Counties in Iowa by unemployment rate, August 2026

Allamakee County had the highest unemployment rate of 99 counties in August 2026, at 5.7%. Osceola County had the lowest, at 2.1%. The median was 3.2% and the figure for Iowa was 3.2%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Median3.299 counties
Iowa3.2History

Top 40 counties, August 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Allamakee CountyAllamakee County: 5.7 %5.7Marshall CountyMarshall County: 5.5 %5.5Des Moines CountyDes Moines County: 5.2 %5.2Clinton CountyClinton County: 4.8 %4.8Wapello CountyWapello County: 4.6 %4.6Scott CountyScott County: 4.5 %4.5Tama CountyTama County: 4.4 %4.4Appanoose CountyAppanoose County: 4.3 %4.3Jackson CountyJackson County: 4.3 %4.3Lucas CountyLucas County: 4.2 %4.2Black Hawk CountyBlack Hawk County: 4.1 %4.1Crawford CountyCrawford County: 4.1 %4.1Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 4.1 %4.1Greene CountyGreene County: 4 %4Lee CountyLee County: 4 %4Linn CountyLinn County: 4 %4Emmet CountyEmmet County: 3.9 %3.9Muscatine CountyMuscatine County: 3.9 %3.9Pottawattamie CountyPottawattamie County: 3.9 %3.9Davis CountyDavis County: 3.8 %3.8Floyd CountyFloyd County: 3.8 %3.8Henry CountyHenry County: 3.8 %3.8Polk CountyPolk County: 3.8 %3.8Webster CountyWebster County: 3.8 %3.8Butler CountyButler County: 3.7 %3.7Woodbury CountyWoodbury County: 3.7 %3.7Clayton CountyClayton County: 3.6 %3.6Hardin CountyHardin County: 3.6 %3.6Jasper CountyJasper County: 3.6 %3.6Cerro Gordo CountyCerro Gordo County: 3.5 %3.5Dubuque CountyDubuque County: 3.5 %3.5Fayette CountyFayette County: 3.5 %3.5Franklin CountyFranklin County: 3.5 %3.5Jones CountyJones County: 3.5 %3.5Louisa CountyLouisa County: 3.5 %3.5Monroe CountyMonroe County: 3.5 %3.5Pocahontas CountyPocahontas County: 3.5 %3.5Union CountyUnion County: 3.5 %3.5Dallas CountyDallas County: 3.4 %3.4Winnebago CountyWinnebago County: 3.4 %3.4
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesAugust 2026 (%)Change on August 2025
1Allamakee County Provisional5.7+2.4 pts
2Marshall County Provisional5.50 pts
3Des Moines County Provisional5.2+0.5 pts
4Clinton County Provisional4.8-0.2 pts
5Wapello County Provisional4.6-0.8 pts
6Scott County Provisional4.5-0.2 pts
7Tama County Provisional4.4+0.1 pts
8Appanoose County Provisional4.3+0.1 pts
8Jackson County Provisional4.3+0.1 pts
10Lucas County Provisional4.2+0.1 pts
11Black Hawk County Provisional4.1-0.2 pts
11Crawford County Provisional4.1-0.1 pts
11Jefferson County Provisional4.10 pts
14Greene County Provisional4+0.9 pts
14Lee County Provisional4-0.9 pts
14Linn County Provisional4-1.1 pts
17Emmet County Provisional3.9-0.1 pts
17Muscatine County Provisional3.9-0.1 pts
17Pottawattamie County Provisional3.9-0.2 pts
20Davis County Provisional3.8-0.1 pts
20Floyd County Provisional3.80 pts
20Henry County Provisional3.8+0.2 pts
20Polk County Provisional3.8-0.3 pts
20Webster County Provisional3.8+0.1 pts
25Butler County Provisional3.7+0.3 pts
25Woodbury County Provisional3.7+0.1 pts
27Clayton County Provisional3.6-0.2 pts
27Hardin County Provisional3.6+0.6 pts
27Jasper County Provisional3.6-0.1 pts
30Cerro Gordo County Provisional3.50 pts
30Dubuque County Provisional3.5-0.1 pts
30Fayette County Provisional3.50 pts
30Franklin County Provisional3.5+0.2 pts
30Jones County Provisional3.5-0.6 pts
30Louisa County Provisional3.5-0.5 pts
30Monroe County Provisional3.5-1.1 pts
30Pocahontas County Provisional3.5-0.1 pts
30Union County Provisional3.50 pts
39Dallas County Provisional3.40 pts
39Winnebago County Provisional3.4-0.5 pts
41Benton County Provisional3.3-1.2 pts
41Iowa County Provisional3.3-3 pts
41Madison County Provisional3.30 pts
41Warren County Provisional3.3+0.1 pts
45Adams County Provisional3.2+0.7 pts
45Buchanan County Provisional3.2-0.2 pts
45Grundy County Provisional3.2+0.1 pts
45Guthrie County Provisional3.2-0.3 pts
45Kossuth County Provisional3.2+0.2 pts
45Mills County Provisional3.2-0.8 pts
45Van Buren County Provisional3.2-0.5 pts
52Boone County Provisional3.1-0.1 pts
52Bremer County Provisional3.1-0.1 pts
52Cass County Provisional3.1-0.3 pts
52Dickinson County Provisional3.1+0.1 pts
52Howard County Provisional3.1+0.2 pts
52Humboldt County Provisional3.1-0.3 pts
52Keokuk County Provisional3.1-0.8 pts
52Mitchell County Provisional3.1+0.2 pts
52Monona County Provisional3.10 pts
52Wayne County Provisional3.10 pts
62Calhoun County Provisional30 pts
62Cedar County Provisional3-0.4 pts
62Clay County Provisional3-0.2 pts
62Decatur County Provisional3-0.1 pts
62Fremont County Provisional3-0.7 pts
62Johnson County Provisional3-0.1 pts
62Montgomery County Provisional3+0.1 pts
62Poweshiek County Provisional3-0.4 pts
62Story County Provisional30 pts
71Buena Vista County Provisional2.9-0.4 pts
71Hamilton County Provisional2.9+0.2 pts
71Harrison County Provisional2.90 pts
71Shelby County Provisional2.90 pts
75Hancock County Provisional2.8-0.3 pts
75Mahaska County Provisional2.80 pts
75Page County Provisional2.8-0.2 pts
75Plymouth County Provisional2.8+0.2 pts
75Worth County Provisional2.8-0.1 pts
80Chickasaw County Provisional2.7+0.1 pts
80Clarke County Provisional2.7-0.4 pts
80Marion County Provisional2.7-0.2 pts
80Sac County Provisional2.7-0.3 pts
84Cherokee County Provisional2.6+0.2 pts
84Delaware County Provisional2.6-0.2 pts
84Ida County Provisional2.6-0.3 pts
84Palo Alto County Provisional2.6-0.1 pts
84Ringgold County Provisional2.6-0.8 pts
89Carroll County Provisional2.50 pts
89Washington County Provisional2.5-0.1 pts
89Winneshiek County Provisional2.5-0.1 pts
89Wright County Provisional2.5-0.2 pts
93O'Brien County Provisional2.4-0.4 pts
93Taylor County Provisional2.4-0.2 pts
95Audubon County Provisional2.3-0.3 pts
96Lyon County Provisional2.2-0.2 pts
96Sioux County Provisional2.2+0.2 pts
98Adair County Provisional2.1-0.3 pts
98Osceola County Provisional2.1-0.3 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. 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 and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Allamakee County, with 5.7% in August 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Osceola County, with 2.1% in August 2026.

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: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in Iowa: more rankings