Iowa

Like many other states, Iowa takes its name from its predecessor, Iowa Territory, whose name in turn is derived from the Iowa River, and ultimately from the ethnonym of the indigenous Ioway people.

The Ioway are a Chiwere-speaking Siouan Nation, who were once part of the Ho-Chunk Confederation that inhabited the area now corresponding to several Midwest states. The Ioway were one of the many Native American nations whose territory comprised the future state of Iowa before the time of European colonization.{{cite book|author=Alex, Lynn M. |year=2000 |title=Iowa's Archaeological Past |publisher=University of Iowa Press, Iowa City}}

{{Main|History of Iowa}}

{{See also|American Indians of Iowa}}

{{Main|Iowa archaeology|American Indians of Iowa}}

File:Iowa archaeology edgewater.JPG]]

When Indigenous peoples of the Americas first arrived in what is now Iowa more than 13,000 years ago, they were hunters and gatherers living in a Pleistocene glacial landscape. By the time European explorers and traders visited Iowa, Native Americans were largely settled farmers with complex economic, social, and political systems. This transformation happened gradually. During the Archaic period (10,500 to 2,800 years ago), Native Americans adapted to local environments and ecosystems, slowly becoming more sedentary as populations increased.

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 Dakota, Ho-Chunk, Ioway, and Otoe. Tribes which arrived in Iowa in the late prehistoric or protohistoric periods include the Illiniwek, Meskwaki, Omaha, and Sauk.Alex, Lynn M. (2000) Iowa's Archaeological Past. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City.

{{Main|New France|Louisiana (New France)|French and Indian War|Treaty of Paris (1763)|New Spain|Louisiana (New Spain)|Treaty of Aranjuez (1801)|Louisiana Purchase|District of Louisiana|Louisiana Territory}}

File:Iowa 1718.jpg

The first known European explorers to document Iowa were Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet who traveled the Mississippi River in 1673 documenting several Indigenous villages on the Iowa side.{{cite book|last=Peterson|first=Cynthia L.|title=Frontier Forts of Iowa: Indians, Traders, and Soldiers, 1682–1862|editor=William E. Whittaker|publisher=University of Iowa Press|location=Iowa City|year=2009|pages=12–29|chapter=Historical Tribes and Early Forts|isbn=978-1-58729-831-8|chapter-url=http://www.uiowapress.org/books/2009-fall/whittaker.htm|access-date=May 31, 2014|archive-date=August 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817031053/http://www.uiowapress.org/books/2009-fall/whittaker.htm|url-status=live}}History of Iowa, Iowa Official Register, [http://publications.iowa.gov/135/1/history/7-1.html Publications.iowa.gov] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903191039/http://publications.iowa.gov/135/1/history/7-1.html |date=September 3, 2009 }} The area of Iowa was claimed for France and remained a French territory until 1763. The French, before their impending defeat in the French and Indian War, transferred ownership to their ally, Spain.Herbermann, Charles. The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church. Encyclopedia Press, 1913, p. 380 (Original from Harvard University). Spain practiced very loose control over the Iowa region, granting trading licenses to French and British traders, who established trading posts along the Mississippi and Des Moines Rivers.

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 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.{{cite book|last=Carlson|first=Gayle F.|title=Frontier Forts of Iowa: Indians, Traders, and Soldiers, 1682–1862|editor=William E. Whittaker|publisher=University of Iowa Press|location=Iowa City|year=2009|pages=104–120|chapter=Fort Atkinson, Nebraska, 1820–1827, and Other Missouri River Sites|isbn=978-1-58729-831-8|chapter-url=http://www.uiowapress.org/books/2009-fall/whittaker.htm|access-date=May 31, 2014|archive-date=August 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817031053/http://www.uiowapress.org/books/2009-fall/whittaker.htm|url-status=live}} In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte took control of Louisiana from Spain in a treaty.{{Cite web|url=https://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/diplomatic/c_ildefonso.html|title=Treaty of San Ildefonso 1800|website=Napoleon-series.org|access-date=April 14, 2020|archive-date=November 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106232551/https://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/diplomatic/c_ildefonso.html|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite book|last=McKusick|first=Marshall B.|title=Frontier Forts of Iowa: Indians, Traders, and Soldiers, 1682–1862|editor=William E. Whittaker|publisher=University of Iowa Press|location=Iowa City|year=2009|pages=55–74|chapter=Fort Madison, 1808–1813|isbn=978-1-58729-831-8|chapter-url=http://www.uiowapress.org/books/2009-fall/whittaker.htm|access-date=May 31, 2014|archive-date=August 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817031053/http://www.uiowapress.org/books/2009-fall/whittaker.htm|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Missouri Territory}}

Fort Madison was built to control trade and establish U.S. dominance over the Upper Mississippi, but it was poorly designed and disliked by the Sauk and Meskwaki, many of whom allied with the British, who had not abandoned claims to the territory.Prucha, Francis P. (1969) The Sword of the Republic: The United States Army on the Frontier 1783–1846. Macmillan, New York. Fort Madison was defeated by British-supported Indigenous people in 1813 during the War of 1812, and Fort Shelby in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, also fell to the British. Black Hawk took part in the siege of Fort Madison.Jackson, Donald (1960), A Critic's View of Old Fort Madison, Iowa Journal of History and Politics 58(1) pp.31–36Black Hawk (1882) Autobiography of Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak or Black Hawk. Continental Printing, St. Louis. (Originally published 1833) Another small military outpost was established along the Mississippi River in present-day Bellevue. This poorly situated stockade was similarly attacked by hundreds of Indigenous people in 1813, but was successfully defended and later abandoned until settlers returned to the area in the mid-1830s.{{cite book |title=The History of Jackson County, Iowa, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, &c., Biographical Sketches of Citizens |date=1879 |publisher=Western Historical Co. |location=Chicago |page=531 }}

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.{{cite book|editor-last=Whittaker|editor-first=William E.|title=Frontier Forts of Iowa: Indians, Traders, and Soldiers, 1682–1862|publisher=University of Iowa Press|location=Iowa City|year=2009|isbn=978-1-58729-831-8|url=http://www.uiowapress.org/books/2009-fall/whittaker.htm|access-date=May 31, 2014|archive-date=August 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817031053/http://www.uiowapress.org/books/2009-fall/whittaker.htm|url-status=live}}

{{See also|Indian removal}}The United States encouraged settlement of the east side of the Mississippi and removal of Indians to the west.{{Cite web|url=https://guides.loc.gov/indian-removal-act|title=Research Guides: Indian Removal Act: Primary Documents in American History: Introduction|last=Drexler|first=Ken|website=guides.loc.gov|access-date=April 14, 2020|archive-date=April 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200405194808/https://guides.loc.gov/indian-removal-act|url-status=live}} A disputed 1804 treaty between Quashquame and William Henry Harrison (then governor of the Indiana Territory) that surrendered much of Illinois to the U.S. enraged many Sauk and led to the 1832 Black Hawk War.{{Cite book|author=Jung, Patrick J. |title=The Black Hawk War of 1832|date=2007|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-3811-4|location=Norman|oclc=70718369}}

The Sauk 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{{Cite web|url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/sau0349.htm|title=INDIAN AFFAIRS: LAWS AND TREATIES Vol. II, Treaties|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922055639/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/sau0349.htm#mn5|archive-date=September 22, 2017|access-date=April 14, 2020}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/exhibits/previous/native/|title=University Libraries | The University of Iowa}} In 1856 the Iowa Legislature passed an unprecedented act allowing the Meskwaki to purchase the land.{{Cite web|url=https://meskwaki.org/about-us/history/|title=History {{!}} Meskwaki Nation|access-date=April 14, 2020|archive-date=April 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412195746/https://meskwaki.org/about-us/history/|url-status=live}} However, in contrast to the unprecedented act of the Iowa Legislature, the United States Federal Government, through the use of Treaties, forced the Ho-Chunk from Iowa in 1848,{{Cite web|url=https://www.mnopedia.org/event/ho-chunk-and-long-prairie-1846-1855|title=Ho-Chunk and Long Prairie, 1846–1855|last=Reicher|first=Matt|date=March 15, 2019|website=Mnopedia|access-date=April 14, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611152720/https://www.mnopedia.org/event/ho-chunk-and-long-prairie-1846-1855|url-status=live}} and forced the Dakota from Iowa by 1858.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usdakotawar.org/history/treaties/minnesota-treaties|title=Minnesota Treaties {{!}} The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862|website=Usdakotawar.org|date=August 14, 2012|access-date=April 14, 2020|archive-date=August 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825023515/http://www.usdakotawar.org/history/treaties/minnesota-treaties|url-status=live}} Western Iowa around modern Council Bluffs was used as an Indian Reservation for members of the Council of Three Fires.{{Citation|last1=Clifton|first1=James A.|last2=Cornell|first2=George L.|last3=McClurken|first3=James M.|year=1986|title=People of the Three Fires|page=37|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED321956.pdf|access-date=April 14, 2020|archive-date=May 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518112033/http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED321956.pdf|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Michigan Territory|Wisconsin Territory|Organic act#List of organic acts|Iowa Territory|Admission to the Union|List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union}}

File:Iowa territorial seal.jpg]]

File:Bellevue, Iowa in 1848.png along the Mississippi, 1848]]

The first American settlers officially moved to Iowa in June 1833.{{cite web|url=http://publications.iowa.gov/135/1/history/7-1.html|title=History of Iowa|publisher=Iowa State University|author=Schwieder, Dorothy|access-date=June 6, 2009|archive-date=September 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903191039/http://publications.iowa.gov/135/1/history/7-1.html|url-status=live}} Primarily, they were families from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, Kentucky, and Virginia who settled along the western banks of the Mississippi River, founding the modern day cities of Dubuque and Bellevue near the site of Julien Dubuque's 1785–1810 lead mining operation.{{cite web|url=https://co.jackson.ia.us/history.htm|title=Jackson County, Iowa History Information|publisher=Jackson County, Iowa|access-date=November 3, 2019|archive-date=November 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104000006/https://co.jackson.ia.us/history.htm|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |title=History {{!}} Dubuque, IA - Official Website |url=https://www.cityofdubuque.org/1060/History |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=www.cityofdubuque.org}} On July 4, 1838, the U.S. Congress established the Territory of Iowa. President Martin Van Buren appointed Robert Lucas governor of the territory, which at the time had 22 counties and a population of 23,242.Iowa Official Register, Volume Number 60, page 314

Almost immediately after achieving 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 Iowa's admission bill into law. Once admitted to the Union, 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):159–95

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-19 pandemic in the United States.{{cite web|url=http://iowastatefair.com/about/trivia.php |title=Iowa State Fair |publisher=Trivia |access-date=December 12, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130160719/http://iowastatefair.com/about/trivia.php |archive-date=November 30, 2010 }}{{Cite web|title=Safety|url=http://www.iowastatefair.org/safety/|access-date=October 13, 2020|website=Iowa State Fair|archive-date=October 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016165113/https://www.iowastatefair.org/safety/|url-status=live}}

{{Main article|Iowa in the American Civil War}}

Iowa supported the Union during the Civil War, voting heavily for Abraham Lincoln, though there was an antiwar "Copperhead" movement in the state, caused partially by a drop in crop prices caused by the war.{{cite journal |last=Lendt |first=David L. |title=Iowa and the Copperhead Movement |journal=The Annals of Iowa |volume=40 |date=1970 |issue=6 |pages=412–427 |doi=10.17077/0003-4827.7965 |url=https://pubs.lib.uiowa.edu/annals-of-iowa/article/id/8482/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510004833/https://pubs.lib.uiowa.edu/annals-of-iowa/article/id/8482/ |archive-date=May 10, 2022 |via=Iowa Research Online|doi-access=free |issn = 0003-4827 }} There were no battles in the state, although the Battle of Athens, Missouri, 1861, was fought just across the Des Moines River from Croton, Iowa, and shots from the battle landed in Iowa. Iowa sent large supplies of food to the armies and the eastern cities.Iowa Official Register, Volume No. 60, page 315

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 South.{{cite web|url=http://www.iowanationalguard.com/Museum/IA_History/CivilWar.htm |title=Civil War |publisher=Iowanationalguard.com |access-date=July 26, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529001226/http://www.iowanationalguard.com/Museum/IA_History/CivilWar.htm |archive-date=May 29, 2010 }} 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.

Following the Civil War, Iowa's population continued to grow dramatically, from 674,913 people in 1860[https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1864/dec/1860a.html "1860 Census: Population of the United States"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121165007/https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1864/dec/1860a.html |date=January 21, 2021 }}. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 7, 2019. to 1,624,615 in 1880.{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1883/dec/vol-01-population.html|title=1880 Census: Volume 1. Statistics of the Population|website=The United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 14, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611125326/https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1883/dec/vol-01-population.html|url-status=live}} The American Civil War briefly brought higher profits.{{Cite web|url=http://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/mypath/economics-agriculture|title=The Economics of Agriculture|date=July 25, 2016|website=Iowa PBS|access-date=April 15, 2020|archive-date=May 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521171513/http://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/mypath/economics-agriculture|url-status=live}}

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,{{Cite web|url=http://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/mypath/types-business-and-industry|title=Types of Business and Industry|date=July 25, 2016|website=Iowa PBS|access-date=April 15, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611114229/http://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/mypath/types-business-and-industry|url-status=live}} which were mainly for processing materials grown in the area,{{Cite web|url=http://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/mypath/early-industry|title=Early Industry|date=July 25, 2016|website=Iowa PBS|access-date=April 15, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611135435/http://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/mypath/early-industry|url-status=live}} Iowa has experienced a gradual increase in the number of business and manufacturing operations.

The transition from an agricultural economy to a mixed economy happened slowly. The Great Depression and World War II accelerated the shift away from smallholder farming to larger farms, and began a trend of urbanization. The period after World War II witnessed a particular increase in manufacturing operations.{{Cite web|url=http://publications.iowa.gov/135/1/history/7-1.html|title=History of Iowa|website=publications.iowa.gov|last=Schwieder|first=Dorothy|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=September 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903191039/http://publications.iowa.gov/135/1/history/7-1.html|url-status=live}}

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, [http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id395.htm Tripod.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706051758/http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id395.htm |date=July 6, 2008 }} The crisis spurred a major, decade-long population decline.Population Trends: The Changing Face of Iowa, [http://iwin.iwd.state.ia.us/iowa/ArticleReader?itemid=00003011 State.ia.us] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006013221/http://iwin.iwd.state.ia.us/iowa/ArticleReader?itemid=00003011 |date=October 6, 2006 }}

After bottoming out in the 1980s, Iowa's economy began to reduce its dependence on agriculture. By the early 21st century, it was characterized by a mix of manufacturing, biotechnology, finance and insurance services, and government services.Iowa Industries, Iowa Workforce Development. [http://www.iowalifechanging.com/downloads/iaindustries.pdf Iowalifechanging.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050520102110/http://www.iowalifechanging.com/downloads/iaindustries.pdf |date=May 20, 2005 }} The population of Iowa has increased at a slower rate than the U.S. as a whole since at least the 1900 census,{{cite web |title=Historical Population Change Data (1910–2020) |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/popchange-data-text.html |website=Census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=May 1, 2021 |archive-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429012609/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/popchange-data-text.html |url-status=dead }} though Iowa now has a predominantly urban population.Iowa Data Center, 2000 Census: [http://data.iowadatacenter.org/datatables/urbanrural/urstagesexbymalefemale2000.pdf Iowadatacenter.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203200948/http://data.iowadatacenter.org/datatables/urbanrural/urstagesexbymalefemale2000.pdf |date=December 3, 2008 }} The Iowa Economic Development Authority, created in 2011 has replaced the Iowa Department of Economic Development and its annual reports are a source of economic information.{{cite web|title=Iowa Economic Development Authority|url=http://www.iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/resources/reports/FY13Report|publisher=iowaeconomicdevelopment.com|access-date=July 26, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812042034/http://www.iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/resources/reports/FY13Report|archive-date=August 12, 2014}}

{{Main|Geography of Iowa}}

{{See also|List of counties in Iowa}}

File:Iowa topography.jpg

Iowa is bordered by the Mississippi River on the east along with the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west. The northern boundary is a line along 43 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude.{{cite book|title=Preamble to the 1857 Constitution of the State of Iowa |url=http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Constitution.html#pre1 |access-date=August 9, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802085648/http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Constitution.html |archive-date=August 2, 2009 }}{{efn|The Missouri and Mississippi river boundaries are as they were mapped in the 19th century, which can vary from their modern courses.}} The southern border is the Des Moines River and a not-quite-straight line along approximately 40 degrees 35 minutes north, as decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in Missouri v. Iowa (1849) after a standoff between Missouri and Iowa known as the Honey War.48 U.S. (7 How.) 660 (1849).{{cite web|first=Jeff |last=Morrison |title=Forty-Thirty-five or fight? Sullivan's Line, the Honey War, and latitudinal estimations |url=http://homepage.mac.com/jeffmorrison/maps/sullivanline.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101232646/http://homepage.mac.com/jeffmorrison/maps/sullivanline.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 1, 2007 |date=January 13, 2005 |access-date=August 9, 2009 }}

Iowa is the only state whose east and west borders are formed almost entirely by rivers.{{cite web|url=http://www.50states.com/facts/iowa.htm|title=Iowa Fast Facts and Trivia|publisher=50states.com|access-date=February 24, 2013|archive-date=January 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128111247/http://www.50states.com/facts/iowa.htm|url-status=live}} Carter Lake, Iowa, is the only city in the state located west of the Missouri River.{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofcarterlake.com/about-carter-lake-|access-date=October 7, 2020|title=About Carter Lake|archive-date=October 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009210417/http://www.cityofcarterlake.com/about-carter-lake-|url-status=live}}

Iowa has 99 counties, but 100 county seats because Lee County has two. The state capital, Des Moines, is in Polk County.{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/research/data/Pages/CountySeats.aspx |title=National Association of Counties |publisher=County Seats |access-date=December 24, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222131008/http://www.naco.org/research/data/Pages/CountySeats.aspx |archive-date=December 22, 2010 }}

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| caption2 = Iowa terrain

}}

Iowa's bedrock geology generally decreases in age from east to west. In northwest Iowa, Cretaceous bedrock can be 74 million years old; in eastern Iowa Cambrian bedrock dates to c. 500 million years ago.{{cite book|last1=Prior |first1=Jean Cutler |others=Adapted from Iowa Geology 2007, Iowa Department of Natural Resources |title=Geology of Iowa: Iowa's Earth History Shaped by Ice, Wind, Rivers, and Ancient Seas |url=http://www.igsb.uiowa.edu/Browse/geoiowa/GEOIOWA.HTM |access-date=August 9, 2009 |publisher=Iowa Department of Natural Resources Geological Survey |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416104106/http://www.igsb.uiowa.edu/browse/geoiowa/geoiowa.htm |archive-date=April 16, 2009 }} The oldest radiometrically dated bedrock in the state is the 2.9 billion year old Otter Creek Layered Mafic Complex. Precambrian rock is exposed only in the northwest of the state.{{cite book|last1=Anderson |first1=Wayne I. |title=Iowa's Geological Past: Three Billion Years of Change |date=1998 |location=Iowa City |publisher=University of Iowa Press|page=21 }}

Iowa can be divided into eight landforms based on glaciation, soils, topography, and river drainage.{{cite book|author=Prior, Jean C. |date=1991 |title=Landforms of Iowa |publisher=University of Iowa Press, Iowa City |url=http://www.igsb.uiowa.edu/Browse/landform.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302084724/http://www.igsb.uiowa.edu/Browse/landform.htm |archive-date=March 2, 2009 }} Loess hills lie along the western border of the state, some of which are several hundred feet thick.{{cite web | url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/info/loess/ | title=Geology of the Loess Hills, Iowa | date=July 1999 | access-date=March 26, 2008 | publisher=United States Geological Survey | archive-date=March 28, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080328103032/http://pubs.usgs.gov/info/loess/ | url-status=live }} Northeast Iowa along the Upper Mississippi River is part of the Driftless Area, consisting of steep hills and valleys which appear as mountainous.{{cite web |url=http://www.uni.edu/iowaonline/prairievoices/images/Landforms_of_Iowa.pdf |title=Landforms of Iowa |publisher=Uni.edu |access-date=April 7, 2020 |archive-date=July 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120731024555/http://www.uni.edu/iowaonline/prairievoices/images/Landforms_of_Iowa.pdf |url-status=live }}

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,{{cite web|url=http://www.iowadnr.com/fish/fishing/lakes/ode58.html |title=Odessa |publisher=Iowa Department of Natural Resources |access-date=June 6, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921204808/http://www.iowadnr.com/fish/fishing/lakes/ode58.html |archive-date=September 21, 2008 }} 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 been drained.{{Cite web|url=https://www.iowadnr.gov/environmental-protection/water-quality/water-monitoring/wetlands|title=Wetlands|website=Iowadnr.gov|access-date=April 7, 2020|archive-date=April 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407181024/https://www.iowadnr.gov/environmental-protection/water-quality/water-monitoring/wetlands|url-status=live}}

{{main|Environment of Iowa}}

Image:Landforms of Iowa.jpg

Iowa's natural vegetation is tallgrass prairie and savanna in upland areas, with dense forest and wetlands in flood plains and protected river valleys, and pothole wetlands in northern prairie areas. Most of Iowa is used for agriculture; crops cover 60% of the state, grasslands (mostly pasture and hay with some prairie and wetland) cover 30%, and forests cover 7%; urban areas and water cover another 1% each.Iowa DNR: Iowa's Statewide Land Cover Inventory, [http://www.igsb.uiowa.edu/Browse/landcvr/landcvr.htm Uiowa.edu] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502010333/http://www.igsb.uiowa.edu/Browse/landcvr/landcvr.htm |date=May 2, 2009 }}

The southern part of Iowa is categorized as the Central forest-grasslands transition ecoregion.{{Cite book|title=Terrestrial ecoregions of North America : a conservation assessment|date=1999|publisher=Island Press|author=Ricketts, Taylor H.|isbn=1-55963-722-6|location=Washington, D.C.|oclc=40856986}} The Northern, drier part of Iowa is categorized as part of the Central tall grasslands.{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/na0805|title=Central tall grasslands {{!}} Ecoregions {{!}} WWF|website=World Wildlife Fund|access-date=April 7, 2020|archive-date=August 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810230034/https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/na0805|url-status=live}}

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, [http://www.iowadnr.gov/Environment/ThreatenedEndangered.aspx Iowadnr.gov] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924035847/http://www.iowadnr.gov/Environment/ThreatenedEndangered.aspx |date=September 24, 2015 }} {{As of|2005}} Iowa ranked 49th of U.S. states in public land holdings."Des Moines Register", June 1, 2019, [http://www.nicholasjohnson.org/politics/IaChild/eddmr601.html Iowa Must Step Up Investment in Public Lands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722011116/http://www.nicholasjohnson.org/politics/IaChild/eddmr601.html |date=July 22, 2011 }} Nicholasjohnson.org Threatened or endangered animals in Iowa include the interior 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, [http://www.agriculture.state.ia.us/livingOnTheEdge/endangeredAnimals.asp Agriculture.state.ia.us] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930210518/http://www.agriculture.state.ia.us/livingOnTheEdge/endangeredAnimals.asp |date=September 30, 2011 }} 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, [http://www.agriculture.state.ia.us/livingOnTheEdge/endangeredPlants.asp Agriculture.state.ia.us] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930210523/http://www.agriculture.state.ia.us/livingOnTheEdge/endangeredPlants.asp |date=September 30, 2011 }}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/iowa-view/2020/02/18/cafos-animal-feeding-hogs-harms-iowa-have-worsened-moratorium/4794608002/|title=Living with Hogs in Rural Iowa|year=2003|website=Iowa Ag Review|publisher=Iowa State University|access-date=November 25, 2009}}

Other factors negatively affecting Iowa's environment include the extensive use of older coal-fired power plants,{{cite news|url=http://gazetteonline.com/breaking-news/2009/11/24/report-many-iowa-coal-plants-among-nations-oldest|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208190707/http://gazetteonline.com/breaking-news/2009/11/24/report-many-iowa-coal-plants-among-nations-oldest|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 8, 2012|title=Report: Many Iowa coal plants among nation's oldest|last=Heldt|first=Diane|date=November 24, 2009|work=Cedar Rapids Gazette|access-date=November 25, 2009}} fertilizer and pesticide runoff from crop production,{{cite web|url=http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal/story.cfm/556 |title=Iowa Works to Reduce Run-off Polluting the Gulf of Mexico |date=September 17, 2009 |website=The Iowa Journal |publisher=Iowa Public Television |access-date=November 25, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091106172619/http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal/story.cfm/556 |archive-date=November 6, 2009 }} and diminishment of the Jordan Aquifer.{{cite news|url=http://gazetteonline.com/local-news/2009/12/06/heavy-use-draining-aquifer |title=Heavy use draining aquifer |last=Love |first=Orlan |date=December 6, 2009 |publisher=Cedar Rapids Gazette |access-date=December 20, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091209064212/http://gazetteonline.com/local-news/2009/12/06/heavy-use-draining-aquifer |archive-date=December 9, 2009 }}

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.{{Cite news |last=Charmayne Hefley |date=2024-01-29 |title=Iowa faces longest stretch of drought since the 1950s |url=https://www.agriculture.com/iowa-faces-longest-stretch-of-drought-since-the-1950s-8551122 |access-date=2024-03-01 |language=en}}

{{further|Climate change in Iowa}}

File:Köppen Climate Types Iowa.png of Iowa, using 1991–2020 climate normals]]

File:Iowa rainfall.jpg

Iowa has a humid continental climate throughout the state (Köppen climate classification Dfa) with extremes of both heat and cold. The average annual temperature at Des Moines is {{convert|50|F}}; for some locations in the north, such as Mason City, the figure is about {{convert|45|F}}, while Keokuk, on the Mississippi River, averages {{convert|52|F}}.{{Cite web|url=https://en.climate-data.org/north-america/united-states-of-america/iowa-936/|title=Climate Iowa: Temperature, climate graph, Climate table for Iowa - Climate-Data.org|website=en.climate-data.org|access-date=April 6, 2020|archive-date=April 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424143949/https://en.climate-data.org/north-america/united-states-of-america/iowa-936/|url-status=live}} Snowfall is common, with Des Moines getting about 26 days of snowfall a year, and other places, such as Shenandoah getting about 11 days of snowfall in a year.{{Cite web|url=https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Iowa/annual-snowfall.php|title=Average Annual Snowfall Totals in Iowa – Current Results|website=Currentresults.com|access-date=April 6, 2020|archive-date=February 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221044826/https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Iowa/annual-snowfall.php|url-status=live}}

Spring ushers in the beginning of the severe weather season. As of 2008, Iowa averaged about 50 days of thunderstorm activity per year.[http://www.srh.noaa.gov/key/HTML/tstmhazards.htm US Thunderstorm distribution]. src.noaa.gov. Retrieved February 13, 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061015060809/http://www.srh.noaa.gov/key/HTML/tstmhazards.htm |date=October 15, 2006 }} As of 2015, the 30-year annual average of tornadoes in Iowa was 47.{{cite web|url=http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dmx/?n=iators2013|title=Des Moines, IA|website=noaa.gov|access-date=February 18, 2015|archive-date=August 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821013206/http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dmx/?n=iators2013|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite news | url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/storms/tornadoes/2009-01-02-iowa-tornadoes_N.htm?csp=34 | access-date=January 2, 2009 | work=USA Today | title=2008 Iowa tornadoes deadliest since 1968 | date=January 2, 2009 | archive-date=October 11, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011012835/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/storms/tornadoes/2009-01-02-iowa-tornadoes_N.htm?csp=34 | url-status=live }}

Iowa summers are known for heat and humidity, with daytime temperatures sometimes near {{convert|90|F}} and occasionally exceeding {{convert|100|F}}. Average winters in the state have been known to drop well below freezing, even dropping below {{convert|−18|F}}. As of 2018, Iowa's all-time hottest temperature of {{convert|118|F|C}} was recorded at Keokuk on July 20, 1934, during a nationwide heat wave;{{Cite report|url=http://www.cityofkeokuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Keokuk-Comprehensive-Plan-2018.pdf|title=Keokuk Comprehensive Plan 2018|date=June 2018|access-date=April 6, 2020|archive-date=February 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220154035/http://www.cityofkeokuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Keokuk-Comprehensive-Plan-2018.pdf|url-status=live}} as of 2014, the all-time lowest temperature of {{convert|−47|F|C}} was recorded in Washta on January 12, 1912.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/07/washta-coldest-spot-in-iowa/4352579/|title=Site of Iowa's coldest temp shivers with rest of state|last=Munson|first=Kyle|website=USA TODAY|access-date=April 6, 2020|archive-date=February 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228050414/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/07/washta-coldest-spot-in-iowa/4352579/|url-status=live}}

{{sort under}}

{| class="wikitable sortable sort-under" "text-align: center; font-size: 90%;"

|+ Monthly normal high and low temperatures for various Iowa cities (°F){{cite web|url=http://www.ustravelweather.com/iowa/|title=Iowa Weather-Iowa Weather Forecast-Iowa Climate|website=ustravelweather.com|access-date=February 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131181314/http://www.ustravelweather.com/iowa/|archive-date=January 31, 2011|url-status=dead}}

|-

! style="background-color:#e5afaa;" | City

! style="background-color:#e5afaa;" data-sort-type="number" | Jan

! style="background-color:#e5afaa;" data-sort-type="number" | Feb

! style="background-color:#e5afaa;" data-sort-type="number" | Mar

! style="background-color:#e5afaa;" data-sort-type="number" | Apr

! style="background-color:#e5afaa;" data-sort-type="number" | May

! style="background-color:#e5afaa;" data-sort-type="number" | Jun

! style="background-color:#e5afaa;" data-sort-type="number" | Jul

! style="background-color:#e5afaa;" data-sort-type="number" | Aug

! style="background-color:#e5afaa;" data-sort-type="number" | Sep

! style="background-color:#e5afaa;" data-sort-type="number" | Oct

! style="background-color:#e5afaa;" data-sort-type="number" | Nov

! style="background-color:#e5afaa;" data-sort-type="number" | Dec

|- style="background:#c5dfe1;"

! style="background:#c5dfe1;" | Davenport{{cite web|title=Monthly Averages for Davenport, Iowa|url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/allergies/wxclimatology/monthly/52804|publisher=Weather.com|access-date=November 1, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008014408/http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/allergies/wxclimatology/monthly/52804|archive-date=October 8, 2008|url-status=dead}}

| 30/13

| 36/19

| 48/29

| 61/41

| 72/52

| 81/63

| 85/68

| 83/66

| 76/57

| 65/45

| 48/32

| 35/20

|- style="background:#f8f3ca;"

! style="background:#f8f3ca;" | Des Moines{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/fitness/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIA0231 |title=Average Weather for Des Moines, IA—Temperature and Precipitation |publisher=Weather.com |access-date=February 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024151924/http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/fitness/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIA0231 |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |url-status=dead }}

| 31/14

| 36/19

| 49/30

| 62/41

| 72/52

| 82/62

| 86/67

| 84/65

| 76/55

| 63/43

| 48/31

| 34/18

|- style="background:#c5dfe1;"

! style="background:#c5dfe1;" | Keokuk{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/fitness/wxclimatology/daily/USIA0434 |title=Daily Averages for Keokuk, IA |publisher=weather.com |access-date=February 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024141157/http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/fitness/wxclimatology/daily/USIA0434 |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |url-status=dead }}

| 34/17

| 39/21

| 50/30

| 63/42

| 73/52

| 83/62

| 87/67

| 85/65

| 78/56

| 66/44

| 51/33

| 33/21

|- style="background:#f8f3ca;"

! style="background:#f8f3ca;" | Mason City{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/fitness/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIA0541 |title=Average Weather for Mason City, IA—Temperature and Precipitation |publisher=Weather.com |access-date=February 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024141115/http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/fitness/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIA0541 |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |url-status=dead }}

| 24/6

| 29/12

| 41/23

| 57/35

| 69/46

| 79/57

| 82/61

| 80/58

| 73/49

| 60/37

| 43/25

| 28/11

|- style="background:#c5dfe1;"

! style="background:#c5dfe1;" | Sioux City{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/fitness/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIA0793 |title=Average Weather for Sioux City, IA—Temperature and Precipitation |publisher=Weather.com |access-date=February 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024141126/http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/fitness/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIA0793 |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |url-status=dead }}

| 31/10

| 35/15

| 47/26

| 62/37

| 73/49

| 82/59

| 86/63

| 83/63

| 76/51

| 63/38

| 46/25

| 32/13

|}

Iowa has had a relatively smooth gradient of varying precipitation across the state; from 1961 to 1990, areas in the southeast of the state received an average of over {{convert|38|in|cm}} of rain annually, and the northwest of the state receiving less than {{convert|28|in|cm}}.[http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/pcpn/ia.gif Average Annual Precipitation Iowa, 1961–1990 (GIF File)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213012932/http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/pcpn/ia.gif |date=February 13, 2010 }}—Christopher Daly, Jenny Weisburg The pattern of precipitation across Iowa is seasonal with more rain falling in the summer months. Virtually statewide, the driest month is January or February, and the wettest month is June owing to frequent showers and thunderstorms some of which produce hail, damaging winds or tornadoes. In Des Moines, roughly in the center of the state, over two-thirds of the {{convert|34.72|in|cm}} of rain falls from April through September, and about half the average annual precipitation falls from May through August peaking in June.{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIA0231 |title=Average Weather for Des Moines, IA—Temperature and Precipitation, Weather.com, Retrieved Jan. 7, 2009 |publisher=Weather.com |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203141541/http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIA0231 |archive-date=December 3, 2010 |url-status=dead }}

File:Iowa pop 00 to 09.jpg

{{See also|List of cities in Iowa|}}Iowa's population is more urban than rural, with 61 percent living in urban areas in 2000, a trend that began in the early 20th century. Urban counties in Iowa grew 8.5% from 2000 to 2008, while rural counties declined by 4.2%.Iowans still flocking to cities, census stats show. Cedar Rapids Gazette, June 30, 2009, [http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090701/NEWS/707019956/1001/NEWS Gazetteonline.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330082817/http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20090701%2FNEWS%2F707019956%2F1001%2FNEWS |date=March 30, 2012 }} The shift from rural to urban has caused population increases in more urbanized counties such as Dallas, Johnson, Linn, Polk, and Scott, at the expense of more rural counties.U.S. Census Bureau State and County Quick Facts, [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/19000.html Census.gov] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527093102/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/19000.html |date=May 27, 2010 }}

Iowa, in common with other Midwestern states (especially Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota), is feeling the brunt of rural flight, although Iowa has been gaining population since approximately 1990. Some smaller communities, such as Denison and Storm Lake, have mitigated this population loss through gains in immigrant laborers.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/14/books/14grim.html|work=The New York Times|first=William|last=Grimes|title=In This Small Town in Iowa the Future Speaks Spanish|date=September 14, 2005|access-date=February 19, 2017|archive-date=February 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209162307/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/14/books/14grim.html|url-status=live}}

Another demographic problem for Iowa is the 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, [http://www.uiowa.edu/~ican/Papers%202006/braindrain122806.pdf Uiowa.edu] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412193400/http://www.uiowa.edu/~ican/Papers%202006/braindrain122806.pdf |date=April 12, 2012 }}

{|class="wikitable sortable"

|+Iowa's largest cities and their surrounding areas
Recorded by the United States Census Bureau

|-

! scope="col" |Rank

! scope="col" class="unsortable" |City

! scope="col" style="width: 5em;" |2020 city population{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2020|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=June 8, 2021|archive-date=December 27, 1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961227012639/https://www.census.gov/|url-status=live}}

! scope="col" style="width: 5em;" |2010 city population{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|title=Population 2010—Iowa Cities|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 4, 2011|archive-date=December 27, 1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961227012639/https://www.census.gov/|url-status=live}}

! scope="col" style="width: 5em;" |Change

! scope="col" class="unsortable" |Metropolitan Statistical Area

! scope="col" style="width: 5em;"|2020 metro population{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |title=Estimates of Resident Population Change and Rankings: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2020—United States—Metropolitan Statistical Area; and for Puerto Rico |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=June 8, 2021 |archive-date=December 27, 1996 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961227012639/https://www.census.gov/ |url-status=live }}

! scope="col" style="width: 5em;"|2010 metro population

! scope="col" style="width: 5em;"|2020 metro change

|- align=right

|align=center|1

|align=left|Des Moines

| {{change|invert=on| 214133 |203433}}

|align=left|Des Moines–West Des Moines

| {{change|invert=on| 707915 |606475}}

|- align=right

|align=center|2

|align=left|Cedar Rapids

| {{change|invert=on| 137710 |126326}}

|align=left|Cedar Rapids

| {{change|invert=on| 273885 |257940}}

|- align=right

|align=center|3

|align=left|Davenport

| {{change|invert=on| 101724 |99685}}

|align=left|Quad Cities

| {{change|invert=on| 382268 |379690}}

|- align=right

|align=center|4

|align=left|Sioux City

| {{change|invert=on| 85797 |82684}}

|align=left|Sioux City

| {{change|invert=on| 144996 |143577}}

|- align=right

|align=center|5

|align=left|Iowa City

| {{change|invert=on| 74828 |67862}}

|align=left|Iowa City

| {{change|invert=on| 175732 |152586}}

|- align=right

|align=center|6

|align=left|West Des Moines

| {{change|invert=on| 68723 |56609}}

|align=left|Des Moines–West Des Moines

|- align=right

|align=center|7

|align=left|Ankeny

| {{change|invert=on| 67887 |45582}}

|align=left| Des Moines–West Des Moines

|- align=right

|align=center|8

|align=left|Waterloo

| {{change|invert=on| 67314 |68406}}

|align=left|Waterloo–Cedar Falls

| {{change|invert=on| 168314 |167819}}

|- align=right

|align=center|9

|align=left|Ames

| {{change|invert=on| 66427 |58965}}

|align=left|Ames

| {{change|invert=on| 124514 |115848}}

|- align=right

|align=center|10

|align=left|Council Bluffs

| {{change|invert=on| 62799 |62230}}

|align=left|Omaha–Council Bluffs

| {{change|invert=on| 954270 |865350}}

|- align=right

|align=center|11

|align=left|Dubuque

| {{change|invert=on| 59667 |57637}}

|align=left|Dubuque

| {{change|invert=on| 97590 |93653}}

|- align=right

|align=center|12

|align=left|Urbandale

| {{change|invert=on| 45580 |39463}}

|align=left| Des Moines–West Des Moines

|- align=right

|align=center|13

|align=left|Marion

| {{change|invert=on| 41535 |34768}}

|align=left| Cedar Rapids

|- align=right

|align=center|14

|align=left|Cedar Falls

| {{change|invert=on| 40713 |39260}}

|align=left| Waterloo–Cedar Falls

|- align=right

|align=center|15

|align=left|Bettendorf

| {{change|invert=on| 39102 |33217}}

|align=left| Quad Cities

|}

{{US Census population

|1840= 43112

|1850= 192214

|1860= 674913

|1870= 1194020

|1880= 1624615

|1890= 1912297

|1900= 2231853

|1910= 2224771

|1920= 2404021

|1930= 2470939

|1940= 2538268

|1950= 2621073

|1960= 2757537

|1970= 2824376

|1980= 2913808

|1990= 2776755

|2000= 2926324

|2010= 3046355

|2020= 3190369

| estimate = 3241488

| estyear = 2024

|align-fn=center

|footnote=Source: 1910–2020

}}

File:Ethnic Origins in Iowa.png

The United States Census Bureau determined the population of Iowa was 3,190,369 on April 1, 2020, a 4.73% increase since the 2010 United States census.{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/data/apportionment/apportionment-2020-tableE.pdf|title=Numeric and Percent Change in Resident Population|website=2020 Census Apportionment Results|publisher=United States Census Bureau, Population Division|date=April 26, 2021|access-date=April 27, 2021|archive-date=April 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426202130/https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/data/apportionment/apportionment-2020-tableE.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/IA |title=Quickfacts: Iowa |publisher=The United States Census Bureau |access-date=August 14, 2023}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|title=U.S. Census website|access-date=January 18, 2020|archive-date=December 27, 1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961227012639/https://www.census.gov/|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/19000.html |title=U.S. Census quickfacts |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=April 2, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527093102/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/19000.html |archive-date=May 27, 2010 }} The population density of the state is 52.7 people per square mile.{{cite book |title=The New York Times 2008 Almanac |url=https://archive.org/details/newyorktimesalma00john_2 |url-access=registration |editor=John W. Wright |year=2007 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newyorktimesalma00john_2/page/178 178] |publisher=Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated |isbn=9780143112334 }} As of the 2010 census, the center of population of Iowa is in Marshall County, near Melbourne.{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/2010-centers-population.html|title=Centers of Population for the 2010 Census|website=The United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 27, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611134701/https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/2010-centers-population.html|url-status=live}} The top countries of origin for Iowa's immigrants in 2018 were Mexico, India, Vietnam, China and Thailand.{{cite web|url= https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/immigrants_in_iowa.pdf|title=Immigrants in Iowa|website=American Immigration Council}}

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 Mexican. 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.{{cite encyclopedia| title=Settlers, Immigrants, Agriculture | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica | date=26 July 1999 | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Iowa-state/People}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/mypath/2521/african-american-communities#popup-container|title=African-American Communities | Iowa PBS|website=www.iowapbs.org}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html|title=Race and Ethnicity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|website=Census.gov}}

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.{{cite web|title=2010 Demographic Profile Data|url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0400000US19|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=August 23, 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213005418/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0400000US19|archive-date=February 13, 2020|url-status=dead}}

According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 2,419 homeless people in Iowa.{{Cite web |title=2007-2022 PIT Counts by State |url=https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huduser.gov%2Fportal%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fxls%2F2007-2022-PIT-Counts-by-State.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK}}{{Cite web |title=The 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress |url=https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf}}

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"; text-align:right; font-size:80%;"

|+ style="font-size:90%" |Ethnic composition as of the 2020 census

|-

! Race and Ethnicity{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html |title=Race and Ethnicity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census |author= |date=August 12, 2021 |website=census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=2021-09-26 |archive-date=August 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815165418/https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html |url-status=live }}

! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Alone

! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Total

|-

| White (non-Hispanic)

|align=right| {{bartable|82.7|%|2||background:gray}}

|align=right| {{bartable|85.9|%|2||background:gray}}

|-

| Hispanic or Latino{{efn|Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry.}}

|align=right| {{bartable}}

|align=right| {{bartable|6.8|%|2||background:green}}

|-

| African American (non-Hispanic)

|align=right| {{bartable|4.1|%|2||background:mediumblue}}

|align=right| {{bartable|5.2|%|2||background:mediumblue}}

|-

| Asian

|align=right| {{bartable|2.4|%|2||background:purple}}

|align=right| {{bartable|3.0|%|2||background:purple}}

|-

| Native American

|align=right| {{bartable|0.3|%|2||background:gold}}

|align=right| {{bartable|1.4|%|2||background:gold}}

|-

| Pacific Islander

|align=right| {{bartable|0.2|%|2||background:pink}}

|align=right| {{bartable|0.3|%|2||background:pink}}

|-

| Other

|align=right| {{bartable|0.3|%|2||background:brown}}

|align=right| {{bartable|1.0|%|2||background:brown}}

|}

[[File:Iowa counties by race.svg|thumb|Map of counties in Iowa by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census{{Collapsible list

| title = Non-Hispanic White|{{col-begin}}{{col-2}}

{{legend|#cc4125|50–60%}}

{{legend|#a61c00|60–70%}}

{{legend|#85200c|70–80%}}

{{legend|#5b0f00|80–90%}}

{{legend|#410b00|90%+}}

{{col-end}}

}}]]

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible nowrap"

|+ Iowa historical racial composition

|-

! Racial composition !! 1990{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |title=Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=July 26, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725044857/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |archive-date=July 25, 2008 }}!! 2000{{cite web |url=http://censusviewer.com/state/IA |title=Population of Iowa: Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map, Demographics, Statistics, Quick Facts |publisher=Censusviewer.com |access-date=July 26, 2014 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304154922/http://censusviewer.com/state/IA |url-status=live }}!! 2010{{cite web |author=2010 Census Data |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.2010.html |title=2010 Census Data |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=July 26, 2014 |archive-date=May 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522200920/https://census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.2010.html |url-status=live }}!! 2020{{Cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?g=040XX00US19 |title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Iowa |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=April 2, 2024}}

|-

| White || 96.6% || 93.9% || 91.3% || 84.5%

|-

| Black or African American || 1.7% || 2.1% || 2.9% || 4.1%

|-

| Native American || 0.3% || 0.3% || 0.4% || 0.5%

|-

| Asian || 0.9% || 1.3% || 1.7% || 2.4%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || — || — || 0.1% || 0.2%

|-

| Other race || 0.5% || 1.3% || 1.8% || 2.8%

|-

| Two or more races ||—|| 1.1% || 1.8% || 5.6%

|}

File:Iowa 2020 Population Density.png

According to the 2016 American Community Survey, 5.6% of Iowa's population were of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race): Mexican (4.3%), Puerto Rican (0.2%), Cuban (0.1%), and other Hispanic or Latino origin (1.0%).{{cite web |title=2016 American Community Survey—Demographic and Housing Estimates |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/16_5YR/DP05/0400000US19 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=November 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213005631/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/16_5YR/DP05/0400000US19 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead }} The five largest ancestry groups were: German (35.1%), Irish (13.5%), English (8.2%), American (5.8%), and Norwegian (5.0%).{{cite web |title=2016 American Community Survey—Selected Social Characteristics |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/16_5YR/DP02/0400000US19 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=November 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213005716/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/16_5YR/DP02/0400000US19 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead }}

File:Rural flight2.jpg and urban Polk County, illustrating the flight of young adults (red) to urban centers in Iowa{{efn|Based on 2000 U.S. Census Data}}]]

Note: Births in table don't add up, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"

|+ Live births by single race/ethnicity of mother

|-

! Race

! 2013{{Cite report|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_01.pdf|title=National Vital Statistics Reports—Births: Final Data for 2013|date=January 15, 2015|publisher=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services|issue=1|volume=64|pages=35–6|access-date=February 3, 2019|vauthors=Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJ, Curtin SC, Mathews TJ|archive-date=September 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911162514/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_01.pdf|url-status=live}}

! 2014{{Cite report|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_12.pdf|title=National Vital Statistics Reports—Births: Final Data for 2014|date=December 23, 2015|publisher=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services|issue=12|volume=64|pages=35–6|access-date=February 3, 2019|vauthors=Hamilton BE, Martin JA, Osterman MJ, Curtin SC, Mathews TJ|archive-date=February 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214040341/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_12.pdf|url-status=live}}

! 2015{{Cite report|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_01.pdf|title=National Vital Statistics Reports—Births: Final Data for 2015|date=January 5, 2017|publisher=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services|issue=1|volume=66|pages=38, 40|access-date=February 3, 2019|vauthors=Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJ, Driscoll AK|archive-date=August 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831155911/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_01.pdf|url-status=live}}

! 2016{{Cite report|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_01.pdf|title=National Vital Statistics Reports—Births: Final Data 2016|date=January 31, 2018|publisher=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services|issue=1|volume=67|page=26|access-date=February 3, 2019|vauthors=Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJ, Driscoll AK, Drake P|archive-date=June 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603002249/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_01.pdf|url-status=live}}

! 2017{{cite report |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_08-508.pdf |title=National Vital Statistics Reports—Births, by race and origin of mother: United States, each state and territory, 2017 |page=20 |volume=67 |number=8 |date=November 7, 2018 |vauthors=Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJ, Driscoll AK, Drake P |access-date=February 18, 2019 |archive-date=February 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201210916/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_08-508.pdf |url-status=live }}

! 2018{{Cite report|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_13-508.pdf|title=Births: Final Data for 2018|last1=Martin|first1=Joyce A.|last2=Hamilton|first2=Brady E.|last3=Osterman|first3=Michelle J.K.|last4=Driscoll|first4=Anne K.|date=November 27, 2019|access-date=February 26, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128161211/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_13-508.pdf|url-status=live}}

! 2019{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-02-508.pdf |title=Data |website=Cdc.gov |access-date=March 29, 2021 |archive-date=June 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623200707/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-02-508.pdf |url-status=live }}

! 2020{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-17.pdf |title=Data |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |access-date=2022-02-21 |archive-date=February 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210175206/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/NVSR70-17.pdf |url-status=live }}

! 2021

{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr72/nvsr72-01.pdf |title=Data |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |access-date=2022-02-02}}

! 2022

{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr73/nvsr73-02.pdf |title=Data |website=www.cdc.gov |access-date=2024-04-05}}

! 2023

{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr74/nvsr74-1.pdf |title=Data |website=www.cdc.gov |access-date=2025-04-11}}

|-

| 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

| 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%)

|}

• Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

File:Amana Colonies.JPG were founded by German Pietists]]

File:Iowa cross on hill-2.jpg on a hill in Iowa]]

{{Pie chart

| thumb = left

| caption = Religious self-identification, per Public Religion Research Institute's 2022 American Values Survey{{Cite web |last=Staff |date=February 24, 2023 |title=American Values Atlas: Religious Tradition in Iowa|url=https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2022/States/religion/m/US-IA|access-date=2023-04-14 |website=Public Religion Research Institute}}

| label1 = Protestantism

| value1 = 48

| color1 = Blue

| label2 = Catholicism

| value2 = 20

| color2 = Purple

| label3 = Unitarian/Universalist

| value3 = 1

| color3 = Teal

| label4 = Unaffiliated

| value4 = 29

| color4 = White

| label5 = Other

| value5 = 2

| color5 = Black

}}

A 2014 survey by Pew Research Center found 60% of Iowans are Protestant, while 18% are Catholic, and 1% are of non-Christian religions. 21% responded with non-religious, and 1% did not answer.{{Cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/iowa/ |title=Religious composition of adults in Iowa |website=Pew Research Center |access-date=August 18, 2019 |archive-date=August 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801123423/http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/iowa/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web | title=American Religious Identification Survey 2001 | publisher=The Graduate Center of the City University of New York | url=http://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/ARIS/ARIS-PDF-version.pdf | access-date=January 4, 2012 | archive-date=May 16, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516021356/http://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/ARIS/ARIS-PDF-version.pdf | url-status=dead }} A survey from the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) in 2010 found that the largest Protestant denominations were the United Methodist Church with 235,190 adherents and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 229,557. The largest non-Protestant religion was Catholicism with 503,080 adherents. The state has a great number of Calvinist denominations. The Presbyterian Church (USA) had almost 290 congregations and 51,380 members followed by the Reformed Church in America with 80 churches and 40,000 members, and the United Church of Christ had 180 churches and 39,000 members.{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/19/rcms2010_19_state_adh_2010.asp |title=The Association of Religion Data Archives | State Membership Report |publisher=thearda.com |access-date=November 12, 2013 |archive-date=November 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112165913/http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/s/19/rcms2010_19_state_adh_2010.asp |url-status=live }} According to the 2020 Public Religion Research Institute's study, 26% of the population were irreligious.{{Cite web |title=PRRI – American Values Atlas |url=https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/States/religion/m/US-IA |access-date=2023-01-17 |website=ava.prri.org}}

The study Religious Congregations & Membership: 2000{{cite web|title=Religious Congregations & Membership: 2000 |publisher=Glenmary Research Center |url=http://www.glenmary.org/grc/RCMS_2000/maps/Largest_Group.jpg |format=jpg |access-date=April 24, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214184746/http://www.glenmary.org/grc/RCMS_2000/maps/Largest_Group.jpg |archive-date=December 14, 2006 }} found 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 the entire state of Iowa.

Historically, religious sects and orders who desired to live apart from the rest of society established themselves in Iowa, such as the Amish and Mennonite 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 Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance monks and nuns at the New Melleray and Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbeys near Dubuque.

By 1878, approximately 1000 Jewish people lived in Iowa, many of whom were immigrants from Poland and Germany.{{Cite web |title=Iowa Jewish History |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/iowa-jewish-history |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}{{Cite web |title=Jewish Settlers in Iowa {{!}} Iowa PBS |url=http://www.iowapbs.org/iowapathways/mypath/2477/jewish-settlers-iowa |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=www.iowapbs.org |language=en}} {{As of|2016}} about 6,000 Jews live in Iowa, with about 3,000 of them in Des Moines.{{cite news|author=Tapper, Josh|url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/features/1.701107|title=Postville, Iowa's Jewish Community Bounces Back After Immigration Raid|newspaper=Haaretz|date=February 3, 2016|access-date=October 24, 2017|archive-date=October 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024095916/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/features/1.701107|url-status=live}}

English is the most common language in Iowa, being the sole language spoken by 91.1% of the population. Less common languages include sign language and indigenous languages. About 2.5% of the general population use sign language as of 2017, while indigenous languages are spoken by about 0.5% of the population.{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=language%20spoken&g=0400000US19&tid=ACSST1Y2019.S1601&hidePreview=true|access-date=May 3, 2021|website=data.census.gov|archive-date=May 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503175224/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=language%20spoken&g=0400000US19&tid=ACSST1Y2019.S1601&hidePreview=true|url-status=live}} William Labov and colleagues, in the monumental Atlas of North American EnglishLabov, W., S. Ash, and C. Boberg, Atlas of North American English. Berlin, Germany: Mouton de Gruyter, 2006. [http://www.mouton-online.com/anae.php Mouton-online.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226132508/http://www.mouton-online.com/anae.php |date=December 26, 2007 }} found the English spoken in Iowa divides into multiple linguistic regions. Natives of northern Iowa—including Sioux City, Fort Dodge, and the Waterloo region—tend to speak the dialect linguists call North Central American English, which is also found in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Natives of central and southern Iowa—including such cities as Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, and Iowa City—tend to speak the North Midland dialect also found in eastern Nebraska, central Illinois, and central Indiana.{{cite web| title=Atlas of North American English| publisher=The University of Pennsylvania| url=http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/maps/MapsNC/Map1NC.html| access-date=January 5, 2008| archive-date=January 17, 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117210737/http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/maps/MapsNC/Map1NC.html| url-status=live}} Natives of East-Central Iowa—including cities such as Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, and Clinton tend to speak with the Northern Cities Vowel Shift, a dialect that extends from this area and east across the Great Lakes Region.Labov, W., Ash, S., & Boberg, C. (2006). The atlas of North American English: Phonetics, phonology, and sound change: a multimedia reference tool. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

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: [https://www.census.gov Census.gov] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961227012639/https://www.census.gov/ |date=December 27, 1996 }} 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.

Iowa hosts RAGBRAI, the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, which is a bike across the state river-to-river that attracts thousands of bicyclists and support personnel. It has crossed the state on various routes each year since 1973. Iowa is home to more than 70 wineries,ISU Extension Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute, [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Wine/Resources/iowawineries.htm Iastate.edu] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125045820/http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Wine/Resources/iowawineries.htm |date=January 25, 2009 }} and hosts five regional wine tasting trails.Iowa Wine Growers Association, [https://iowawinegrowers.org/mos/Frontpage/Itemid,1/ Iowawinegrowers.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123203434/https://iowawinegrowers.org/mos/Frontpage/Itemid%2C1/ |date=November 23, 2010 }} Many Iowa communities hold farmers' markets during warmer months; these are typically weekly events, but larger cities can host multiple markets.Iowa Farmers Market Association, [http://www.iafarmersmarkets.org/About_Us.html Iafarmersmarkets.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612063413/http://www.iafarmersmarkets.org/About_Us.html |date=June 12, 2009 }}

File:RG Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing.jpg, Ames]]

Des Moines is the largest city and metropolitan area{{efn|name=MSA|However, a portion of the larger Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area does extend into the state.}} in Iowa and the state's political and economic center. It is home to the Iowa State Capitol, the State Historical Society of Iowa Museum, Drake University, Des Moines Art Center, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, Principal Riverwalk, the Iowa State Fair, Terrace Hill, and the World Food Prize. Nearby attractions include Adventureland and Prairie Meadows Racetrack Casino in Altoona, Living History Farms in Urbandale, Trainland USA in Colfax, and the Iowa Speedway and Valle Drive-In in Newton.

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 Doud 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.

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Iowa City is home to the University of Iowa, which includes the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and the Old Capitol building. Because of the extraordinary history in the teaching and sponsoring of creative writing that emanated from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and related programs, Iowa City was the first American city designated by the United Nations as a "City of Literature" in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.{{Cite news|last=Macdonald|first=Moira|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/unesco-declares-seattle-a-city-of-literature/|title=UNESCO declares Seattle a City of Literature|date=October 31, 2017|work=The Seattle Times|access-date=April 27, 2020|archive-date=May 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518203818/https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/unesco-declares-seattle-a-city-of-literature/|url-status=live}}

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 German 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.

File:Loess hills.jpg]]

Some of the most dramatic scenery in Iowa is found in the unique Loess Hills which are found along Iowa's western border.

Sioux City is the largest city in western Iowa and is found on the convergence of the Missouri, Floyd, 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.

File: Grotto Arcade.jpg's Lower Arcade: Small Stations of the Cross, West Bend]]

Council Bluffs, part of the Omaha, Nebraska Metropolitan Area 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.octulipfestival.com/history-heritage/history-of-tulip-festival/|title=History Of Tulip Festival|website=Orange City Tulip Festival|access-date=April 6, 2020|archive-date=January 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103034119/http://www.octulipfestival.com/history-heritage/history-of-tulip-festival/|url-status=live}}

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.

{{Redirect|Northern Iowa|the University of Northern Iowa|University of Northern Iowa}}

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The Driftless Area of northeast Iowa has many steep hills and deep valleys, checkered with forest and terraced fields. Effigy Mounds National Monument in Allamakee and Clayton Counties has the largest assemblage of animal-shaped prehistoric mounds in the world.

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.

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The Clint Eastwood movie The Bridges of Madison County, based on the popular novel of the same name, took place and was filmed in Madison County.{{Cite book|last=Hughes, Howard |title=Aim for the heart : the films of Clint Eastwood|date=2009|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=978-1-4416-7618-4|location=London|oclc=670430491}} What's Eating Gilbert Grape, based on the Peter Hedges novel of the same name, is set in the fictional Iowa town of Endora. Hedges was born in West Des Moines.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/06/style/weddings-susan-b-titman-peter-s-hedges.html|url-access=subscription|title=WEDDINGS; Susan B. Titman, Peter S. Hedges|work=The New York Times|date=June 6, 1993 |access-date=April 6, 2020|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504210143/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/06/style/weddings-susan-b-titman-peter-s-hedges.html|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web |title=The Men Behind the Masks |url=https://dsmmagazine.com/2022/05/02/the-men-behind-the-masks/ |website=dsmmagazine.com |date=May 2, 2022 |access-date=13 November 2023}}

{{See also|Sports teams from Iowa}}

The state has four major college teams playing in NCAA Division I for all sports. In football, Iowa State University and the University of Iowa compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), whereas the University of Northern Iowa and Drake University compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Although Iowa has no professional major league sports teams, Iowa has minor league sports teams in baseball, basketball, hockey, and other sports.

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:[http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/Attendance/2018.pdf 2018 National College Football Attendance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718061918/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/Attendance/2018.pdf |date=July 18, 2019 }}; Retrieved November 3, 2019.[http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/2020/Attendance.pdf 2019 NCAA Women's Basketball Attendance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924153454/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/2020/Attendance.pdf |date=September 24, 2019 }}; Retrieved November 3, 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://news.theopenmat.com/college-wrestling-news/division-i-attendance-for-the-2018-19-season/72721|title=Division I Attendance for the 2018–19 Season|date=April 16, 2019|access-date=November 3, 2019|archive-date=November 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103225711/https://news.theopenmat.com/college-wrestling-news/division-i-attendance-for-the-2018-19-season/72721|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Hanson|first=Austin|url=https://dailyiowan.com/2020/02/24/by-the-numbers-hawkeye-wrestlings-regular-season-success/|title=By the numbers: Hawkeye wrestling's regular season success|date=February 24, 2020|work=The Daily Iowan|access-date=April 6, 2020|archive-date=April 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406144021/https://dailyiowan.com/2020/02/24/by-the-numbers-hawkeye-wrestlings-regular-season-success/|url-status=live}}

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

|+ Iowa sports teams (attendance > 8,000)

|-

! Team !! Location !! Avg. attendance

|-

| Iowa Hawkeyes football || Iowa City || align=center | 68,043

|-

| Iowa State Cyclones football || Ames || align=center | 56,010

|-

| Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball || Ames || align=center | 13,375{{cite web|url=http://fs.ncaa.org.s3.amazonaws.com/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/Attend.pdf |title=Division I Team-By-Team Attendance |work=NCAA Men's Basketball Attendance Records Through 2022–23 |page=5 |publisher=NCAA |access-date=October 27, 2023}}

|-

| Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball || Iowa City || align=center | 12,371

|-

| Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling || Iowa City || align=center | 12,568

|-

| Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball || Iowa City || align=center | 11,143{{cite web|url=http://fs.ncaa.org.s3.amazonaws.com/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/Attend.pdf |title=Division I Team-By-Team Attendance |work=NCAA Women's Basketball Attendance Records Through 2022–23 |page=5 |publisher=NCAA |access-date=October 27, 2023}}

|-

| Iowa State Cyclones women's basketball || Ames || align=center | 10,323

|-

| Northern Iowa Panthers football || Cedar Falls || align=center | 9,337

|}

File:Hilton Coliseum Inside View.jpg, Iowa State University]]

The state has four NCAA Division I college teams. Two have football teams that play in the top level of college football, the Football Bowl Subdivision: the University of Iowa Hawkeyes play in the Big Ten Conference{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Big-Ten-Conference|title=Big Ten Conference {{!}} History & Members|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=April 8, 2020|archive-date=January 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126203135/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Big-Ten-Conference|url-status=live}} and the Iowa State University Cyclones compete in the Big 12 Conference.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Big-12-Conference|title=Big 12 Conference {{!}} American athletic conference|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=April 8, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611170158/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Big-12-Conference|url-status=live}} The two intrastate rivals compete annually for the Cy-Hawk Trophy as part of the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.{{Cite web|url=https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2011/4/12/Iowa_Corn_Assumes_Lead_for_Cy_Hawk_Series.aspx|title=Iowa Corn Assumes Lead for Cy-Hawk Series|website=University of Iowa Athletics|date=April 12, 2011|access-date=April 8, 2020|archive-date=February 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220154007/https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2011/04/12/iowa-corn-assumes-lead-for-cy-hawk-series/|url-status=live}}

In wrestling, the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones have won a combined total of over 30 team NCAA Division I titles.[https://www.ncaa.com/news/wrestling/article/2020-06-12/iowa-wrestling-championships-history-and-records-dynasty#:~:text=Iowa%20wrestling%20has%20won%20a,won%20the%202021%20team%20title. Iowa wrestling championships: History and records from the dynasty]. ncaa.com. Retrieved October 7, 2022.[https://cyclones.com/sports/2022/2/1/iowa-state-national-champions.aspx 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.[https://unipanthers.com/honors/hall-of-fame/1950-wrestling-team/132 1950 Wrestling Team (2009) - Hall of Fame - UNI Athletics]. Retrieved October 7, 2022.Palmer, Mark. (September 14, 2007). [https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/2917 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{{Cite web|url=http://mvc-sports.com/index.aspx?path=northerniowa|title=UNI – Missouri Valley Conference|website=mvc-sports.com|access-date=April 23, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611144537/http://mvc-sports.com/index.aspx?path=northerniowa|url-status=live}} and Missouri Valley Football Conference{{Cite web|url=https://valley-football.org/standings.aspx?path=football|title=2019 Football Standings|website=valley-football.org|access-date=April 23, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611163222/https://valley-football.org/standings.aspx?path=football|url-status=live}} (despite the similar names, the conferences are administratively separate), whereas the Drake University Bulldogs play in the Missouri Valley Conference{{Cite web|url=http://mvc-sports.com/index.aspx?path=drake|title=Drake – Missouri Valley Conference|website=mvc-sports.com|access-date=April 23, 2020|archive-date=May 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501222059/http://mvc-sports.com/index.aspx?path=drake|url-status=live}} in most sports and Pioneer League for football.{{Cite web|url=http://www.pioneer-football.org/pfl/default/|title=The PFL – About the PFL – Pioneer Football League Official Site|website=Pioneer-Football.org|access-date=April 23, 2020|archive-date=May 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522132510/http://www.pioneer-football.org/pfl/default/|url-status=live}}

File:Modern Woodmen Park 2.jpg is home to the Quad Cities baseball team]]

Des Moines is home to the Iowa Cubs, a Triple-A Minor League Baseball team of the International League and affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.{{Cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/pacific-coast|title=The Official Site of the Pacific Coast League|website=Minor League Baseball|access-date=April 27, 2020|archive-date=May 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517152117/https://www.milb.com/pacific-coast|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/iowa|title=Iowa Cubs|website=Minor League Baseball|access-date=April 27, 2020|archive-date=May 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516163338/https://www.milb.com/iowa|url-status=live}} Iowa has two High-A minor league teams in the Midwest League: the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Minnesota Twins) and the Quad Cities River Bandits (Kansas City Royals).{{Citation|title=2019 Midwest League Media Guide|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/writeTest/2019_Midwest_League_Media_Guide/page_1.html|pages=26–48|access-date=April 27, 2020|archive-date=March 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328221321/https://s3.amazonaws.com/writeTest/2019_Midwest_League_Media_Guide/page_1.html|url-status=live}} The Sioux City Explorers are part of the American Association of Professional Baseball.{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanassociationbaseball.com/teams/sioux-city/|title=SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS|website=American Association of Independent Professional Baseball|access-date=April 27, 2020|archive-date=April 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426132648/https://www.americanassociationbaseball.com/teams/sioux-city/|url-status=usurped}}

Des Moines is home to the Iowa Wild, who are affiliated with the Minnesota Wild and are members of the American Hockey League.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/wild-ahl-affiliate-moving-to-iowa/c-666499|title=Wild AHL Affiliate Moving To Iowa|website=NHL.com|access-date=April 27, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611123328/https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/wild-ahl-affiliate-moving-to-iowa/c-666499|url-status=live}} Coralville has an ECHL team called the Iowa Heartlanders that started playing in the 2021–22 season. The Heartlanders are also an affiliate of the Minnesota Wild.{{cite web |last1=Ashmore |first1=Mike |title=Iowa Heartlanders Enduring Uphill Battle In ECHL Central Division |url=https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/10777045-iowa-heartlanders-enduring-uphill-battle-in-echl-central-division |website=FloHockey |date=March 22, 2023 |access-date=4 May 2023}}

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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ushl.com/page/show/2650688-home|title=Home|website=USHL|access-date=April 27, 2020|archive-date=April 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428124951/https://www.ushl.com/page/show/2650688-home|url-status=live}} 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.{{Cite web |url=https://www.northiowabulls.com/north-iowa-bulls-announce-move-to-nahl |title=NORTH IOWA BULLS ANNOUNCE MOVE TO NAHL |website=North Iowa Bulls |date=March 5, 2021 |access-date=June 2, 2021 |archive-date=June 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215557/https://www.northiowabulls.com/north-iowa-bulls-announce-move-to-nahl |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://na3hl.com/news/story.cfm?id=32028 |title=Mason City Toros begin new era in the NA3HL |website=NA3HL |date=June 1, 2021 |access-date=June 2, 2021 |archive-date=June 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214757/http://na3hl.com/news/story.cfm?id=32028 |url-status=live }}

• The Des Moines Menace of the USL League Two play their home games at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines, Iowa.
• The Cedar Rapids Inferno Soccer Club of the Midwest Premier League play their home games at Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex at Mount Mercy University
• The Iowa Raptors FC of the United Premier Soccer League play their home games at Prairie High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• Union Dubuque F.C. of the Midwest Premier League

Iowa has two professional basketball teams. The Iowa Wolves, an NBA G League team that plays in Des Moines, is owned and affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA. The Sioux City Hornets play in the American Basketball Association.

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 Wells Fargo Arena 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.

{{See also|Iowa locations by per capita income}}

File:Iowa products 2009.jpgs by industry, 2009{{Cite web |date=2009 |title=Iowa gross state products by industry – calendar year 2009 ($110.4 billion) |url=https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/FCTA/1216435.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719103259/https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/FCTA/1216435.pdf |archive-date=July 19, 2021 |access-date=April 8, 2022 |website=Iowa General Assembly}}]]

• In 2016,{{cite web |title=QuickFacts: Iowa |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/IA |website=Census.gov |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=January 1, 2020 |archive-date=November 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191110053724/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/IA |url-status=live }} the total employment of the state's population was 1,354,487, and the total number of employer establishments was 81,563.

CNBC's list of "Top States for Business in 2010" has recognized Iowa as the sixth best state in the nation. Scored in 10 individual categories, Iowa was ranked first when it came to the "Cost of Doing Business"; this includes all taxes, utility costs, and other costs associated with doing business. Iowa was also ranked 10th in "Economy", 12th in "Business Friendliness", 16th in "Education", 17th in both "Cost of Living" and "Quality of Life", 20th in "Workforce", 29th in "Technology and Innovation", 32nd in "Transportation" and the lowest ranking was 36th in "Access to Capital".{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/id/37516043 |title=America's Top States for Business in 2010 |publisher=CNBC |access-date=May 9, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226183123/http://www.cnbc.com/id/37516043 |archive-date=December 26, 2011 }}

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, [http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090402/BUSINESS/90402018/-1/NEWS04 Desmoinesregister.com]{{Dead link|date=May 2014}}City has lowest unemployment in nation, Iowa City Press-Citizen May 5., 2009, [http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20090604/NEWS01/906040336/1079/news01 Press-citizen.com]{{Dead link|date=May 2014}}

If the economy is measured by gross domestic product, in 2005 Iowa's GDP was about $124 billion.Iowa State University. [http://www.recap.iastate.edu/atlas/industries/gdp-by-state-industry.php Gross domestic product by sector and state]. Regional Capacity Analysis Program. Retrieved on: April 26, 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081009025120/http://www.recap.iastate.edu/atlas/industries/gdp-by-state-industry.php |date=October 9, 2008 }} If measured by gross state product, for 2005 it was $113.5 billion.{{cite web |url=http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/datacenter/quickfacts |title=Iowa Quick Facts—State Data Center |publisher=Statelibraryofiowa.org |date=June 28, 2010 |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-date=November 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101104011507/http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/datacenter/quickfacts |url-status=live }} 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, [http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/84311.html?isap=1&nav=5013 Timesrepublican.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100907071322/http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/84311.html?isap=1&nav=5013 |date=September 7, 2010 }}

As of September 2021, the state's unemployment rate is 4.0%.{{Cite web|date=22 October 2021|title=Iowa's Unemployment Rate Falls To 4.0 Percent In September|url=https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/iowas-unemployment-rate-falls-40-percent-september|url-status=live|access-date=November 8, 2021|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108211151/https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/iowas-unemployment-rate-falls-40-percent-september}}

Manufacturing is the largest sector of Iowa's economy, with $20.8 billion (21%) of Iowa's 2003 gross state product. Major manufacturing sectors include food processing, heavy machinery, and agricultural chemicals. Sixteen percent of Iowa's workforce is dedicated to manufacturing. Food processing is the largest component of manufacturing. Besides processed food, industrial outputs include machinery, electric equipment, chemical products, publishing, and primary metals. Companies with direct or indirect processing facilities in Iowa include ConAgra Foods, Wells Blue Bunny, Barilla, Heinz, Tone's Spices, General Mills, and Quaker Oats. Meatpacker Tyson Foods has 11 locations, second only to its headquarter state Arkansas.{{cite web|url=http://www.tysonfoods.com/Our-Story/Locations.aspx|publisher=Tysonfoods.com|title=Our story-locations|access-date=July 16, 2014|archive-date=July 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704071233/http://www.tysonfoods.com/Our-Story/Locations.aspx|url-status=live}}

Major non-food manufacturing firms with production facilities in Iowa include 3M,{{Cite web|url=https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/plant-locations-us/|title=3M Plant Locations – United States|website=3m.com|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=April 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418103307/https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/plant-locations-us/|url-status=live}} Arconic,{{Cite web|url=https://qctimes.com/business/alcoa-davenport-works-to-become-arconic/article_3b7a9d95-ee4e-517a-a7a6-40ed8465df72.html|title=Alcoa Davenport Works to become Arconic|last=DeWitt|first=Jennifer|website=The Quad-City Times|date=March 15, 2016 |access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611144439/https://qctimes.com/business/alcoa-davenport-works-to-become-arconic/article_3b7a9d95-ee4e-517a-a7a6-40ed8465df72.html|url-status=live}} Amana Corporation,{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/whirlpool-amana-plant-remaining-closed-after-more-positive-coronavirus-tests-20200330|title=Whirlpool Amana plant remaining closed after more positive coronavirus tests|last=Friestad|first=Thomas|website=The Gazette|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=April 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402063755/https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/whirlpool-amana-plant-remaining-closed-after-more-positive-coronavirus-tests-20200330|url-status=live}} Emerson Electric,{{Cite web|url=https://www.emerson.com/en-us/automation/fisher|title=Fisher {{!}} Emerson US|website=Emerson.com|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=April 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200405084251/https://www.emerson.com/en-us/automation/fisher|url-status=live}} The HON Company,{{Cite web|url=https://www.hon.com/why-hon/hon-showrooms/muscatine-hon-headquarters|title=Muscatine – HON Headquarters|date=October 11, 2016|website=HON Office Furniture|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611131809/https://www.hon.com/why-hon/hon-showrooms/muscatine-hon-headquarters|url-status=live}} SSAB,{{Cite web|url=https://www.ssab.com/company/about-ssab/our-business/ssab-americas|title=SSAB Americas|website=SSAB|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=May 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513190246/https://www.ssab.com/company/about-ssab/our-business/ssab-americas|url-status=live}} John Deere,{{Cite web|url=https://www.deere.com/en/connect-with-john-deere/visit-john-deere/factory-tours/|title=John Deere Factory Tours {{!}} John Deere US|website=Deere.com|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=April 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417015859/https://www.deere.com/en/connect-with-john-deere/visit-john-deere/factory-tours/|url-status=live}} Lennox Manufacturing,{{Cite web|url=https://www.lennox.com/about|title=ABOUT LENNOX|website=Lennox|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=March 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200331070804/https://www.lennox.com/about|url-status=live}} Pella Corporation,{{Cite web|url=https://whotv.com/news/iowa-icon-pete-kuypers-idea-changed-the-future-of-his-hometown/|title=IOWA ICON: Pete Kuyper's idea changed the future of his hometown.|date=February 15, 2012|website=whotv.com|access-date=April 20, 2020}} Procter & Gamble,{{Cite web|url=https://news.pg.com/image/facility/pg-iowa-city-plant|title=P&G Iowa City Plant {{!}} P&G News {{!}} Events, Multimedia, Public Relations|website=news.pg.com|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=May 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520210545/https://news.pg.com/image/facility/pg-iowa-city-plant|url-status=live}} Vermeer Company,{{Cite web|url=https://www.vermeer.com/na/about-us/our-locations?hl=en-US|title=Our Locations|website=Vermeer.com|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611094758/https://www.vermeer.com/na/about-us/our-locations?hl=en-US|url-status=live}} and Winnebago Industries.{{Cite web|url=https://globegazette.com/news/local/winnebago-will-open-new-plant-outside-of-forest-city/article_a859554d-5cf4-5d06-a9b8-2eaf9538839c.html|title=Winnebago will open new plant outside of Forest City|last=Gazette|first=RAE YOST For The Globe|website=Globe Gazette {{!}} Mason City, Iowa {{!}} globegazette.com|date=March 26, 2015 |access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611144537/https://globegazette.com/news/local/winnebago-will-open-new-plant-outside-of-forest-city/article_a859554d-5cf4-5d06-a9b8-2eaf9538839c.html|url-status=live}}

File:Iowa harvest 2009.jpg in Jones County]]

File:Survivor, Northwest Iowa 7-13 (22550505788).jpg

File:maytag.jpg

Industrial-scale, commodity agriculture predominates in much of the state. Iowa's main conventional agricultural commodities are hogs, with about 22.6 million hogs in 8,000 facilities large enough to require manure management plans in March 2018, outnumbering Iowans by more than 7 to 1,{{Cite news |last=Erin Jordan |date=May 6, 2018 |title=Large-scale pork production may push farther into Eastern Iowa |url=https://www.thegazette.com/business/large-scale-pork-production-may-push-farther-into-eastern-iowa/ |access-date=2024-03-01 |work=The Gazette |language=en-US}} corn, soybeans, oats, cattle, eggs, and dairy products. Iowa is the nation's largest producer of ethanol and corn and some years is the largest grower of soybeans. In 2008, the 92,600 farms in Iowa produced 19% of the nation's corn, 17% of the soybeans, 30% of the hogs, and 14% of the eggs.{{cite web|url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=19&StateName=Iowa#.U8Q5wbEXtQs|title=Iowa State Fact Sheets|author=USDA|access-date=February 21, 2015|archive-date=February 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222014931/http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=19&StateName=Iowa#.U8Q5wbEXtQs|url-status=live}}

{{As of|2009}} major Iowa agricultural product processors included Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, Inc., Diamond V Mills, and Quaker Oats.{{cite news|url=http://gazetteonline.com/top-story/2009/11/28/impact-of-grain-processing-industry-runs-deep-but-people-don%e2%80%99t-see-it |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209003425/http://gazetteonline.com/top-story/2009/11/28/impact-of-grain-processing-industry-runs-deep-but-people-don%E2%80%99t-see-it |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 9, 2012 |title=Impact of grain-processing industry runs deep, but people don't see it |last=Ford |first=George |date=November 28, 2009 |work=Cedar Rapids Gazette |pages=1A |access-date=November 29, 2009 }}

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.{{cite news|url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2017/11/03/looking-greater-profits-more-iowa-farmers-move-organic-corn-soybeans/821234001/|title=Looking for greater profits, more Iowa farmers move to organic corn, soybeans|author=Eller, Donnelle|date=November 3, 2017|newspaper=The Des Moines Register|access-date=January 21, 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.iowaorganic.org/|title=Iowa Organic Association|access-date=April 16, 2019|archive-date=April 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416151849/https://www.iowaorganic.org/|url-status=live}} 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.{{citation|url=https://northeastiowarcd.org/wp-content/uploads/LF-Expansion-Plan_FINALWEB_Version.pdf|title=Northeast Iowa Local Foods Expansion Plan|publisher=Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation and Development|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=January 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121232925/https://northeastiowarcd.org/wp-content/uploads/LF-Expansion-Plan_FINALWEB_Version.pdf|url-status=live}}{{citation|url=https://northeastiowarcd.org/category/grow-the-local-food-system/|title=Grow The Local Food System|publisher=Northeast Iowa Resource Conservation and Development|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=January 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122044054/https://northeastiowarcd.org/category/grow-the-local-food-system/|url-status=live}}

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.{{citation|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.org/news/saving-seeds/|title=Saving Seeds|date=September 27, 2011|publisher=National Geographic|access-date=April 16, 2019|archive-date=April 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416174041/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/news/saving-seeds/|url-status=live}}{{citation|url=https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/episode202/|title=Episode 202: Best of Season One—Inspiring PLACES|date=July 9, 2011|publisher=Growing a Greener World|access-date=April 16, 2019|archive-date=April 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416174039/https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/episode202/|url-status=live}} 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.{{citation|url=https://www.seedsavers.org/mission|title=About Us: Today|publisher=Seed Saver Exchange|access-date=April 16, 2019|archive-date=April 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416174042/https://www.seedsavers.org/mission|url-status=live}}

File:Wall Mural, Mt Ayr, IA Post Office, 1998.jpg Post Office, "The Corn Parade" by Orr C. Fischer, which was commissioned as part of the New Deal{{cite web|title=The Corn Parade|date=1941|author=Orr C. Fischer|url=http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6702|access-date=July 3, 2010|archive-date=June 10, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610130945/http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6702/|url-status=live}}]]

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.{{cite news|url=https://ideas.repec.org/p/isu/genres/10180.html|title=Multiple Measures of the Role of Agriculture in Iowa's Economy|author1=Swenson, David A|author2=Eathington, Liesl|date=December 1, 2002|publisher=Iowa State University, Department of Economics|agency=Staff General Research Papers, number 10180|access-date=July 26, 2014|archive-date=July 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715030735/http://ideas.repec.org/p/isu/genres/10180.html|url-status=live}}

As of 2014, there were 16 organizations offering health insurance products in Iowa, per the State of Iowa Insurance Division.{{cite web|author1=Iowa Insurance Division|title=Find an Insurance Company|url=http://www.iid.state.ia.us/company/search/form|publisher=State of Iowa|access-date=December 21, 2014|date=n.d.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221114644/http://www.iid.state.ia.us/company/search/form|archive-date=December 21, 2014}}

Iowa was fourth out of ten states with the biggest drop in competition levels of health insurance between 2010 and 2011, per the 2013 annual report on the level of competition in the health insurance industry by the American Medical Association{{cite book|author1=AMA|title=Competition in Health Insurance: A Comprehensive Study of U.S. Markets, 2013 update|date=2013|publisher=AMA|isbn=978-1-60359-944-3}} using 2011 data from HealthLeaders-Interstudy, the most comprehensive source of data on enrollment in health maintenance organization (HMO), preferred provider organization (PPO), point-of-service (POS) and consumer-driven health care plans.{{cite web|title=AMA Analysis Lists States Where One Private Health Insurer Rules|url=http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/2013/2013-11-07-study-anticompetitive-market-conditions.page|publisher=AMA.org|access-date=June 24, 2014|format=press release|date=November 7, 2013|archive-date=June 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628102727/http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/2013/2013-11-07-study-anticompetitive-market-conditions.page|url-status=live}}

According to the AMA annual report from 2007 Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield had provided 71% of the state's health insurance.Competition in Health Insurance: 2007 update, [https://catalog.ama-assn.org/Catalog/product/product_detail.jsp?productId=prod1350008 Ama-assn.org] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725140104/https://catalog.ama-assn.org/Catalog/product/product_detail.jsp?productId=prod1350008 |date=July 25, 2011 }}

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%.{{cite web|author1=Iowa Insurance Division|url=http://www.iid.state.ia.us|title=Annual report to the Iowa Governor and the Iowa Legislature|publisher=State of Iowa|access-date=December 21, 2014|date=November 2014|archive-date=December 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221114656/http://www.iid.state.ia.us/|url-status=live}}{{rp|2}} Wellmark HealthPlan of Iowa and Wellmark Inc had the highest risk-based capital percentages of all 10 providers at 1158% and 1132%, respectively.{{rp|31}} Rising RBC is an indication of profits.{{rp|31}}

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}}

Iowa has a strong financial and insurance sector, with approximately 6,100 firms, including AEGON, Nationwide Group, Aviva USA, 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).

Iowa is host to at least two business incubators, Iowa State University Research Park and the BioVentures Center at the University of Iowa.{{Cite news|url=http://www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/incubators-blossom-along-with-their-startups/5245/|title=Incubators Blossom along with Their Startups|last=Philipiddis|first=Alex|date=June 15, 2014|work=Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News|issue=12|volume=34|pages=7–8|access-date=July 17, 2016|archive-date=November 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101163848/http://www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/incubators-blossom-along-with-their-startups/5245|url-status=live}} 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 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 {{convert|3.1|e9USgal|m3}} of fuel in 2009.{{cite web|url=http://gazetteonline.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2010/02/26/ethanol-mandate-wouldn%e2%80%99t-help-prices |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208135435/http://gazetteonline.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2010/02/26/ethanol-mandate-wouldn%E2%80%99t-help-prices |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 8, 2012 |title=Ethanol mandate wouldn't help prices |date=February 26, 2010 |publisher=Cedar Rapids Gazette |access-date=April 4, 2010 }}

{{anchor|Renewable energy}}

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.{{cite web|title=Electric Power Monthly|url=http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/|publisher=U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration|access-date=June 2, 2020|archive-date=February 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206223444/http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#state:Iowa|title=The World's Biggest Public Companies|magazine=Forbes|access-date=October 5, 2016|archive-date=October 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002223833/https://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#state:Iowa|url-status=live}} They include Principal Financial, Rockwell Collins, and American Equity Investment.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/companies/principal-financial-group/|magazine=Forbes.com|title=The World's Biggest Public Companies #380|access-date=October 5, 2016|archive-date=September 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928002118/http://www.forbes.com/companies/principal-financial-group/|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/companies/rockwell-collins/|magazine=Forbes.com|title=The World's Biggest Public Companies #380|access-date=October 5, 2016|archive-date=October 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007093752/http://www.forbes.com/companies/rockwell-collins/|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/companies/american-equity-investment/|magazine=Forbes.com|title=The World's Biggest Public Companies #380|access-date=October 5, 2016|archive-date=November 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161113124811/http://www.forbes.com/companies/american-equity-investment/|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=800051|publisher=Bloomberg.com|title=Company Overview of Hy-Vee, Inc|access-date=October 5, 2016|archive-date=October 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006053902/http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=800051|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=767676|publisher=Bloomberg.com|title=Company Overview of Pella Corporation|access-date=October 5, 2016|archive-date=October 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006144437/http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=767676|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=759605|publisher=Bloomberg.com|title=Company Overview of Vermeer Corporation|access-date=October 5, 2016|archive-date=August 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826185950/http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=759605|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=10360362|publisher=Bloomberg.com|title=Company Overview of Kum & Go, L.C|access-date=October 5, 2016|archive-date=October 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006050415/http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=10360362|url-status=live}}{{citation|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=4241012|publisher=Bloomberg.com|title=Company Overview of Von Maur, Inc|access-date=October 5, 2016|archive-date=October 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006054420/http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=4241012|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=297114|publisher=Bloomberg.com|title=Company Overview of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc|access-date=October 5, 2016|archive-date=October 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006143134/http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=297114|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=4204432|publisher=Bloomberg.com|title=Company Overview of Fareway Stores, Inc|access-date=October 5, 2016|archive-date=October 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006051926/http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=4204432|url-status=live}}

Gambling in the state is a major section of the Iowa tourism industry.{{Cite web |date=2021-06-14 |title=The State of Gambling in Iowa and How It Is Influencing the Economy |url=https://dailyiowan.com/2021/06/14/the-state-of-gambling-in-iowa-and-how-it-is-influencing-the-economy/ |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=The Daily Iowan}}

Tax is collected by the Iowa Department of Revenue.{{Cite web|url=https://tax.iowa.gov/|title=State of Iowa Taxes {{!}} Iowa Department of Revenue|website=tax.iowa.gov|access-date=April 6, 2020|archive-date=December 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227203818/https://tax.iowa.gov/|url-status=live}}

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%{{nbsp}}to 12%, giving Iowa the country's highest marginal corporate tax rate.{{cite web|url=https://taxfoundation.org/state-corporate-income-tax-rates-and-brackets-2016/|title=State Corporate Income Tax Rates and Brackets for 2016—Tax Foundation|date=February 1, 2016|access-date=February 24, 2017|archive-date=February 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216040947/https://taxfoundation.org/state-corporate-income-tax-rates-and-brackets-2016|url-status=live}} The state sales tax rate is 6%, with non-prepared food having no tax.Iowa Department of Revenue, Iowa Tax / Fee Descriptions and Rates, [http://www.iowa.gov/tax/taxlaw/taxtypes.html#sales Iowa.gov] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506082844/http://www.iowa.gov/tax/taxlaw/taxtypes.html#sales |date=May 6, 2009 }} 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, [http://www.iowa.gov/tax/educate/localoption.html Ioawa.gov] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425054850/http://www.iowa.gov/tax/educate/localoption.html |date=April 25, 2009 }} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009905300328|title=No tax increases planned for next year, Culver says|last=Beaumont|first=Thomas|website=The Des Moines Register|date=May 30, 2009|access-date=May 31, 2009}}{{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}

{{See also|List of school districts in Iowa|List of high schools in Iowa}}

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. [https://scholar.harvard.edu/lkatz/publications/why-united-states-led-education-lessons-secondary-school-expansion-1910-1940 Why the United States Led in Education: Lessons from Secondary School Expansion, 1910 to 1940] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211203143/https://scholar.harvard.edu/lkatz/publications/why-united-states-led-education-lessons-secondary-school-expansion-1910-1940 |date=February 11, 2021 }}. In: Eltis D, Lewis F, Sokoloff K Human Capital and Institutions. Cambridge University Press; 2009.

The four-year graduation rate for high schoolers was 91.3% in 2017.{{cite web|url=https://educateiowa.gov/about-iowas-education-system|title=About the Iowa Education System|publisher=Iowa Department of Education|access-date=November 3, 2019|archive-date=November 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103234650/https://educateiowa.gov/about-iowas-education-system|url-status=live}} Iowa's schools are credited with the highest graduation rate in the nation as of 2019.{{cite web|title=Public High School Graduation Rates|publisher=National Center for Education Statistics|url=https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_coi.pdf|access-date=November 3, 2019|archive-date=September 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924180351/https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_coi.pdf|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web|title=Rankings And Estimates Report 2018|publisher=National Education Association|url=https://www.nea.org/assets/docs/180413-Rankings_And_Estimates_Report_2018.pdf|access-date=November 3, 2019|archive-date=November 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112074604/http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/180413-Rankings_And_Estimates_Report_2018.pdf|url-status=live}}

{{As of|2015}} 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.{{cite web|author=Boden, Sarah|url=http://iowapublicradio.org/post/lawmakers-scrounge-bus-money-rural-school-districts|title=Lawmakers Scrounge Up Bus Money for Rural School Districts|publisher=Iowa Public Radio|date=February 3, 2015|access-date=June 18, 2018|archive-date=June 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617193409/http://iowapublicradio.org/post/lawmakers-scrounge-bus-money-rural-school-districts|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web|publisher=Telegraph Herald|url=https://www.telegraphherald.com/news/tri-state/article_36b1a715-bca2-5ddc-956f-52e599a753bc.html|title=Bellevue school board sets referendum for $16 million bond issuance|access-date=November 3, 2019|archive-date=November 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103234640/https://www.telegraphherald.com/news/tri-state/article_36b1a715-bca2-5ddc-956f-52e599a753bc.html|url-status=live}}

{{See also|List of colleges and universities in Iowa}}

File:Palmer Chiropractic College.jpg in Davenport is the first school of chiropractic in the world.]]

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.iowaregents.edu/the-board/faq/what-is-the-board-of-regents|title=What is the Board of Regents?|date=June 22, 2016|website=Iowaregents.edu|access-date=April 15, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611125406/https://www.iowaregents.edu/the-board/faq/what-is-the-board-of-regents|url-status=live}}

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{{Cite web|url=https://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/srp.php?clq=%7B%22basic2005_ids%22:%2215%22%7D&start_page=standard.php|title=Carnegie Classifications {{!}} Standard Listings|website=carnegieclassifications.iu.edu|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611141751/https://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/srp.php?clq=%7B%22basic2005_ids%22:%2215%22%7D&start_page=standard.php|url-status=live}} with The University of Iowa also being a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aau.edu/who-we-are/our-members|title=Our Members {{!}} Association of American Universities (AAU)|website=Aau.edu|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=November 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111193305/https://www.aau.edu/who-we-are/our-members|url-status=live}} In addition to the three state universities, Iowa has multiple private colleges and universities.

File:Iowa overview.jpg

Iowa has four primary interstate highways. Interstate 29 (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.{{Cite news|last=Belz|first=Adam|url=http://www.startribune.com/how-an-iowa-town-caught-16-000-minnesota-speeders|title=How one city in Iowa caught 160,000 speeders in less than two years|date=May 13, 2015|work=Star Tribune|access-date=April 6, 2020}}{{Dead link|date=June 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{See also|List of airports in Iowa}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://iowadot.gov/aviation/airport-information|title=Iowa Airport Information {{!}} Iowa DOT|website=Iowadot.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223110208/https://iowadot.gov/aviation/airport-information|archive-date=December 23, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=April 21, 2020}}

{{See also|List of Iowa 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.{{Cite web|url=http://sharemap.org/public/Amtrak_California_Zephyr?nr#!webgl|title=Amtrak California Zephyr - ShareMap.org|website=sharemap.org|access-date=April 7, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611101125/http://sharemap.org/public/Amtrak_California_Zephyr?nr#!webgl|url-status=usurped}} Fort Madison is served by Amtrak's Southwest Chief, running between Chicago and Los Angeles.{{Cite web|url=https://traveler.sharemap.org/Passenger_trains_in_America|title=Passenger trains in America|website=traveler.sharemap.org|access-date=April 7, 2020|archive-date=April 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416043314/https://traveler.sharemap.org/Passenger_trains_in_America|url-status=usurped}} Both provide daily service through the state.

{{See also|List of intercity bus stops in Iowa}}

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.

Intercity bus service in the state is provided by Burlington Trailways, Greyhound Lines, and Jefferson Lines.

{| class="collapsible collapsed" style="border:1px #aaa solid; width:50em; margin:0.2em auto"

|-

! Local transit map

|-

|{{Location map+ |Iowa |width=1000 |float=center

|caption=Local Transit Systems (Only systems with fixed-route services are shown)

|places=

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=41.768808|long=-91.640141|position=left |label=380 Express|label_size=90|mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=41.551307|long=-90.502710|position=top |label=Bettendorf Transit|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=40.805742|long=-91.102170|position=left |label=Burlington Urban Service|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=41.656617|long=-91.533221|position=left |label=Cambus|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=41.976137|long=-91.666169|position=top |label=Cedar Rapids Transit|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=41.840099|long=-90.188268|position=left |label=Clinton MTA|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=41.683319|long=-91.560096|position=right |label=Coralville Transit|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=42.025883|long=-93.617613|position=bottom |label=CyRide|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=41.524392|long=-90.585901|position=left |label=Citibus|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=41.584133|long=-93.623944|position=bottom |label=DART|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=42.503740|long=-94.189756|position=bottom |label=DART|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=41.656617|long=-91.533221|position=bottom |label=Iowa City Transit|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=42.038180|long=-92.914820|position=bottom |label=Marshalltown Municipal Transit|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=43.152681|long=-93.201426|position=bottom |label=Mason City Transit|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=41.493269|long=-90.527848|position=bottom |label=MetroLINK|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=41.259856|long=-95.851621|position=right |label=Metro Transit|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=42.499173|long=-92.337348|position=bottom |label=MET Transit|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=41.422890|long=-91.045068|position=bottom |label=MuscaBus|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=41.294914|long=-92.645025|position=bottom |label=Oskaloosa Rides|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=41.017124|long=-92.411622|position=bottom |label=Ottumwa Transit Authority|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=42.495443|long=-96.403443|position=bottom |label=Sioux City Transit|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

{{Location map~ |Iowa |lat=42.504354|long=-90.661632|position=left |label=The Jule|label_size=90 |mark=Icon-mode-bus-default.svg|marksize=20 }}

}}

|}

{{multiple image

| direction = vertical

| total_width = 230

| image1 = Iowa State Capitol - panoramio.jpg

| caption1 = The Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines, completed in 1886, is the only state capitol in the United States to feature five domes. It houses the Iowa General Assembly, comprising the Iowa House of Representatives and Iowa Senate.

| image2 = Iowa Supreme Court.jpg

| caption2 = The Iowa Supreme Court, across from the capitol, is the state's highest court.

}}

{{As of|2022}}, the 43rd and current governor of Iowa is Kim Reynolds (R). Other statewide elected officials are:

• Chris Cournoyer (R), Lieutenant Governor{{cite news |last1=Pfannenstiel |first1=Brianne |last2=Gruber-Miller |first2=Stephen |title=Gov. Kim Reynolds names state Sen. Chris Cournoyer as next lieutenant governor of Iowa |url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2024/12/16/senator-chris-cournoyer-named-iowa-lieutenant-governor-kim-reynolds-adam-gregg/76706958007/ |access-date=December 17, 2024 |work=The Des Moines Register |date=December 16, 2024}}
• Paul Pate (R), Secretary of State
• Rob Sand (D), Auditor of State
• Roby Smith (R), Treasurer of State
• Mike Naig (R), Secretary of Agriculture
• Brenna Bird (R), Attorney General

The Code of Iowa contains Iowa's statutory laws. 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.

{{Further|List of United States senators from Iowa|List of United States representatives from Iowa}}

The two U.S. senators:

• Chuck Grassley (R), in office since 1981
• Joni Ernst (R), in office since 2015

The four U.S. representatives:

• Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R), First district
• Ashley Hinson (R), Second district
• Zach Nunn (R), Third district
• Randy Feenstra (R), Fourth district

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.

{{Main|Political party strength in Iowa}}

File:Samuel Jordan Kirkwood.jpg, founder of the Iowa Republican Party, abolitionist, and Iowa's Civil War Governor]]

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.{{cite web |title=Forming a Political Party in Iowa |url=https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/electioninfo/formpoliticalparty.html |website=sos.iowa.gov |publisher=Iowa Secretary of State Paul D. Pate |access-date=October 22, 2018 |archive-date=November 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107115523/http://sos.iowa.gov/elections/electioninfo/formpoliticalparty.html |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite web |title=Libertarian Party obtains official political party status in Iowa |url=https://sos.iowa.gov/news/2017_03_2.html |website=sos.iowa.gov |publisher=Iowa Secretary of State Paul D. Pate |access-date=October 22, 2018 |archive-date=October 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022193511/https://sos.iowa.gov/news/2017_03_2.html |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.state.ia.us/pdfs/GenOffResults.pdf |title=Official Results Report—Statewide: 2006 General Election |access-date=July 26, 2007 |publisher=Iowa Secretary of State |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715101939/http://www.sos.state.ia.us/pdfs/GenOffResults.pdf |archive-date=July 15, 2007 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.state.ia.us/pdfs/elections/2004/general/CanvassSummary.pdf |title=Canvass Summary: 2004 General Election |access-date=July 26, 2007 |publisher=Chester J. Culver, Iowa Secretary of State |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104025211/http://www.sos.state.ia.us/pdfs/elections/2004/general/CanvassSummary.pdf |archive-date=January 4, 2007 }}

{{See also|United States presidential elections in Iowa}}

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 3{{nbsp}}days; eclipsing George Clinton, who served 21 years until 1804.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/14/meet-iowa-gov-terry-branstad-who-as-of-monday-is-americas-longest-serving-governor/|title=Terry Branstad just became the longest serving governor in American history|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=September 14, 2016|archive-date=September 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919170235/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/14/meet-iowa-gov-terry-branstad-who-as-of-monday-is-americas-longest-serving-governor/|url-status=live}} Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds succeeded him on May 24, 2017, following Branstad's appointment as U.S. Ambassador to China.

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.{{cite web|last=Weisman|first=Jonathan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/us/politics/iowa-republicans-red.html|title=Why Iowa Turned So Red When Nearby States Went Blue|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2024-01-08|access-date=2024-09-12}}

{| class=wikitable style="float:center"

! colspan = 6 | Party registration as of January 2, 2025{{cite web |url=https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterreg/county.html#2024 |title=State of Iowa Voter Registration Totals |publisher=Iowa Secretary of State |date=March 1, 2023 |access-date=March 3, 2023 |archive-date=November 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127234423/https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterreg/regstat.html |url-status=live }}

|-

! colspan = 2 | Party

! Total voters

! Percentage

|-

| {{party color cell|Republican Party (US)}}

| Republican

| align=center | 812,155

| align=center | 35.43%

|-

| {{party color cell|Independent politician}}

| No affiliation

| align=center | 802,280

| align=center | 35.00%

|-

| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (US)}}

| Democratic

| align=center | 655,745

| align=center | 28.61%

|-

| {{party color cell|Other parties (US)}}

| Other

| align=center | 22,080

| align=center | 0.96%

|-

! colspan = 2 | Total

! align=center | 2,292,260

! align=center | 100.00%

|}

{{Main|Iowa caucuses}}

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.{{Cite web |author1=James Q. Lynch |url=http://www.iowacaucus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071119/IOWACAUCUS/71119004 |title=What happens at a caucus? |publisher=iowacaucus.com | date=November 19, 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222142101/http://www.iowacaucus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20071119%2FIOWACAUCUS%2F71119004 |archive-date=December 22, 2007 }}

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.{{cite journal |last1=Donovan |first1=Todd |last2=Hunsaker |first2=Rob |date=January 2009 |title=Beyond expectations: effects of early elections in U.S. presidential nomination contests |url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract |journal=PS: Political Science & Politics |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=45–52 |doi=10.1017/S1049096509090040 |s2cid=42839320 |access-date=January 30, 2016 |archive-date=July 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715203811/http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract |url-status=live }} The national and international media give Iowa and New Hampshire extensive attention, which gives Iowa voters leverage.{{cite journal |last1=Donovan |first1=Todd |last2=Redlawsk |first2=David |last3=Tolbert |first3=Caroline |date=September 2014 |title=The 2012 Iowa Republican Caucus and Its Effects on the Presidential Nomination Contest |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |volume=44 |issue=3 |pages=447–466 |doi=10.1111/psq.12132 }} In 2007 presidential campaign spending was the seventh highest in the country.{{Citation|last=Swenson|first=David|title=The Economic Impact of the Iowa Caucus: Gauging the Worth of Its First-in-the-Nation Position?|date=April 2008|url=https://www2.econ.iastate.edu/research/webpapers/paper_12911.pdf|access-date=April 22, 2020|archive-date=April 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404001453/http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/research/webpapers/paper_12911.pdf|url-status=live}}

In a 2020 study, Iowa was ranked as the 24th easiest state for citizens to vote in.{{cite journal |last1=J. Pomante II |first1=Michael |last2=Li |first2=Quan |title=Cost of Voting in the American States: 2020 |journal=Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy |date=15 Dec 2020 |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=503–509 |doi=10.1089/elj.2020.0666 |s2cid=225139517 |doi-access=free }}

File:UnionBlockMtPleasant15.jpg building in Mount Pleasant, scene of early civil rights and women's rights activities]]

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/Public_Information/Iowa_Courts_History/Civil_Rights/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060505082508/http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/Public_Information/Iowa_Courts_History/Civil_Rights/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 5, 2006 |title=Early Civil Rights Cases |publisher=Judicial.state.ia.us |access-date=July 26, 2010 }} 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.[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-defending-iowa-web,0,2979128.story Gay marriage and Iowa: Why's everyone so surprised?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429060425/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-defending-iowa-web,0,2979128.story |date=April 29, 2009 }}, Chicago Tribune, April 10, 2009

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.{{cite journal|last=Brodnax|first=David|year=2004|title=The Equality of Right: Alexander Clark and the Desegregation of Iowa's Public Schools, 1834–1875|journal=Law and Society Association|url=http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/1/7/4/2/p117420_index.html|access-date=July 22, 2009|archive-date=July 21, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090721103524/http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/1/7/4/2/p117420_index.html|url-status=live}} 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, [http://www.iowa.gov/government/crc/docs/annual66activities.html Iowa.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603100106/http://www.iowa.gov/government/crc/docs/annual66activities.html |date=June 3, 2010 }} 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, [http://www.iptv.org/IowaPathways/myPath.cfm?ounid=ob_000238 IPTV.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506232420/http://www.iptv.org/iowapathways/mypath.cfm?ounid=ob_000238 |date=May 6, 2009 }} Full racial civil rights were codified under the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965.Iowa Civil Rights Commission, [http://www.state.ia.us/government/crc/publications/brochures/english_brochure.html State.ia.us] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720010217/http://www.state.ia.us/government/crc/publications/brochures/english_brochure.html |date=July 20, 2009 }}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/iowa-and-the-19th-amendment.htm|title=Iowa and the 19th Amendment |website=U.S. National Park Service |date=August 15, 2019 |access-date=January 21, 2020|archive-date=July 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704043145/https://www.nps.gov/articles/iowa-and-the-19th-amendment.htm|url-status=live}} 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, [http://www.uiowa.edu/homepage/about-UI/index.html Uiowa.edu] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119042543/http://www.uiowa.edu/homepage/about-UI/index.html |date=November 19, 2012 }} 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, [http://www.iptv.org/iowapathways/myPath.cfm?ounid=ob_000320 IPTV.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615233319/http://iptv.org/iowapathways/mypath.cfm?ounid=ob_000320 |date=June 15, 2010 }} 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?, [http://womhist.alexanderstreet.com/iowaera/intro.htm alexanderstreet.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918125012/http://womhist.alexanderstreet.com/iowaera/intro.htm |date=September 18, 2009 }} 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."[http://search.legis.state.ia.us/NXT/gateway.dll/ic/1/2/11?f=templates$fn=document-frame.htm).0$q=$uq=1$x=$up=1 1857 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF IOWA—CODIFIED] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209200037/http://search.legis.state.ia.us/NXT/gateway.dll/ic/1/2/11?f=templates$fn=document-frame.htm).0$q=$uq=1$x=$up=1 |date=February 9, 2014 }}. Search.legis.state.ia.us (July 4, 1973). Retrieved on July 12, 2013.

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/04/abortion-ban-law-iowa-fetal-heartbeat/577443002/|title=The nation's strictest abortion ban is now law. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs 'fetal heartbeat' bill|last1=Pfannenstiel|first1=Brianne|last2=Petroski|first2=William|website=Des Moines Register|access-date=January 21, 2020}} It was struck down in January 2019, when an Iowa state judge ruled that the "fetal heartbeat" law was unconstitutional.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/23/us/iowa-fetal-heartbeat-abortion-unconstitutional/index.html|title=Iowa's 'fetal heartbeat' abortion restriction declared unconstitutional|first1=Eric|last1=Levenson|first2=Marlena|last2=Baldacci|website=CNN|date=January 23, 2019|access-date=January 23, 2019|archive-date=January 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123170538/https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/23/us/iowa-fetal-heartbeat-abortion-unconstitutional/index.html|url-status=live}}

{{Main|LGBT rights in Iowa}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://icrc.iowa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/2016/2016.sogi_.pa1_.pdf|title=Iowa Civil Rights Act—Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity|date=2016|website=State of Iowa|access-date=June 25, 2019|archive-date=July 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712232939/https://icrc.iowa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/2016/2016.sogi_.pa1_.pdf|url-status=live}}

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,{{cite web |last=Martyn |first=Chase |url=http://iowaindependent.com/13495/iowa-supreme-court-same-sex-couples-can-marry-in-iowa |title=Iowa Supreme Court: Same-sex couples can marry " Iowa Independent |publisher=Iowaindependent.com |date=August 25, 2008 |access-date=July 26, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411165337/http://iowaindependent.com/13495/iowa-supreme-court-same-sex-couples-can-marry-in-iowa |archive-date=April 11, 2009 }} 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.{{cite web |url=http://hrcbackstory.org/2009/04/breaking-iowa-supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-marriage-equality |title=BREAKING: Iowa Supreme Court rules in favor of marriage equality! " Human Rights Campaign |publisher=HRC Back Story |date=April 3, 2009 |access-date=July 26, 2010 |archive-date=May 2, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502132204/http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2009/04/breaking-iowa-supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-marriage-equality/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|url=http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/04/iowa-court-upholds-gay-marriage.html |title=USA Today, Iowa Court Upholds Gay Marriage |work=USA Today |date=January 7, 2010 |access-date=July 31, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090406071701/http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/04/iowa-court-upholds-gay-marriage.html |archive-date=April 6, 2009 }}

Iowa has ten official partner jurisdictions:{{cite web |url=http://www.iowasisterstates.org/ |title=Iowa Sister States |publisher=Iowa Sister States |date=February 23, 2010 |access-date=August 8, 2018 |archive-date=August 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809111502/https://www.iowasisterstates.org/ |url-status=usurped }}

• {{flagdeco|Japan}} Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan (1960)
• {{flagdeco|Mexico}} Yucatán, Mexico (1964)
• {{flagdeco|PRC}} Hebei Province, People's Republic of China (1983)
• {{flagdeco|Malaysia}} Terengganu, Malaysia (1987)
• {{flagicon|ROC}} Taiwan, Republic of China (1989)
• {{flagdeco|Russia}} Stavropol Krai, USSR/Russia (1989)
• {{flagdeco|Ukraine}} Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine (1996)
• {{flagdeco|Italy}} Veneto Region, Italy (1997)
• {{flagdeco|Kosovo}} Republic of Kosovo (2013) A consulate was opened in Des Moines in 2015.{{cite web | url=https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/consularnotification/ConsularNotificationandAccess/kosovo.html | title=Kosovo }}

• Index of Iowa-related articles
• Outline of Iowa
• USS Iowa, 4 ships

{{Portalbar|Iowa|United States}}

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Sister project links|Iowa|voy=Iowa}}

• {{official website|}}
• [http://www.iowadatacenter.org/ State Data Center of Iowa] population, housing, business and government statistics
• [http://www.traveliowa.com/ Iowa Travel and Tourism Division]
• [http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets/state-data.aspx?StateFIPS=19&StateName=Iowa#.U85qrPldVu0 Iowa State Facts from USDA]
• [https://guides.loc.gov/iowa-state-guide Iowa: State Resource Guide, from the Library of Congress]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101117131019/http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=IA Energy Data & Statistics for Iowa—U.S. Department of Energy]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081009210112/http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Iowa Iowa State Databases]—Annotated list of searchable databases produced by Iowa state agencies and compiled by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100527093102/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/19000.html U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts]
• {{osmrelation-inline|161650}}
• [https://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/islandora/object/ui%3A25112 Conserving the Constitution of the State of Iowa, 1988]

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