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Iowa ( ) is a state in the upper Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the east and southeast, Missouri to the south, Nebraska to the west, South Dakota to the northwest, and Minnesota to the north.
Iowa is the 26th largest in total area and the 31st most populous of the 50 U.S. states, with a population of 3.19 million. The state's capital, most populous city, and largest metropolitan area fully located within the state is Des Moines. A portion of the larger Omaha, Nebraska, metropolitan area extends into three counties of southwest Iowa. Other metropolitan statistical areas in Iowa include Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Ames, Dubuque, Sioux City, and the Iowa portion of the Quad Cities. Iowa is home to 940 small towns, though its population is increasingly urbanized as small communities and rural areas decline in population.
During the 18th and early 19th centuries, Iowa was a part of French Louisiana and Spanish Louisiana; its state flag is patterned after the flag of France. After the Louisiana Purchase, pioneers laid the foundation for an agriculture-based economy in the heart of the Corn Belt. In the latter half of the 20th century, Iowa's agricultural economy began to transition to a diversified economy of advanced manufacturing, processing, financial services, information technology, biotechnology, and green energy production.
Politically, Iowa is notable for the Iowa caucuses, an influential event in national politics, as well as its high levels of voter turnout and foundational leadership in civil rights including early adoption or support of black suffrage. Iowa's standard of living is ranked highly on metrics such as governance, education, infrastructure, and safety.
More than 3,000 years ago, during the Late Archaic period, Native Americans in Iowa began utilizing domesticated plants. The subsequent Woodland period saw an increased reliance on agriculture and social complexity, with increased use of mounds, ceramics, and specialized subsistence. During the Late Prehistoric period (beginning about AD 900) increased use of maize and social changes led to social flourishing and nucleated settlements.
The arrival of European trade goods and diseases in the Protohistoric period led to dramatic population shifts and economic and social upheaval, with the arrival of new tribes and early European explorers and traders. There were numerous native American tribes living in Iowa at the time of early European exploration. Tribes which were probably descendants of the prehistoric Oneota include the Sioux, Ho-Chunk, Ioway, and Otoe. Tribes which arrived in Iowa in the late prehistoric or protohistoric periods include the Illiniwek, Meskwaki, Omaha, and Sauk people.Alex, Lynn M. (2000) Iowa's Archaeological Past. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City.
Iowa was part of a territory known as La Louisiane or Louisiana, and European traders were interested in lead and furs obtained by Indigenous people. The Sauk people and Meskwaki effectively controlled trade on the Mississippi in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Among the early traders on the Mississippi were Julien Dubuque, Robert de la Salle, and Paul Marin. Along the Missouri River at least five French and English trading houses were built before 1808. In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte took control of Louisiana from Spain in a treaty.
After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, Congress divided the Louisiana Purchase into two parts—the Territory of Orleans and the District of Louisiana, with present-day Iowa falling in the latter. The Indiana Territory, created in 1800, exercised jurisdiction over this portion of the District; William Henry Harrison was its first governor. Much of Iowa was mapped by Zebulon Pike in 1805,Pike (1965): The expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike to headwaters of the Mississippi River, through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, during the years June 7, 1805, Ross & Haines but it was not until the construction of Fort Madison in 1808 that the U.S. established tenuous military control over the region.
After the war, the U.S. re-established control of the region through the construction of Fort Armstrong, Fort Snelling in Minnesota, and Fort Atkinson in Nebraska.
The Sauk people and Meskwaki were forced to sell some of their land in the Mississippi Valley to the U.S. in 1832 in the Black Hawk Purchase Treaty and sold their remaining land in Iowa in 1842, most of them moving to a reservation in Kansas. In 1837, some the Potawatomi from Illinois were resettled in Iowa, while many Meskwaki later returned to Iowa and settled near Tama, Iowa; the Meskwaki Settlement remains to this day. In 1856 the Iowa Legislature passed an unprecedented act allowing the Meskwaki to purchase the land. The federal government, in contrast, used treaties to force the Ho-Chunk and the Sioux from Iowa by 1848 and 1858, respectively. Western Iowa around modern Council Bluffs was used as an Indian Reservation for members of the Council of Three Fires.
Almost immediately after Iowa achieved territorial status, a clamor arose for statehood. On December 28, 1846, Iowa became the 29th state in the Union when President James K. Polk signed its admission bill into law. Once admitted to the Union, with the state's boundary issues resolved and most of its land purchased from Natives, Iowa set its direction to development and organized campaigns for settlers and investors, boasting the young frontier state's rich farmlands, fine citizens, free and open society, and good government."Official Encouragement of Immigration to Iowa", Marcus L. Hansen, IJHP, 19 (April 1921): 159–195.
Iowa has a long tradition of state and county fairs. The first and second Iowa State Fairs were held in the more developed eastern part of the state at Fairfield. The first fair was held October 25–27, 1854, at a cost of around $323. Thereafter, the fair moved to locations closer to the center of the state and in 1886 found a permanent home in Des Moines. The State Fair has been held annually since then, except for a few exceptions: 1898 due to the Spanish–American War and the World's Fair being held in nearby Omaha, Nebraska; from 1942 to 1945, due to World War II, as the fairgrounds were being used as an army supply depot; and in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.
Much of Iowa's support for the Union can be attributed to Samuel J. Kirkwood, its first wartime governor. Of a total population of 675,000, about 116,000 men were subjected to military duty. Iowa contributed proportionately more soldiers to Civil War military service than did any other state, north or south, sending more than 75,000 volunteers to the armed forces, over one-sixth of whom were killed before the Confederates surrendered at Appomattox.
Most fought in the great campaigns in the Mississippi Valley and in the American South. Iowa troops fought at Wilson's Creek in Missouri, Pea Ridge in Arkansas, Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and Rossville Gap as well as Vicksburg, Iuka, and Corinth. They served with the Army of the Potomac in Virginia and fought under Union General Philip Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley. Many died and were buried at Andersonville. They marched on General Nathaniel Banks' ill-starred expedition to the Red River. Twenty-seven Iowans have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government, which was first awarded in the Civil War.Iowa Official Register, Volume No. 60, pages 315–316
Iowa had several brigadier generals and four major generals—Grenville Mellen Dodge, Samuel R. Curtis, Francis J. Herron, and Frederick Steele—and saw many of its generals go on to state and national prominence following the war.
In 1917, the United States entered World War I and farmers as well as all Iowans experienced a wartime economy. For farmers, the change was significant. Since the beginning of the war in 1914, Iowa farmers had experienced economic prosperity, which lasted until the end of the war. In the economic sector, Iowa also has undergone considerable change. Beginning with the first industries developed in the 1830s, which were mainly for processing materials grown in the area, Iowa has experienced a gradual increase in the number of business and manufacturing operations.
In 1975, Governor Robert D. Ray petitioned President Ford to allow Iowa to accept and resettle Tai Dam refugees fleeing the Indochina War.Walsh, Matthew. The Good Governor: Robert Ray and the Indochinese Refugees of Iowa (McFarland & Co, 2017) An exception was required for this resettlement as State Dept policy at the time forbid resettlement of large groups of refugees in concentrated communities; an exception was ultimately granted and 1200 Tai Dam were resettled in Iowa. Since then Iowa has accepted thousands of refugees from Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Bhutan, and Burma.Office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, Iowa Department of Human Rights. State of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Iowa, 2015
The farm crisis of the 1980s caused a major recession in Iowa, causing poverty not seen since the Depression.The Midwest Farm Crisis of the 1980s, Tripod.com The crisis spurred a major, decade-long population decline.Population Trends: The Changing Face of Iowa, State.ia.us
Iowa is the only state whose east and west borders are formed almost entirely by rivers. Carter Lake, Iowa, is the only city in the state located west of the Missouri River.
Iowa has 99 counties, but 100 because Lee County has two. The state capital, Des Moines, is in Polk County.
Iowa can be divided into eight based on glaciation, , topography, and river drainage. Loess hills lie along the western border of the state, some of which are several hundred feet thick. Northeast Iowa along the Upper Mississippi River is part of the Driftless Area, consisting of steep hills and valleys which appear as mountainous.
Several natural lakes exist, most notably Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake, and East Okoboji Lake in northwest Iowa ( see Iowa Great Lakes). To the east lies Clear Lake. Man-made lakes include Lake Odessa, Saylorville Lake, Lake Red Rock, Coralville Lake, Lake MacBride, and Rathbun Lake. Before European settlement, 4 to 6 million acres of the state was covered with wetlands; about 95% of these wetlands have since been drained.
The southern part of Iowa is categorized as the Central forest-grasslands transition ecoregion. The Northern, drier part of Iowa is categorized as part of the Central tall grasslands.
There is a dearth of natural areas in Iowa; less than 1% of the tallgrass prairie that once covered most of Iowa remains intact; only about 5% of the state's prairie pothole wetlands remain, and most of the original forest has been lost.Iowa's Threatened and Endangered Species Program, Iowadnr.gov Iowa ranked 49th of U.S. states in public land holdings."Des Moines Register", June 1, 2019, Iowa Must Step Up Investment in Public Lands Nicholasjohnson.org Threatened or endangered animals in Iowa include the least tern, piping plover, Indiana bat, pallid sturgeon, the Iowa Pleistocene land snail, Higgins' eye pearly mussel, and the Topeka shiner.Federally Listed Animals in Iowa, Agriculture.state.ia.us Endangered or threatened plants include western prairie fringed orchid, eastern prairie fringed orchid, Mead's milkweed, prairie bush clover, and northern wild monkshood.Federally Listed Plants in Iowa, Agriculture.state.ia.us
The explosion in the number of high-density livestock facilities in Iowa has led to increased rural water contamination and a decline in air quality.
Other factors negatively affecting Iowa's environment include the extensive use of older coal-fired power plants, fertilizer and pesticide runoff from crop production, and diminishment of the Jordan Aquifer.
The 2020–2023 North American drought has affected Iowa particularly: As of January 2024, Iowa was in its 187th consecutive week of at least moderate drought, the longest stretch since the 1950s. 96% of areas are affected by drought.
Spring ushers in the beginning of the severe weather season. As of 2008, Iowa averaged about 50 days of thunderstorm activity per year. US Thunderstorm distribution. src.noaa.gov. Retrieved February 13, 2008. As of 2015, the 30-year annual average of tornadoes in Iowa was 47. In 2008, twelve people were killed by tornadoes in Iowa, making it the deadliest year since 1968 and also the second most tornadoes in a year with 105, matching the total from 2001.
Iowa summers are known for heat and humidity, with daytime temperatures sometimes near and occasionally exceeding . Average winters in the state have been known to drop well below freezing, even dropping below . As of 2018, Iowa's all-time hottest temperature of was recorded at Keokuk on July 20, 1934, during a nationwide heat wave; as of 2014, the all-time lowest temperature of was recorded in Washta on January 12, 1912.
| + Monthly normal high and low temperatures for various Iowa cities (°F) |
Iowa, in common with other Midwestern states (especially Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota), is feeling the brunt of rural flight, although the population of Iowa has been increasing since approximately 1990. Some smaller communities, such as Denison and Storm Lake, have mitigated this population loss through gains in immigrant laborers.
Another demographic problem for Iowa is brain drain, in which educated young adults leave the state in search of better prospects in higher education or employment. During the 1990s, Iowa had the second highest exodus rate for single, educated young adults, second only to North Dakota. Iowa Brain Drain, Iowa Civic Analysis Network, University of Iowa, Uiowa.edu
| +Iowa's largest cities and their surrounding areas Recorded by the United States Census Bureau | ||||
| 1 | Des Moines | Des Moines–West Des Moines | ||
| 2 | Cedar Rapids | Cedar Rapids | ||
| 3 | Davenport | Quad Cities | ||
| 4 | Sioux City | Sioux City | ||
| 5 | Iowa City | Iowa City | ||
| 6 | West Des Moines | Des Moines–West Des Moines | ||
| 7 | Ankeny | Des Moines–West Des Moines | ||
| 8 | Waterloo | Waterloo–Cedar Falls | ||
| 9 | Ames | Ames | ||
| 10 | Council Bluffs | Omaha–Council Bluffs | ||
| 11 | Dubuque | Dubuque | ||
| 12 | Urbandale | Des Moines–West Des Moines | ||
| 13 | Marion | Cedar Rapids | ||
| 14 | Cedar Falls | Waterloo–Cedar Falls | ||
| 15 | Bettendorf | Quad Cities |
Of the residents of Iowa, 70.8% were born in Iowa, 23.6% were born in a different U.S. state, 0.6% were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s), and 5% were foreign born.
Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 29,386 people, while migration within the country produced a net loss of 41,140 people. 6.5% of Iowa's population were reported as under the age of five, 22.6% under 18, and 14.7% were 65 or older. Males made up approximately 49.6% of the population. The population density of the state is 52.7 people per square mile. As of the 2010 census, the center of population of Iowa is in Marshall County, near Melbourne. The top countries of origin for Iowa's immigrants in 2018 were Mexico, India, Vietnam, China and Thailand.
According to a version of Encyclopædia Britannica published in 1999, Germans are the largest ethnic group in Iowa. Other major ethnic groups in Iowa include Irish and English. There are also Dutch communities in state. The Dutch can be found in Pella, in the centre of the state, and in Orange City, in the northwest. There is a Norwegian community in Decorah in northeast Iowa; and there is Czech and Slovak communities in both Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Smaller numbers of Greeks and Italians are scattered in Iowa's metropolitan areas. The majority of Hispanics in Iowa are of Mexican origin. African Americans, who constitute around 2% of Iowa's population, didn't live in the state in any appreciable numbers until the early 20th century. Many blacks worked in the coal-mining industry of southern Iowa. Others blacks migrated to Waterloo, Davenport, and Des Moines, where the black population remained substantial in the early 21st century. The African-American population in Des Moines experienced a significant increase with the establishment of the Colored Officers Training Camp at Fort Des Moines in 1917. Following the conclusion of World War I in 1918, numerous African-American families made the decision to remain in Des Moines. This marked the inception of a thriving community that eventually became a residence for numerous African-American leaders. There is one federally recognized tribe in Iowa, the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, and in 2020, 14,486 identified as being Native American alone, and 41,472 did in combination with one or more other races.
As of the 2010 census, the population of Iowa was 3,046,355. The gender makeup of the state was 49.5% male and 50.5% female. 23.9% of the population were under the age of 18; 61.2% were between the ages of 18 and 64; and 14.9% were 65 years of age or older.
According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 2,419 Homelessness people in Iowa.
| Ethnic composition as of the 2020 census | ||
| White (non-Hispanic) | ||
| Hispanic or Latino | ||
| African American (non-Hispanic) | ||
| Asian Americans | ||
| Native American | ||
| Pacific Islander | ||
| Other |
| + Iowa historical racial composition |
| 84.5% |
| 4.1% |
| 0.5% |
| 2.4% |
| 0.2% |
| 2.8% |
| 5.6% |
According to the 2016 American Community Survey, 5.6% of Iowa's population were of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race): Mexican American (4.3%), Puerto Ricans (0.2%), Cuban American (0.1%), and other Hispanic or Latino origin (1.0%). The five largest ancestry groups were: German American (35.1%), Irish American (13.5%), English American (8.2%), American (5.8%), and Norwegian (5.0%).
| + Live births by single race/ethnicity of mother | |||||||||||
| White | 32,302 (82.6%) | 32,423 (81.7%) | 32,028 (81.1%) | 31,376 (79.6%) | 30,010 (78.1%) | 29,327 (77.6%) | 29,050 (77.2%) | 27,542 (76.3%) | 28,167 (76.5%) | 27,527 (75.4%) | 26,961 (74.8%) |
| Black | 2,232 (5.7%) | 2,467 (6.2%) | 2,597 (6.6%) | 2,467 (6.3%) | 2,657 (6.9%) | 2,615 (6.9%) | 2,827 (7.5%) | 2,685 (7.4%) | 2,567 (7.0%) | 2,562 (7.0%) | 2,613 (7.2%) |
| Asian Americans | 1,353 (3.5%) | 1,408 (3.5%) | 1,364 (3.4%) | 1,270 (3.2%) | 1,321 (3.4%) | 1,176 (3.1%) | 1,106 (2.9%) | 1,067 (2.9%) | 1,055 (2.9%) | 1,032 (2.8%) | 956 (2.7%) |
| Native American | 269 (0.7%) | 284 (0.7%) | 242 (0.6%) | 147 (0.4%) | 311 (0.8%) | 152 (0.4%) | 308 (0.8%) | 143 (0.4%) | 129 (0.3%) | 136 (0.4%) | 142 (0.4%) |
| Hispanic (any race) | 3,175 (8.1%) | 3,315 (8.3%) | 3,418 (8.6%) | 3,473 (8.8%) | 3,527 (9.2%) | 3,694 (9.8%) | 3,695 (9.8%) | 3,725 (10.3%) | 3,903 (10.6%) | 4,172 (11.4%) | 4,211 (11.7%) |
| Total | 39,094 (100%) | 39,687 (100%) | 39,482 (100%) | 39,403 (100%) | 38,430 (100%) | 37,785 (100%) | 37,649 (100%) | 36,114 (100%) | 36,835 (100%) | 36,506 (100%) | 36,052 (100%) |
The study Religious Congregations & Membership: 2000 found that in the southernmost two tiers of Iowa counties and in other counties in the center of the state, the largest religious group was the United Methodist Church; in the northeast part of the state, including Dubuque and Linn counties (where Cedar Rapids is located), the Catholic Church was the largest; and in ten counties, including three in the northern tier, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was the largest. The study also found rapid growth in Evangelical Christian denominations. Dubuque is home to the Archdiocese of Dubuque, which serves as the ecclesiastical province for all three other dioceses in the state and for all the Catholics in Iowa.
Historically, religious sects and orders who desired to live apart from the rest of society established themselves in Iowa; for example, the Amish and Mennonites have communities near Kalona and in other parts of eastern Iowa such as Davis County and Buchanan County.Elmer Schwieder and Dorothy Schwieder (2009) A Peculiar People: Iowa's Old Order Amish University of Iowa Press Other religious sects and orders living apart include Quakers around West Branch and Le Grand, German Pietists who founded the Amana Colonies, followers of Transcendental Meditation who founded Maharishi Vedic City, and Trappist monks and nuns at the New Melleray and Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbeys near Dubuque.
By 1878, approximately 1000 Jews, many of whom were immigrants from Poland and Germany, lived in Iowa. , about 6,000 Jews lived in Iowa, with about 3,000 in Des Moines alone.
After English, Spanish is the second-most-common language spoken in Iowa, with 120,000 people in Iowa of Hispanic or Latino origin and 47,000 people born in Latin America.2000 U.S. Census: Census.gov The third-most-common language is German, spoken by 17,000 people in Iowa; two notable German dialects used in Iowa include Amana German spoken around the Amana Colonies, and Pennsylvania German, spoken among the Amish in Iowa. The Babel Proclamation of 1918 banned the speaking of German in public. Around Pella, residents of Dutch descent once spoke the Pella Dutch dialect.
Ames is the home of Iowa State University, the Iowa State Center, and Reiman Gardens.
Boone hosts the biennial Farm Progress Show and is home to the Mamie Eisenhower museum, the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad, and Ledges State Park.
The Meskwaki Settlement west of Tama is the only Native American settlement in Iowa and is host to a large annual Pow-wow.
Madison County is known for its covered bridges. Also in Madison County is the John Wayne Birthplace Museum is in Winterset.
Other communities with vibrant historic downtown areas include Newton, Indianola, Pella, Knoxville, Marshalltown, Perry, and Story City.
The Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum are in West Branch.
The Amana Colonies are a group of settlements of Germans Pietists comprising seven villages listed as National Historic Landmarks.
The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art has collections of paintings by Grant Wood and Marvin Cone. Cedar Rapids is also home to the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library and Iowa's only National Trust for Historic Preservation Site, Brucemore mansion.
Davenport boasts the Figge Art Museum, River Music Experience, Putnam Museum, Davenport Skybridge, Quad City Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Quad Cities, and plays host to the annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival, and the Quad City Air Show, which is the largest airshow in the state.
Other communities with vibrant historic downtown areas include West Liberty, Fairfield, Burlington, Mount Pleasant, Fort Madison, LeClaire, Mount Vernon, Ottumwa, Washington, and Wilton.
Along Interstate 80 near Walcott lies the world's largest truck stop, Iowa 80.
Sioux City is the largest city in western Iowa and is found on the convergence of the Missouri River, Floyd River, and Big Sioux Rivers. The Sioux City Metropolitan Area encompasses areas in three states: Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Sioux City boasts a revitalized downtown and includes attractions such as the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Sergeant Floyd Monument, Sergeant Floyd River Museum, the Tyson Events Center, Southern Hills Mall, the Orpheum Theater, and more. The historic downtown area is also filled with multiple restaurants, bars, and other entertainment venues. Sioux City is home to two higher education institutions, Morningside College and Briar Cliff University. Le Mars is in the northeastern part of the Sioux City Metropolitan Area and is the self-proclaimed "Ice Cream Capital of the World". Le Mars is home to Wells Enterprises, one of the largest ice cream manufacturers in the world. Attractions in Le Mars include the Wells Visitor Center and Ice Cream Parlor, Archie's Wayside (steak house), Bob's Drive Inn, Tonsfeldt Round Barn, Plymouth County Fairgrounds, Plymouth County Museum, and Plymouth County Courthouse. Le Mars hosts multiple ice cream-themed community events each year.
Council Bluffs, part of the Omaha Metro and a hub of southwest Iowa sits at the base of the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway. With three casino resorts, the city also includes such cultural attractions as the Western Hills Trails Center, Union Pacific Railroad Museum, the Grenville M. Dodge House, the Ruth Anne Dodge Memorial, and the Lewis and Clark Monument, with clear views of the Downtown Omaha skyline found throughout the city. The Sanford Museum and Planetarium in Cherokee, the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, the Museum of Danish America in Elk Horn, and the Fort Museum and Frontier Village in Fort Dodge are other regional destinations.
The Iowa Great Lakes is made up of multiple small towns, such as Spirit Lake, Arnolds Park, Milford, and Okoboji. Multiple resorts and other tourist attractions are found in and around these towns surrounding the popular lakes. Arnolds Park, one of the oldest amusement parks in the country, is located on Lake Okoboji in Arnolds Park.
Every year in early May, the city of Orange City holds the annual Tulip Festival, a celebration of the strong Dutch heritage in the region.
Northwest Iowa is home to some of the largest concentrations of wind turbine farms in the world. Other western communities with vibrant historic downtown areas include Storm Lake, Spencer, Glenwood, Carroll, Harlan, Atlantic, Red Oak, Denison, Creston, Mount Ayr, Sac City, and Walnut.
Waterloo is home of the Grout Museum and Lost Island Theme Park and is headquarters of the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area. Cedar Falls is home of the University of Northern Iowa.
Dubuque is a regional tourist destination with attractions such as the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium and the Port of Dubuque.
Dyersville is home to the famed Field of Dreams baseball diamond. Maquoketa Caves State Park, near Maquoketa, contains more caves than any other state park.
Fort Atkinson State Preserve in Fort Atkinson has the remains of an original 1840s Dragoon fortification.
Fort Dodge is home of The Fort historical museum and the Blanden Art Museum, and host Frontiers Days which celebrate the town history.
Other communities with vibrant historic downtown areas include Decorah, McGregor, Mason City, Elkader, Bellevue, Guttenberg, Algona, Spillville, Charles City, and Independence.
Des Moines is home to members of the heavy metal band Slipknot. The state is mentioned in the band's songs, and the album Iowa is named after the state.
The following table shows the Iowa sports teams with average attendance over 8,000. All the following teams are NCAA Division I football, basketball, or wrestling teams: 2018 National College Football Attendance ; Retrieved November 3, 2019. 2019 NCAA Women's Basketball Attendance ; Retrieved November 3, 2019.
| + Iowa sports teams ( attendance > 8,000) |
| 68,043 |
| 56,010 |
| 13,375 |
| 12,371 |
| 12,568 |
| 11,143 |
| 10,323 |
| 9,337 |
In wrestling, the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones have won a combined total of over 30 team NCAA Division I titles. Iowa wrestling championships: History and records from the dynasty. ncaa.com. Retrieved October 7, 2022. Iowa State National Championships. cyclones.com. Retrieved October 7, 2022. The Northern Iowa and Cornell College wrestling teams have also each won one NCAA Division I wrestling team title. 1950 Wrestling Team (2009) – Hall of Fame – UNI Athletics. Retrieved October 7, 2022.Palmer, Mark. (September 14, 2007). InterMat Wrestling – InterMat Rewind: 1947 Cornell College. . Retrieved October 7, 2022.
Two other Division I schools play football in the second level of college football, the Football Championship Subdivision. The University of Northern Iowa Panthers play at the Missouri Valley Conference and Missouri Valley Football Conference (despite the similar names, the conferences are administratively separate), whereas the Drake University Drake Bulldogs play in the Missouri Valley Conference in most sports and Pioneer League for football.
The United States Hockey League has five teams in Iowa: the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, Sioux City Musketeers, Waterloo Black Hawks, Des Moines Buccaneers, and the Dubuque Fighting Saints. The North Iowa Bulls of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) and the Mason City Toros of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) both play in Mason City.
Iowa has three professional football teams. The Sioux City Bandits play in the Champions Indoor Football league. The Iowa Barnstormers play in the Indoor Football League at Casey's Center in Des Moines. The Cedar Rapids Titans play in the Indoor Football League at the U.S. Cellular Center.
The Iowa Speedway oval track in Newton has hosted auto racing championships such as the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series since 2006. Also, the Knoxville Raceway dirt track hosts the Knoxville Nationals, one of the classic sprint car racing events.
The John Deere Classic is a PGA Tour golf event held in the Quad Cities since 1971. The Principal Charity Classic is a Champions Tour event since 2001. The Des Moines Golf and Country Club hosted the 1999 U.S. Senior Open and the 2017 Solheim Cup.
While Iowa is often viewed as a farming state, agriculture is a relatively small portion of the state's diversified economy, with manufacturing, biotechnology, finance and insurance services, and government services contributing substantially to Iowa's economy. This economic diversity has helped Iowa weather the late 2000s recession better than most states, with unemployment substantially lower than the rest of the nation.Iowa's initial jobless claims grow. Des Moines Register April 2, 2009, Desmoinesregister.comCity has lowest unemployment in nation, Iowa City Press-Citizen May 5., 2009, Press-citizen.com
If the economy is measured by gross domestic product, in 2005 Iowa's GDP was about $124 billion.Iowa State University. Gross domestic product by sector and state. Regional Capacity Analysis Program. Retrieved on: April 26, 2008. If measured by gross state product, for 2005 it was $113.5 billion. Its per capita income for 2006 was $23,340. On July 2, 2009, Standard & Poor's rated Iowa's credit as AAA (the highest of its credit ratings, held by only 11 U.S. state governments).Iowa officials tout credit rating, argue it shows state's finances are strong, Associated Press July 3, 2009, Timesrepublican.com
As of September 2021, the state's unemployment rate is 4.0%.
Major non-food manufacturing firms with production facilities in Iowa include 3M, Arconic, Amana Corporation, Emerson Electric, The HON Company, SSAB, John Deere, Lennox Manufacturing, Pella Corporation, Procter & Gamble, Vermeer Company, and Winnebago Industries.
major Iowa agricultural product processors included Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, Inc., Diamond V Mills, and [[Quaker Oats]].
During the 21st century Iowa has seen growth in the organic farming sector. Iowa ranks fifth in the nation in total number of organic farms. In 2016, there were about 732 organic farms in the state, an increase of about 5% from the previous year, and 103,136 organic acres, an increase of 9,429 from the previous year. Iowa has also seen an increase in demand for local, sustainably-grown food. Northeast Iowa, part of the Driftless Area, has led the state in development of its regional food system and grows and consumes more local food than any other region in Iowa.
Iowa's Driftless Region is also home to the nationally recognized Seed Savers Exchange, a non-profit seed bank housed at an 890-acre heritage farm near Decorah, in the northeast corner of the state. The largest nongovernmental seed bank of its kind in the United States, Seed Savers Exchange safeguards more than 20,000 varieties of rare, heirloom seeds.
As of 2007, the direct production and sale of conventional agricultural commodities contributed only about 3.5% of Iowa's gross state product.2007 Iowa Factbook p. 59, Des Moines:Iowa Legislative Services Agency. In 2002 the impact of the indirect role of agriculture in Iowa's economy, including agriculture-affiliated business, was calculated at 16.4% in terms of value added and 24.3% in terms of total output. This was lower than the economic impact of non-farm manufacturing, which accounted for 22.4% of total value added and 26.5% of total output.
The Iowa Insurance Division "Annual report to the Iowa Governor and the Iowa Legislature" from November 2014 looked at the 95% of health insurers by premium, which are 10 companies. It found Wellmark Inc. to dominate the three health insurance markets it examined (individual, small group and large group) at 52–67%. Wellmark HealthPlan of Iowa and Wellmark Inc had the highest risk-based capital percentages of all 10 providers at 1158% and 1132%, respectively. Rising RBC is an indication of profits.
Iowa is host to at least two business incubators, Iowa State University Research Park and the BioVentures Center at the University of Iowa. The Research Park hosts about 50 companies, among them NewLink Genetics, which develops cancer immunotherapeutics, and the U.S. animal health division of Boehringer Ingelheim, Vetmedica.
Ethanol fuel production consumes about a third of Iowa's corn production, and renewable fuels account for eight percent of the state's gross domestic product. A total of 39 ethanol plants produced of fuel in 2009.
Renewable energy has become a major economic force in northern and western Iowa, with wind turbine electrical generation increasing exponentially since 1990. In 2019, wind power in Iowa accounted for 42% of electrical energy produced, and 10,201 megawatts of generating capacity had been installed at the end of the year. Iowa ranked first of U.S. states in percentage of total power generated by wind and second in wind generating capacity behind Texas. Major producers of turbines and components in Iowa include Acciona Energy of West Branch, TPI Composites of Newton, and Siemens Energy of Fort Madison.
In 2016, Iowa was the headquarters for three of the top 2,000 companies for revenue. They include Principal Financial, Rockwell Collins, and American Equity Investment. Iowa is also headquarters to other companies including Hy-Vee, Pella Corporation, Workiva, Vermeer Company, Kum & Go gas stations, Von Maur, Pioneer Hi-Bred, and Fareway.
Gambling in the state is a major section of the Iowa tourism industry.
As of 2025, Iowa had 64 ; Google in Council Bluffs and Cedar Rapids, Apple in Waukee, Meta in Altoona, Iowa and Microsoft has six data centers in West Des Moines.
Iowa imposes taxes on net state income of individuals, estates, and trusts. There are nine income tax brackets, ranging from 0.36% to 8.98%, as well as four corporate income tax brackets ranging from 6%to 12%, giving Iowa the country's highest marginal corporate tax rate. The state sales tax rate is 6%, with non-prepared food having no tax.Iowa Department of Revenue, Iowa Tax / Fee Descriptions and Rates, Iowa.gov Iowa has one local option sales tax that may be imposed by counties after an election.Iowa Department of Revenue, Iowa Local Option Tax Information, Ioawa.gov Property tax is levied on the taxable value of real property. Iowa has more than 2,000 taxing authorities. Most property is taxed by more than one taxing authority. The tax rate differs in each locality and is a composite of county, city or rural township, school district and special levies. Iowa allows its residents to deduct their federal income taxes from their state income taxes.
The four-year graduation rate for high schoolers was 91.3% in 2017. Iowa's schools are credited with the highest graduation rate in the nation as of 2019. Iowa has 333 school districts, 1,329 school buildings and has the 14th lowest student-to-teacher ratio of 14.2. Teacher pay is ranked 22nd, with the average salary being $55,647.
The state's oldest functioning school building is located in Bellevue in the historic Jackson County Courthouse which has been in continuous use as a school since 1848.
The special K–12 schools include the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs and the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton. Both Iowa State University and The University of Iowa are research universities with The University of Iowa also being a member of the Association of American Universities. In addition to the three state universities, Iowa has multiple private colleges and universities.
Iowa ranks eleventh among states in terms of proportion of obesity, with 37% of the state being affected by it. Around 9% of Iowans suffer from diabetes, costing the state $2 billion.
Intercity bus service in the state is provided by Burlington Trailways, Greyhound Lines, and Jefferson Lines.
The Code of Iowa contains Iowa's . It is periodically updated by the Iowa Legislative Service Bureau, with a new edition published in odd-numbered years and a supplement published in even-numbered years.
Iowa is an alcohol monopoly or alcoholic beverage control state.
The four U.S. representatives:
After the 2010 United States census and the resulting redistricting, Iowa lost one seat in Congress, falling to four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Incumbent U.S. representatives Leonard Boswell (D) and Tom Latham (R) ran against each other in 2012 in the third congressional district which had new boundaries; Latham won and retired after the 2014 elections. King represented the old fifth congressional district.
In previous eras, Democratic and Republican parties had a balance in state politics and federal representation. By 2024, the two became dominated by the Republican Party. Factors include younger people leaving for more urbanized, more Democratic-leaning states, as well as homogenization of rural voters in the Midwest and in other regions.
The Iowa Supreme Court decided Clark v. The board of directors24 Iowa 266 (1868) in 1868, ruling that racially segregated "separate but equal" schools had no place in Iowa, 85 years before Brown v. Board of Education. By 1875, a number of additional court rulings effectively ended segregation in Iowa schools. Social and housing discrimination continued against Blacks at state universities until the 1950s.Breaux, Richard M. (2004) "Maintaining a Home for Girls": The Iowa Federation of Colored Women's Clubs at the University of Iowa 1919–1950, Cultural Capital and Black Education ed. V.P. Franklin and C.J. Savage. Information Age, Greenwich The Court heard Coger v. The North Western Union Packet Co.37 Iowa 145 (1873) in 1873, ruling against racial discrimination in public accommodations 91 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same decision.
In 1884, the Iowa Civil Rights Act apparently outlawed discrimination by businesses, reading: "All persons within this state shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, restaurants, chophouses, eating houses, lunch counters, and all other places where refreshments are served, public conveyances, barber shops, bathhouses, theaters, and all other places of amusement." However, the courts chose to narrowly apply this act, allowing de facto discrimination to continue.Iowa Civil Rights Commission, Iowa.org Racial discrimination at public businesses was not deemed illegal until 1949, when the court ruled in State of Iowa v. Katz that businesses had to serve customers regardless of race; the case began when Edna Griffin was denied service at a Des Moines drugstore.African-Americans in Iowa, 1838–2005, IPTV.org Full racial civil rights were codified under the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965.Iowa Civil Rights Commission, State.ia.us
In May 2018 Iowa signed into law one of the country's most restrictive abortion bans: the requirement that a doctor cannot perform an abortion if they can detect a fetal heartbeat, which in many cases would restrict abortions pregnancies less than six weeks old. It was struck down in January 2019, when an Iowa state judge ruled that the "fetal heartbeat" law was unconstitutional.
On April 3, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court decided Varnum v. Brien,WL 874044
(Iowa 2009) (Publication to N.W.2d pending as of April 9, 2009.) holding in a unanimous decision, the state's law forbidding same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. This made Iowa the third state in the U.S. and first in the Midwest to permit same-sex marriage.
Other sectors
Iowa has a strong financial and insurance sector, with approximately 6,100 firms, including AEGON, Nationwide Group, Aviva, Farm Bureau Financial Services, GreatAmerica Financial Services, Voya Financial, Marsh Affinity Group, MetLife, Principal Financial Group, Principal Capital Management, Wells Fargo, and Greenstate Credit Union (formerly University of Iowa Community Credit Union).
Taxation
Tax is collected by the Iowa Department of Revenue.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Iowa was one of the leading states in the high school movement, and continues to be among the top educational performers today.Claudia Goldin, Lawrence F. Katz. Why the United States Led in Education: Lessons from Secondary School Expansion, 1910 to 1940 . In: Eltis D, Lewis F, Sokoloff K Human Capital and Institutions. Cambridge University Press; 2009.
transportation spending is a significant part of the budgets of rural school districts as many are geographically large and must transport students across vast distances. This reduces the amount of money spent on other aspects of the districts.
Colleges and universities
The Iowa Board of Regents is composed of nine citizen volunteers appointed by the governor to provide policymaking, coordination, and oversight of the state's three public universities, two special K–12 schools, and affiliated centers.
Health
The life expectancy of Iowa is 77.7 years in 2021. The state's rural population are more susceptible to diseases related to Food security, due to a lack of healthy food sources. The leading cause of death in Iowa is heart disease.
Transportation
Interstate highways
Iowa has four primary interstate highways. I-29 travels along the state's western edge through Council Bluffs and Sioux City. I-35 travels from the Missouri state line to the Minnesota state line through the state's center, including Des Moines. I-74 begins at I-80 just northeast of Davenport. I-80 travels from the Nebraska state line to the Illinois state line through the center of the state, including Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Iowa City, and the Quad Cities. I-380 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway, which travels from I-80 near Iowa City through Cedar Rapids ending in Waterloo and is part of the Avenue of the Saints highway. Iowa is among the few jurisdictions where municipalities install speed cameras on interstate highways providing a substantial revenue source from out of state drivers.
Airports with scheduled flights
Iowa is served by several regional airports including the Des Moines International Airport, the Eastern Iowa Airport, in Cedar Rapids, Quad City International Airport, in Moline, Illinois, and Eppley Airfield, in Omaha, Nebraska. Smaller airports in the state include the Council Bluffs Municipal Airport, Davenport Municipal Airport (Iowa), Dubuque Regional Airport, Fort Dodge Regional Airport, Mason City Municipal Airport, Sioux Gateway Airport, Southeast Iowa Regional Airport, and Waterloo Regional Airport.
Railroads
Amtrak's California Zephyr serves southern Iowa with stops in Burlington, Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa, Osceola, and Creston along its route between Chicago and Emeryville, California. Fort Madison is served by Amtrak's Southwest Chief, running between Chicago and Los Angeles. Both provide daily service through the state.
Public Transit
Iowa is served by a number of local transit providers including Bettendorf Transit, Cambus, Cedar Rapids Transit, Clinton Municipal Transit Administration, Coralville Transit, Cyride, Davenport Citibus, Des Moines Area Regional Transit, Iowa City Transit, The Jule, Mason City Transit, MET Transit, Omaha Metro Transit, Ottumwa Transit Authority, Quad Cities MetroLINK and Sioux City Transit.
Law and government
State
, the 43rd and current governor of Iowa is Kim Reynolds (R). Other statewide elected officials are:
National
The two U.S. senators:
Political parties
In Iowa, the term "political party" refers to political organizations which have received two percent or more of the votes cast for president or governor in the "last preceding general election". Iowa recognizes three political parties—the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, and the Libertarian Party. The Libertarian Party obtained official political party status in 2017 as a result of presidential candidate Gary Johnson receiving 3.8% of the Iowa vote in the 2016 general election. Third parties, officially termed "nonparty political organizations", can appear on the ballot as well. Four of these have had candidates on the ballot in Iowa since 2004 for various positions: the Constitution Party, the Green Party, the Pirate Party, and the Socialist Workers Party.
Voter trends
As a result of the 2010 elections, each party controlled one house of the Iowa General Assembly: the House had a Republican majority, while the Senate had a Democratic majority. As a result of the 2016 elections, Republicans gained control of the Senate. Incumbent Democratic governor Chet Culver was defeated in 2010 by Republican Terry Branstad, who had served as governor from 1983 to 1999. On December 14, 2015, Branstad became the longest serving governor in U.S. history, serving (at that time) 20 years, 11 months, and 3days; eclipsing George Clinton, who served 21 years until 1804. Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds succeeded him on May 24, 2017, following Branstad's appointment as U.S. Ambassador to China.
Republican 775,233 36.64% No affiliation 724,907 34.26% Democratic 595,903 28.17% Other 19,590 0.93%
Presidential caucus
The state gets considerable attention every four years because the Iowa caucus, gatherings of voters to select delegates to the state conventions, is the first presidential caucus in the country. The caucuses, held in January or February of the election year, involve people gathering in homes or public places and choosing their candidates, rather than casting secret ballots as is done in a presidential primary election.
Along with the New Hampshire primary the following week, Iowa's caucuses have become the starting points for choosing the two major-party candidates for president. The national and international media give Iowa and New Hampshire extensive attention, which gives Iowa voters leverage. In 2007 presidential campaign spending was the seventh highest in the country.
Civil rights
In a 2020 study, Iowa was ranked as the 24th easiest state for citizens to vote in.
Racial equality
In the 19th century Iowa was among the earliest states to enact prohibitions against race discrimination, especially in education, but was slow to achieve full integration in the 20th century. In the first decision of the Iowa Supreme Court— In Re the Matter of Ralph,1 Morris 1 (Iowa 1839) decided July 1839—the Court rejected slavery in a decision that found a slave named Ralph became free when he stepped on Iowa soil, 26 years before the end of the Civil War. The state did away with racial barriers to marriage in 1851, more than 100 years before the U.S. Supreme Court would ban miscegenation statutes nationwide. Gay marriage and Iowa: Why's everyone so surprised? , Chicago Tribune, April 10, 2009
Women's rights
As with racial equality, Iowa was a vanguard in women's rights in the mid-19th century, but did not allow women the right to vote until the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1920, Iowa legislature being one of the ratifying votes. In 1847, the University of Iowa became the first public university in the U.S. to admit men and women on an equal basis.About Iowa, Uiowa.edu In 1869, Iowa became the first state in the union to admit women to the practice of law, with the Court ruling women may not be denied the right to practice law in Iowa and admitting Arabella A. Mansfield to the practice of law. Several attempts to grant full voting rights to Iowa women were defeated between 1870 and 1919. In 1894 women were given "partial suffrage", which allowed them to vote on issues, but not for candidates. It was not until the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment that women had full suffrage in Iowa.The Fight for Women's Suffrage, IPTV.org Although Iowa supported the Federal Equal Rights Amendment, in 1980 and 1992 Iowa voters rejected an Equal Rights Amendment to the state constitution.How Did Iowa Coalitions Campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment in 1980 and 1992?, alexanderstreet.com Iowa added the word "women" to the Iowa Constitution in 1998. After the amendment, it reads: "All men and women are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights—among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness." 1857 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF IOWA—CODIFIED . Search.legis.state.ia.us (July 4, 1973). Retrieved on July 12, 2013.
LGBTQ rights
The state's law criminalizing same-sex sexual activity was repealed in June 1976, 27 years before Lawrence v. Texas. In 2007, the Iowa Legislature added "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the protected classes listed in the Iowa Civil Rights Act. The Iowa Legislature later struck "gender identity" from these protections in 2025, making Iowa the first U.S. state to remove a protected group from a state anti-discrimination law.
Sister jurisdictions
Iowa has ten official partner jurisdictions:
See also
Notes
External links
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