IA2.9Ames, IA: 2.8 %Ames, IA2.8Ankeny, IA: 2.8 %Ankeny, IA2.8Waukee, IA: 2.8 %Waukee, IA2.8Iowa City, IA: 2.5 %Iowa City, IA2.5
%. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCitiesSeptember 2025 (%)Change on September 2024
1Marshalltown, IA5.3+0.3 pts
2Clinton, IA5.2+0.9 pts
3Davenport, IA5+0.1 pts
4Waterloo, IA4.7-0.4 pts
5Ottumwa, IA4.6+0.5 pts
6Bettendorf, IA4+0.2 pts
6Burlington, IA4+0.3 pts
8Cedar Rapids, IA3.8+0.5 pts
8Council Bluffs, IA3.8+0.6 pts
8Des Moines, IA3.8+0.3 pts
11Fort Dodge, IA3.4+0.3 pts
12Dubuque, IA3.3+0.1 pts
12Sioux City, IA3.3+0.2 pts
14Urbandale, IA3.2+0.3 pts
15Cedar Falls, IA3+0.4 pts
15Johnston, IA3+0.3 pts
17Marion, IA2.90 pts
17Mason City, IA2.9+0.3 pts
17West Des Moines, IA2.9+0.4 pts
20Ames, IA2.8+0.5 pts
20Ankeny, IA2.8+0.3 pts
20Waukee, IA2.8+0.5 pts
23Iowa City, IA2.5+0.2 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work.

More on how it is measured
  • Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over.
  • EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74.
  • United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states, counties and cities.
  • United Kingdom regions: Labour Force Survey, aged 16 and over, seasonally adjusted.
  • Canada: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted, for the country and the provinces.
  • Australia: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted, for the nation and the six states; the ABS publishes no seasonally adjusted series for the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
  • New Zealand: Household Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted for the country and not seasonally adjusted for regional council areas.
  • Norway: Statistics Norway Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74, seasonally adjusted monthly figures.
  • Sweden: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74, seasonally adjusted and smoothed (the series Statistics Sweden gives in its monthly release), national.
  • Switzerland: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS), ILO definition, permanent resident population aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted quarterly averages, national.
  • For other countries, the source may be OECD survey-based rates, annual survey-based rates compiled by the ILO in ILOSTAT, or annual ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank.
  • ILO modelled estimates cover ages 15 and over.
  • The World series uses those ILO modelled estimates.

Survey-based for national and Eurostat series. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states, US counties, US cities (those of 25,000 or more and smaller New England cities), United Kingdom regions, Canadian provinces, Australia and its six states, New Zealand with 10 of its regions, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland (national), not Spanish municipalities. For Spanish municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. 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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03) (Cities in Iowa by unemployment rate, 2025-09) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03), Cities in Iowa by unemployment rate, 2025-09. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/iowa-cities?period=2025-09. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). Cities in Iowa by unemployment rate, 2025-09. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/iowa-cities?period=2025-09.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03), Cities in Iowa by unemployment rate, 2025-09 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/iowa-cities?period=2025-09 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_iowa_by_2026,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03): Cities in Iowa by unemployment rate, 2025-09}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/iowa-cities?period=2025-09. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03): Cities in Iowa by unemployment rate, 2025-09
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/iowa-cities?period=2025-09
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/iowa-cities?period=2025-09.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in Iowa by unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest unemployment rate?

Marshalltown, IA, with 5.3% in September 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployment rate?

Iowa City, IA, with 2.5% in September 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Cities in Iowa: more rankings