Counties in Iowa by unemployment rate

Marshall County had the highest unemployment rate of 99 counties in January 2026, at 8.3%. Taylor County had the lowest, at 2.3%. The median was 3.7% and the figure for Iowa was 3.4%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest8.3Marshall County
Lowest2.3Taylor County
Median3.799 counties
Iowa3.4History

Top 40 counties, January 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Marshall CountyMarshall County: 8.3 %8.3Allamakee CountyAllamakee County: 6.7 %6.7Tama CountyTama County: 6.3 %6.3Clayton CountyClayton County: 5.9 %5.9Crawford CountyCrawford County: 5.7 %5.7Jackson CountyJackson County: 5.1 %5.1Clinton CountyClinton County: 5 %5Butler CountyButler County: 4.8 %4.8Fayette CountyFayette County: 4.7 %4.7Jones CountyJones County: 4.7 %4.7Delaware CountyDelaware County: 4.5 %4.5Louisa CountyLouisa County: 4.5 %4.5Winneshiek CountyWinneshiek County: 4.5 %4.5Black Hawk CountyBlack Hawk County: 4.4 %4.4Muscatine CountyMuscatine County: 4.4 %4.4Pottawattamie CountyPottawattamie County: 4.4 %4.4Scott CountyScott County: 4.4 %4.4Iowa CountyIowa County: 4.3 %4.3Appanoose CountyAppanoose County: 4.2 %4.2Des Moines CountyDes Moines County: 4.2 %4.2Dickinson CountyDickinson County: 4.2 %4.2Dubuque CountyDubuque County: 4.2 %4.2Floyd CountyFloyd County: 4.2 %4.2Franklin CountyFranklin County: 4.2 %4.2Lucas CountyLucas County: 4.2 %4.2Wapello CountyWapello County: 4.2 %4.2Emmet CountyEmmet County: 4.1 %4.1Guthrie CountyGuthrie County: 4.1 %4.1Howard CountyHoward County: 4.1 %4.1Lee CountyLee County: 4.1 %4.1Monroe CountyMonroe County: 4.1 %4.1Union CountyUnion County: 4.1 %4.1Van Buren CountyVan Buren County: 4.1 %4.1Clarke CountyClarke County: 4 %4Madison CountyMadison County: 4 %4Buchanan CountyBuchanan County: 3.9 %3.9Jasper CountyJasper County: 3.9 %3.9Polk CountyPolk County: 3.9 %3.9Poweshiek CountyPoweshiek County: 3.9 %3.9Webster CountyWebster County: 3.9 %3.9
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesJanuary 2026 (%)Change on January 2025
1Marshall County8.3-1 pts
2Allamakee County6.7+0.2 pts
3Tama County6.3-0.8 pts
4Clayton County5.9-0.4 pts
5Crawford County5.7-0.5 pts
6Jackson County5.1-0.3 pts
7Clinton County50 pts
8Butler County4.8-0.6 pts
9Fayette County4.7-0.6 pts
9Jones County4.7-0.6 pts
11Delaware County4.5+0.1 pts
11Louisa County4.5-0.3 pts
11Winneshiek County4.5-0.4 pts
14Black Hawk County4.4-0.4 pts
14Muscatine County4.4-0.3 pts
14Pottawattamie County4.4+0.2 pts
14Scott County4.4-0.3 pts
18Iowa County4.3-0.9 pts
19Appanoose County4.2-0.5 pts
19Des Moines County4.2-1.2 pts
19Dickinson County4.2-0.6 pts
19Dubuque County4.2-0.2 pts
19Floyd County4.2-0.2 pts
19Franklin County4.2+0.1 pts
19Lucas County4.20 pts
19Wapello County4.2-0.4 pts
27Emmet County4.1-0.2 pts
27Guthrie County4.1-0.8 pts
27Howard County4.1-0.5 pts
27Lee County4.1-0.6 pts
27Monroe County4.1-0.4 pts
27Union County4.1-0.1 pts
27Van Buren County4.1-0.1 pts
34Clarke County4+0.1 pts
34Madison County4-0.6 pts
36Buchanan County3.9-0.5 pts
36Jasper County3.9-0.5 pts
36Polk County3.9-0.3 pts
36Poweshiek County3.9-0.6 pts
36Webster County3.9-0.1 pts
36Woodbury County3.9-0.2 pts
42Cass County3.8-0.4 pts
42Mitchell County3.8+0.5 pts
44Bremer County3.7-0.1 pts
44Cedar County3.7-0.4 pts
44Cerro Gordo County3.7+0.1 pts
44Decatur County3.7-0.1 pts
44Grundy County3.7-0.5 pts
44Hardin County3.7-0.1 pts
44Humboldt County3.7-0.4 pts
44Linn County3.7-0.5 pts
52Benton County3.6-0.5 pts
52Chickasaw County3.6-0.1 pts
52Greene County3.6+0.1 pts
52Henry County3.6-0.6 pts
52Warren County3.6-0.3 pts
52Wayne County3.60 pts
58Jefferson County3.5-0.6 pts
58Keokuk County3.5-0.7 pts
58Monona County3.5-0.4 pts
58Sac County3.5-0.5 pts
58Worth County3.5-0.3 pts
63Davis County3.4-0.1 pts
63Fremont County3.4-0.9 pts
63Ida County3.4-0.3 pts
63Pocahontas County3.4-0.2 pts
67Calhoun County3.3-0.4 pts
67Clay County3.3-0.3 pts
67Hancock County3.30 pts
67Mills County3.3-0.6 pts
67Montgomery County3.3+0.1 pts
67Shelby County3.30 pts
67Story County3.3+0.2 pts
67Winnebago County3.3-0.2 pts
75Boone County3.2-0.6 pts
75Dallas County3.2-0.4 pts
75Palo Alto County3.2+0.2 pts
75Washington County3.2-0.6 pts
79Audubon County3.1-0.3 pts
79Lyon County3.1-0.3 pts
79Marion County3.1-0.1 pts
79Page County3.1-0.3 pts
83Buena Vista County3-0.1 pts
83Harrison County3-0.2 pts
83Kossuth County3-0.4 pts
83Sioux County3-0.1 pts
83Wright County3-0.5 pts
88Adams County2.9-0.2 pts
88Cherokee County2.9-0.5 pts
88Hamilton County2.9-0.3 pts
88Mahaska County2.9-0.3 pts
88Ringgold County2.9-0.4 pts
93Johnson County2.80 pts
93O'Brien County2.8-0.4 pts
93Plymouth County2.8-0.1 pts
96Adair County2.6-0.8 pts
96Carroll County2.6-0.1 pts
98Osceola County2.5-0.1 pts
99Taylor County2.3-0.4 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 8.3% in January 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Taylor County, with 2.3% in January 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