Counties in Iowa by unemployment rate

Marshall County had the highest unemployment rate of 99 counties in November 2025, at 5%. Sioux County had the lowest, at 1.8%. The median was 3% and the figure for Iowa was 3.4%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Lowest1.8Sioux County
Median399 counties
Iowa3.4History

Top 40 counties, November 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

Marshall CountyMarshall County: 5 %5Clinton CountyClinton County: 4.2 %4.2Wapello CountyWapello County: 4.1 %4.1Appanoose CountyAppanoose County: 4 %4Scott CountyScott County: 4 %4Black Hawk CountyBlack Hawk County: 3.9 %3.9Monroe CountyMonroe County: 3.9 %3.9Des Moines CountyDes Moines County: 3.8 %3.8Tama CountyTama County: 3.8 %3.8Emmet CountyEmmet County: 3.7 %3.7Lee CountyLee County: 3.7 %3.7Lucas CountyLucas County: 3.7 %3.7Fremont CountyFremont County: 3.6 %3.6Jackson CountyJackson County: 3.6 %3.6Jones CountyJones County: 3.6 %3.6Linn CountyLinn County: 3.6 %3.6Pottawattamie CountyPottawattamie County: 3.6 %3.6Crawford CountyCrawford County: 3.5 %3.5Floyd CountyFloyd County: 3.5 %3.5Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 3.5 %3.5Louisa CountyLouisa County: 3.5 %3.5Muscatine CountyMuscatine County: 3.5 %3.5Polk CountyPolk County: 3.5 %3.5Allamakee CountyAllamakee County: 3.4 %3.4Davis CountyDavis County: 3.4 %3.4Dickinson CountyDickinson County: 3.4 %3.4Mills CountyMills County: 3.4 %3.4Union CountyUnion County: 3.4 %3.4Van Buren CountyVan Buren County: 3.4 %3.4Butler CountyButler County: 3.3 %3.3Cerro Gordo CountyCerro Gordo County: 3.3 %3.3Fayette CountyFayette County: 3.3 %3.3Pocahontas CountyPocahontas County: 3.3 %3.3Woodbury CountyWoodbury County: 3.3 %3.3Clayton CountyClayton County: 3.2 %3.2Jasper CountyJasper County: 3.2 %3.2Keokuk CountyKeokuk County: 3.2 %3.2Webster CountyWebster County: 3.2 %3.2Benton CountyBenton County: 3.1 %3.1Cass CountyCass County: 3.1 %3.1
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesNovember 2025 (%)Change on November 2024
1Marshall County5+0.5 pts
2Clinton County4.2-0.2 pts
3Wapello County4.1+0.4 pts
4Appanoose County4+0.1 pts
4Scott County4-0.4 pts
6Black Hawk County3.9-0.2 pts
6Monroe County3.9+0.2 pts
8Des Moines County3.8-0.1 pts
8Tama County3.8-0.1 pts
10Emmet County3.7+0.1 pts
10Lee County3.7-0.1 pts
10Lucas County3.7+0.4 pts
13Fremont County3.6-0.5 pts
13Jackson County3.6-0.6 pts
13Jones County3.60 pts
13Linn County3.6+0.1 pts
13Pottawattamie County3.6+0.2 pts
18Crawford County3.5-0.2 pts
18Floyd County3.5-0.3 pts
18Jefferson County3.5+0.2 pts
18Louisa County3.5+0.4 pts
18Muscatine County3.5-0.2 pts
18Polk County3.50 pts
24Allamakee County3.4+0.2 pts
24Davis County3.4+0.2 pts
24Dickinson County3.4-0.1 pts
24Mills County3.4-0.3 pts
24Union County3.4+0.3 pts
24Van Buren County3.4+0.3 pts
30Butler County3.30 pts
30Cerro Gordo County3.3+0.4 pts
30Fayette County3.30 pts
30Pocahontas County3.3+0.6 pts
30Woodbury County3.30 pts
35Clayton County3.2-0.5 pts
35Jasper County3.2-0.1 pts
35Keokuk County3.2-0.1 pts
35Webster County3.2-0.1 pts
39Benton County3.10 pts
39Cass County3.1+0.2 pts
39Guthrie County3.1-0.1 pts
39Henry County3.1-0.2 pts
39Humboldt County3.1-0.1 pts
39Iowa County3.1+0.1 pts
39Montgomery County3.1+0.5 pts
39Winnebago County3.1+0.1 pts
47Bremer County3-0.4 pts
47Buchanan County3-0.3 pts
47Cedar County3-0.1 pts
47Dallas County3-0.2 pts
47Dubuque County3-0.7 pts
47Franklin County3-0.1 pts
53Hardin County2.9-0.1 pts
54Calhoun County2.8-0.3 pts
54Clarke County2.8-0.1 pts
54Clay County2.8-0.6 pts
54Hancock County2.8+0.1 pts
54Ringgold County2.8+0.1 pts
54Shelby County2.8+0.2 pts
54Warren County2.8-0.2 pts
61Audubon County2.7+0.4 pts
61Boone County2.7-0.2 pts
61Greene County2.70 pts
61Grundy County2.7-0.5 pts
61Harrison County2.7-0.2 pts
61Madison County2.7-0.2 pts
61Marion County2.7+0.1 pts
61Monona County2.7-0.3 pts
61Palo Alto County2.7+0.1 pts
61Poweshiek County2.7-0.2 pts
61Worth County2.7+0.1 pts
72Mahaska County2.6+0.1 pts
72Page County2.6-0.3 pts
72Plymouth County2.6-0.3 pts
72Sac County2.6-0.3 pts
76Chickasaw County2.5-0.7 pts
76Hamilton County2.5-0.2 pts
76Howard County2.5-0.6 pts
76Ida County2.5-0.1 pts
76Johnson County2.5-0.2 pts
76Kossuth County2.5-0.4 pts
76Story County2.5-0.2 pts
76Wayne County2.5-0.5 pts
84Adams County2.4-0.5 pts
84Buena Vista County2.4-0.3 pts
84Carroll County2.4-0.1 pts
84Decatur County2.4-0.7 pts
84Delaware County2.4-0.7 pts
84O'Brien County2.4-0.3 pts
84Wright County2.4-0.2 pts
91Adair County2.3-0.4 pts
91Mitchell County2.3-0.6 pts
91Taylor County2.3-0.2 pts
94Cherokee County2.2-0.5 pts
94Washington County2.2-0.4 pts
94Winneshiek County2.2-0.4 pts
97Lyon County2.1-0.3 pts
97Osceola County2.1-0.3 pts
99Sioux County1.8-0.3 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.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Iowa by unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"unemployment_rate","level":"province","within":"Iowa","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unemployment_rate&level=province&within=Iowa&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Marshall County, with 5% in November 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Sioux County, with 1.8% in November 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: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in Iowa: more rankings