RANKING · 2020 CENSUS · 99 SHOWN OF 99

Most unemployed people, Iowa counties · 2020

Iowa counties with the most unemployed people in the civilian labor force, as of the 2020 American Community Survey. Ranked by number of people, not the unemployment rate. This list covers the 99 counties in Iowa that qualify, ranked against each other statewide. The median across all 99 is 230.

IowaAll states All rankings

SAME RANKING BYCities States Metros

RELATEDLowest unemployment Highest unemployment Highest labor force participation Lowest labor force participation Most white-collar workforce Most self-employed workers

RANKPLACESTATEPOPUNEMPLOYED RESIDENTSVS –

01Polk County, IAIA516,54612,360–

02Linn County, IAIA232,0284,893–

03Black Hawk County, IAIA131,5323,840–

04Scott County, IAIA175,2593,515–

05Johnson County, IAIA160,0443,226–

06Story County, IAIA101,2913,100–

07Woodbury County, IAIA106,6492,536–

08Dubuque County, IAIA99,3812,142–

09Pottawattamie County, IAIA92,9962,054–

10Dallas County, IAIA118,4571,612–

11Marshall County, IAIA39,8901,035–

12Clinton County, IAIA46,002987–

13Warren County, IAIA57,331922–

14Wapello County, IAIA35,210878–

15Lee County, IAIA32,306849–

16Des Moines County, IAIA38,077832–

17Cerro Gordo County, IAIA42,372741–

18Muscatine County, IAIA41,853732–

19Jefferson County, IAIA15,291661–

20Jasper County, IAIA38,153656–

21Buena Vista County, IAIA20,449636–

22Webster County, IAIA36,838552–

23Jackson County, IAIA19,288540–

24Poweshiek County, IAIA18,368495–

25Henry County, IAIA19,349465–

26Jones County, IAIA21,253453–

27Crawford County, IAIA16,237435–

28Marion County, IAIA34,192431–

29Bremer County, IAIA25,296422–

30Sioux County, IAIA36,774422–

31Clay County, IAIA16,202388–

32Page County, IAIA14,856383–

33Mahaska County, IAIA21,880365–

34Appanoose County, IAIA12,077348–

35Tama County, IAIA16,796342–

36Washington County, IAIA22,667334–

37Boone County, IAIA26,799325–

38Buchanan County, IAIA20,883320–

39Benton County, IAIA26,004314–

40Mills County, IAIA14,793309–

41Iowa County, IAIA16,504296–

42Union County, IAIA11,829292–

43Plymouth County, IAIA25,697286–

44Cedar County, IAIA18,359281–

45Butler County, IAIA14,049276–

46Kossuth County, IAIA14,322275–

47Madison County, IAIA17,270274–

48Winneshiek County, IAIA19,733244–

49Louisa County, IAIA10,416231–

50Hamilton County, IAIA14,944230–

51Hardin County, IAIA16,455230–

52Fayette County, IAIA19,047222–

53Franklin County, IAIA9,868216–

54Adair County, IAIA7,403215–

55Guthrie County, IAIA10,782212–

56Shelby County, IAIA11,689212–

57Floyd County, IAIA14,901207–

58Carroll County, IAIA20,303205–

59Clayton County, IAIA16,845205–

60Greene County, IAIA8,658201–

61Allamakee County, IAIA14,238197–

62Monroe County, IAIA7,406195–

63Keokuk County, IAIA9,797192–

64Harrison County, IAIA14,623188–

65Humboldt County, IAIA9,409179–

66Dickinson County, IAIA18,077178–

67Winnebago County, IAIA10,251175–

68Montgomery County, IAIA10,002169–

69Delaware County, IAIA17,674166–

70Wright County, IAIA12,801162–

71Van Buren County, IAIA7,131154–

72Grundy County, IAIA12,361153–

73Decatur County, IAIA7,655152–

74Emmet County, IAIA9,107147–

75Cherokee County, IAIA11,369146–

76Chickasaw County, IAIA11,663143–

77Pocahontas County, IAIA6,819140–

78Sac County, IAIA9,525140–

79Worth County, IAIA7,338140–

80Lucas County, IAIA8,847139–

81Fremont County, IAIA6,522133–

82Lyon County, IAIA12,354132–

83O'Brien County, IAIA14,220130–

84Davis County, IAIA9,230128–

85Cass County, IAIA12,960122–

86Hancock County, IAIA10,528120–

87Howard County, IAIA9,415115–

88Calhoun County, IAIA9,562108–

89Monona County, IAIA8,539102–

90Osceola County, IAIA5,98096–

91Clarke County, IAIA9,57494–

92Palo Alto County, IAIA8,89987–

93Taylor County, IAIA5,83586–

94Mitchell County, IAIA10,65082–

95Ida County, IAIA6,77780–

96Ringgold County, IAIA4,64268–

97Adams County, IAIA3,61763–

98Wayne County, IAIA6,73839–

99Audubon County, IAIA5,50938–

SHOWING 1–99 OF 99

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UPDATED 2026-09-11 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU DECENNIAL CENSUS