Fastest Growing Counties in Iowa (2026)

County
Rank
Change (2020) ↓
2026 Pop.
2020 Pop.
Dallas County121.47%122,102100,521
Warren County210.59%58,16652,597
Polk County35.39%519,581493,013
Johnson County45.33%161,225153,071
Wayne County55.15%6,8426,507
Madison County64.57%17,39116,631
Jones County73.28%21,33520,658
Lyon County83.19%12,30411,924
Marion County93.02%34,42933,420
Mills County102.95%14,83814,413
Lucas County112.87%8,8688,621
Story County122.54%101,16498,658
Guthrie County132.48%10,87710,614
Sioux County142.46%36,77135,888
Benton County152.39%26,16325,552
Buchanan County162.17%21,05520,608
Davis County171.84%9,2849,116
Dickinson County181.73%18,08217,775
Delaware County191.66%17,74617,456
Linn County201.42%233,667230,405
Allamakee County211.41%14,27014,072
Mitchell County221.11%10,70910,591
Jasper County230.96%38,18437,821
Washington County240.87%22,73222,536
Bremer County250.86%25,22925,014
O'Brien County260.68%14,25214,156
Harrison County270.63%14,65214,560
Boone County280.62%26,87126,705
Scott County290.62%175,678174,599
Woodbury County300.57%106,556105,949
Black Hawk County310.42%131,591131,037
Dubuque County320.42%99,72999,311
Grundy County330.11%12,35012,337
Plymouth County340.05%25,71025,697
Ringgold County35-0.13%4,6354,641
Cedar County36-0.3%18,43018,486
Webster County37-0.32%36,87736,997
Fremont County38-0.37%6,5516,575
Taylor County39-0.6%5,8275,862
Iowa County40-0.79%16,53416,665
Worth County41-0.82%7,3767,437
Hamilton County42-0.83%14,89015,014
Clinton County43-0.92%46,00546,431
Palo Alto County44-0.93%8,9068,990
Wapello County45-0.97%34,99135,334
Greene County46-0.99%8,6628,749
Shelby County47-1.01%11,60011,718
Pottawattamie County48-1.01%92,72293,667
Howard County49-1.06%9,3939,494
Marshall County50-1.12%39,65240,100
Jackson County51-1.14%19,22519,447
Decatur County52-1.2%7,6357,728
Winneshiek County53-1.26%19,79320,046
Wright County54-1.28%12,75412,919
Mahaska County55-1.37%21,84822,151
Cerro Gordo County56-1.44%42,39743,018
Tama County57-1.54%16,78817,050
Cass County58-1.55%12,91513,118
Poweshiek County59-1.74%18,31318,638
Clarke County60-1.79%9,5579,731
Monona County61-1.83%8,5868,746
Crawford County62-1.83%16,18516,487
Clayton County63-1.88%16,70717,027
Appanoose County64-1.88%12,05212,283
Van Buren County65-2.02%7,0757,221
Adams County66-2.05%3,6343,710
Adair County67-2.09%7,3417,498
Keokuk County68-2.1%9,79010,000
Des Moines County69-2.18%38,00438,849
Hardin County70-2.26%16,45016,831
Butler County71-2.32%14,00514,337
Franklin County72-2.32%9,7599,991
Fayette County73-2.39%18,98419,448
Monroe County74-2.39%7,4187,600
Buena Vista County75-2.68%20,24320,800
Carroll County76-2.73%20,16020,725
Emmet County77-2.76%9,0839,341
Clay County78-2.8%15,88316,341
Humboldt County79-2.98%9,3139,599
Hancock County80-3.04%10,43610,763
Jefferson County81-3.26%15,17715,688
Union County82-3.26%11,73412,130
Chickasaw County83-3.28%11,60211,995
Ida County84-3.31%6,7877,019
Page County85-3.31%14,69915,202
Sac County86-3.63%9,4369,791
Audubon County87-3.7%5,4705,680
Montgomery County88-3.71%9,95110,334
Cherokee County89-3.71%11,21611,648
Muscatine County90-3.72%41,54543,151
Osceola County91-4.02%5,9526,201
Lee County92-4.16%32,13233,527
Kossuth County93-4.18%14,17614,794
Calhoun County94-4.3%9,4709,895
Winnebago County95-4.71%10,15110,653
Pocahontas County96-5.01%6,7167,070
Louisa County97-5.12%10,26810,822
Henry County98-5.48%19,33020,450
Floyd County99-5.6%14,72115,595

Iowa Counties Growth Overview

Iowa's counties show varied growth patterns from 2020 to 2026. Dallas County leads with 3.29% annualized growth, followed by Warren County (1.69%) and Polk County (0.88%). The largest counties are Polk County (519,581), Linn County (233,667), and Scott County (175,678). Of the 99 counties in Iowa, 34 are growing while 65 have experienced population decline. Overall, counties averaged -0.1% annualized growth, with total population growing by 0.29% annually.

Change (2020)

-0.05

-0.025

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0.025

0.05

0.075