Where Iowa ranks

Family farm bankruptcy filings

Agriculture · as of Filings Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2025; farm counts 2025

Iowa's family farm bankruptcy filings more than doubled in a year.

38th of 50 jurisdictions

Read this carefully. Iowa filings went from 7 in 2024 to 18 in 2025, an increase of 157 percent. The widely quoted 220 percent comes from Farm Bureau prose that contradicts Farm Bureau's own map, which reconciles exactly to U.S. Courts totals.

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation Market Intel, 'Farm Bankruptcies Continued to Climb in 2025' (Feb. 2026), state map of U.S. Courts Chapter 12 filings; farm counts from USDA NASS, Farms and Land in Farms 2025 Summary (Feb. 2026). Chapter 12 (family farmer) bankruptcy filings per 1,000 farms, calendar year 2025
https://www.fb.org/market-intel/farm-bankruptcies-continued-to-climb-in-2025

Financially vulnerable Iowa farms

Agriculture · as of 2025-12

The share of mid-size and large Iowa farms in financial trouble has more than doubled in three years.

19% percent of mid- and large-size Iowa farms in the sample

Trend: rising. 7.7% (Dec 2022) to 19% (Dec 2025)

Up from 7.7 percent in December 2022

Read this carefully. The source notes this remains below late-2010s levels.

Source: Crespi, J.M., and C.C. Pudenz (Eds.) 2026. 2026 Iowa Agricultural Outlook: The Pressure is Rising. Staff Report 26-SR 125. CARD at Iowa State University, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, and Iowa Bankers Association.
https://www.iowafarmbureau.com/ArticleFile/file/31e979c6-e8d1-4a2f-ab0a-ea90da4f3de9/2026%20Iowa%20Agricultural%20Outlook.pdf

Iowa net farm income

Agriculture · as of 2022-2024

Iowa farm income fell by more than half in two years.

down 53% percent change, 2022 to 2024

Trend: falling. The report projects an increase in 2025 on government payments and livestock returns, then decreases in 2026 and 2027.

Corn production costs are up 37 percent and soybean costs up 36 percent since 2021.

Read this carefully. The source, which is co-published by Iowa Farm Bureau, states plainly that today's conditions do not yet mirror the severity of the 1980s farm crisis. Farmland equity and lender balance sheets remain healthy.

Source: Crespi, J.M., and C.C. Pudenz (Eds.) 2026. 2026 Iowa Agricultural Outlook: The Pressure is Rising. Staff Report 26-SR 125. CARD at Iowa State University, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, and Iowa Bankers Association.
https://www.iowafarmbureau.com/ArticleFile/file/31e979c6-e8d1-4a2f-ab0a-ea90da4f3de9/2026%20Iowa%20Agricultural%20Outlook.pdf

Children in child care deserts

Child care · as of Provider data collected December 2024 through September 2025; child population from 2019-2023 Census estimates

Iowa does well on this one

A smaller share of Iowa children live in a child care desert than nationally.

13th of 51 jurisdictions

Source: Center for American Progress, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, and Stanford University, "America's Licensed Child Care Deserts," April 29, 2026, Table 1 (published chart version 4). Percent of children under age 6 living in a licensed child care desert -- a local area with more than three young children for every licensed child care slot (centers, licensed/registered homes, Head Start, and state pre-K; informal family, friend, and neighbor care excluded)
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/americas-licensed-child-care-deserts/

Manufacturing jobs, change over the year

Economy · as of June 2026, seasonally adjusted

Iowa lost 4,300 manufacturing jobs in the year to June 2026, a bigger drop than any other sector.

down 4,300 jobs, change from June 2025 to June 2026

Trend: falling. 217,100 in June 2025 to 212,800 in June 2026.

Read this carefully. Of Iowa's eleven supersectors, three grew over this period and manufacturing fell the furthest. Total nonfarm employment fell 9,600, so manufacturing is close to half of the state's job loss. Manufacturing is still Iowa's largest sector by output. This is a payroll figure, not an output figure.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, State and Area Employment, Hours and Earnings. Iowa manufacturing employment, seasonally adjusted, June 2025 and June 2026.
https://www.bls.gov/sae/

Median household income

Economy · as of 2024 (ACS 1-year)

The typical Iowa household earns about six thousand dollars less than the typical American household.

35th of 51 jurisdictions

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 one-year estimates. Median household income in the past 12 months, in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars, per household
https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2024.B19013

Real GDP change, first quarter 2026

Economy · as of 2026-Q1

Iowa's economy went slightly backwards in the first quarter of 2026 while most states grew.

48th of 50 states

The median of the 50 ranked states grew 1.43 percent. The chart and the table below add the District of Columbia, which moves the median to 1.44.

Read this carefully. One quarter, not a trend. BEA's September 30, 2026 release is an annual update that will revise these back years.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, SQGDP1, real GDP in chained 2017 dollars, percent change 2025:Q4 to 2026:Q1 at an annual rate. Release of June 25, 2026.
https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gdp-state

Unemployment rate

Economy · as of June 2026, seasonally adjusted

Iowa does well on this one

A smaller share of Iowans are out of work than in most states.

8th of 51 jurisdictions

Read this carefully. Alabama and Wyoming share Iowa's 3.2 percent, so Iowa is tied for 8th of 51. A low unemployment rate also says nothing about what the work pays, which is a separate measure on this page.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics. Unemployment rate by state, June 2026, seasonally adjusted.
https://www.bls.gov/lau/

Average teacher salary

Education · as of FY 2024-25

An Iowa teacher earns about nine thousand dollars a year less than the national average.

30th of 51 jurisdictions, 50 states and the District of Columbia

$9,183 below the national average

Read this carefully. Iowa's STARTING teacher salary is $48,139, ranked 24 of 51, essentially at the national average of $48,112. The gap opens over a career, not on day one.

Source: National Education Association, Educator Pay Data 2026 (FY 2024-25), published April 10, 2026.
https://www.nea.org/resource-library/educator-pay-and-student-spending-how-does-your-state-rank

Best state to be a teacher

Education · as of 2026 edition (released Sep 15, 2025) · composite index

Iowa ranks in the bottom fifth of states as a place to teach.

43rd of 51 jurisdictions

This is a composite index. WalletHub combines about two dozen weighted indicators into a single score. It is an index, not a measurement of any one thing.

Source: WalletHub, Best & Worst States for Teachers (2026 edition, published Sep 15, 2025). WalletHub 'Total Score' -- proprietary 0-100 weighted composite of 24 teacher-friendliness metrics across two dimensions (Opportunity & Competition, 70 pts; Academic & Work Environment, 30 pts); higher is better, not a physical quantity
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-teachers/7159

Overall education index

Education · as of 2026 Data Book; education indicators are ACS 2020-24, NAEP 2024 and the 2023-24 school year, indexed to 2019 · composite index

Iowa sits just above the middle of the pack on the combined education index.

27th of 50 jurisdictions

This is a composite index. The Annie E. Casey KIDS COUNT education domain combines four separate indicators into an index rank.

Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book (37th edition, June 2026), Appendix A. KIDS COUNT Education domain index score, 0-1,000 scale (higher = better child well-being), min-max rescaled against best/worst 2019 state values on four education indicators
https://assets.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/Aecf-2026kidscountdatabook.pdf

K-12 spending per pupil

Education · as of FY 2024 (Census F-33, most recent published)

Iowa spends about three thousand dollars less per student than the national figure.

35th of 50 jurisdictions

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, FY 2024, Summary Table 8. Current spending per pupil (dollars)
https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-finances/tables/2024/secondary-education-finance/elsec24_sumtables.xlsx

Per-student spending

Education · as of FY 2024-25

Iowa spends less per student than most states.

37th of 51 jurisdictions, 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: National Education Association, Educator Pay Data 2026 (FY 2024-25), published April 10, 2026.
https://www.nea.org/resource-library/educator-pay-and-student-spending-how-does-your-state-rank

Iowa teacher pay against the national average

Education · as of FY 2024-25

In 2000 an Iowa teacher earned about three percent less than the national average. Today the gap is more than twelve percent. That is the change.

30th of 51 jurisdictions, 50 states and the District of Columbia

Trend: falling. The gap widened from 3.1 percent below the national average in FY 2000, to 10.4 percent below in FY 2011, to 12.3 percent below in FY 2024-25.

Iowa $65,312 against a national average of $74,495 in FY 2024-25. In FY 2011 the Legislative Services Agency put Iowa 25th in the nation.

Read this carefully. Three points across twenty five years, not an annual series. The years between are not shown because they were not verified, and this page does not draw lines through data it does not have. Each point comes from a different publication using NEA data.

Source: National Education Association, Educator Pay Data 2026 (FY 2024-25), published April 10, 2026.
https://www.nea.org/resource-library/educator-pay-and-student-spending-how-does-your-state-rank

Share of nursing homes closed

Elder care · as of Closures 2015 through mid-2026

Iowa has closed a larger share of its nursing homes than most states.

39th of 49 jurisdictions, the 50 states minus Alaska, which had fewer than 25 nursing homes in the 2015 cohort

Source: CMS Provider of Services File - Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES), Q2 2026; 2015 cohort verified against the CMS Provider of Services File - Hospital & Non-Hospital Facilities, December 2015. Percent of a state's Medicare/Medicaid-certified nursing homes that were open at the start of 2015 and have since closed or been terminated (closed cohort: numerator and denominator are both restricted to facilities certified before 2015, so the denominator is cohort members still open plus cohort members terminated 2015-2026; excludes code 07 reclassifications, and excludes facilities first certified after 2014 from both sides)
https://data.cms.gov/sites/default/files/2026-07/a014b55b-f9ec-44bc-ab11-830417f2ecc2/POS_iQIES.DATA.Q2_2026%20-%20Copy.csv

Benchmark health plan premium

Health · as of plan year 2026 (rates effective January 2026; published November 2025)

Iowa does well on this one

Iowa's benchmark marketplace premium is lower than in most states.

9th of 51 jurisdictions

Source: KFF State Health Facts, Marketplace Average Benchmark Premiums, plan year 2026; Iowa and the 29 other states on the federal marketplace platform independently reproduced here from the federal plan and enrollment files. The remaining 21 state-run marketplaces rest on KFF alone. Monthly benchmark premium (the second-lowest-cost silver plan) for a single 40-year-old non-smoker, before any premium tax credit, in dollars per month; county benchmarks weighted by county plan selections
https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/state-indicator/marketplace-average-benchmark-premiums/

Cancer incidence rate

Health · as of 2018-2022

Iowans get cancer at a higher rate than almost anywhere in the country, and Iowa's rate is going up while the country's goes down.

51st of 52 jurisdictions, 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico

The source ranks the worst first, where Iowa is 2 of 52.

Trend: rising. +0.7% per year (95% CI 0.4 to 1.1). The national rate is falling 1.0% per year. Only 3 of 52 jurisdictions are rising: Iowa, West Virginia, Utah.

11.2 percent above the national rate

Read this carefully. Two things a careful reader will ask, answered up front. First, Iowa's rank confidence interval is 2 to 3: Iowa and West Virginia are statistically tied, and Kentucky is first at 519.0. Second, Iowa ranks 2nd on getting cancer but about 23rd on dying of it. A gap that size usually means a state is finding cancers other states miss, so some of Iowa's incidence figure is screening intensity rather than more disease. That does not explain the whole gap, and it does not explain why Iowa's rate is rising while the national rate falls, which is the part nobody has accounted for yet.

Source: NCI State Cancer Profiles, incidence by state, all cancer sites, all stages, 2018-2022. Underlying data: CDC National Program of Cancer Registries and NCI SEER, 2024 submission. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
https://statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov/incidencerates/index.php?stateFIPS=00&areatype=state&cancer=001&race=00&sex=0&age=001&stage=999&year=0&type=incd&sortVariableName=rate&sortOrder=desc&output=1

Dentists per capita

Health · as of 2024 dentist counts over 2024 state population (U.S. Census Bureau estimates); both years matched and verified in-script

Iowa has fewer dentists per person than most states.

41st of 51 jurisdictions

Source: American Dental Association, Health Policy Institute, 'Supply of Dentists in the U.S.: 2001-2024', Table 3 (analysis of the ADA masterfile). Professionally active dentists (licensed, not retired, working in dentistry -- private practice, dental school faculty, armed forces and other federal service, state and local government, hospital staff, residents) per 100,000 state residents
https://www.ada.org/-/media/project/ada-organization/ada/ada-org/files/resources/research/hpi/hpidata_supply_of_dentists_2024.xlsx

Iowans living in a county with no ophthalmologist

Health · as of 2023 physician counts, 2023 population

Thirty-nine percent of Iowans live in a county with no eye physician at all. Nationally it is twelve percent.

49th of 51 jurisdictions

Read this carefully. 79 of Iowa's 99 counties have no ophthalmologist practicing in them, which is 1,250,195 people. Only South Dakota and Wyoming have a larger share. A county line is not a wall, and some of these residents drive to a neighboring county rather than across the state. Counties are counted by people rather than by county, because a state with 254 counties and a state with three cannot be compared any other way.

Source: HRSA Area Health Resources File, 2024-2025 release. Optometrists from the National Provider Identifier file (2024) and non-federal ophthalmologists (2023), against county population, recomputed across all 3,235 counties.
https://data.hrsa.gov/DataDownload/AHRF/AHRF_2024-2025_CSV.zip

Cancer among Iowa farmers in the Agricultural Health Study

Health · as of 1994-2015

Iowa farmers, who are the most exposed to farm chemicals, got 13 percent fewer cancers than Iowans generally. Whatever is driving Iowa's cancer rate, the simple story does not hold up.

13% fewer cancers than expected versus the Iowa general population

Spouses had 10 percent fewer cancers than expected. Farmers had MORE cases than expected of prostate and lip cancer.

Read this carefully. Quoted from the Iowa Cancer Registry: Iowa farmers in the AHS had 13% fewer cancers overall than expected compared to the general population in Iowa from 1994-2015.

Source: Iowa Cancer Registry. Cancer in Iowa 2026. University of Iowa College of Public Health, March 2026.
https://shri.public-health.uiowa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/2026-Cancer-in-Iowa.pdf

Counties that lost hospital-based obstetric care

Health · as of 2010 to 2024

Iowa lost hospital-based obstetric care in a larger share of its counties than any other state.

50th of 50 jurisdictions

Source: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center, 2010-2024 County-Level Hospital-Based Obstetric Care Status (AHA Annual Survey + CMS Provider of Services file). Percent of counties that had hospital-based obstetric care in 2010 and had lost it by 2024
https://rhrc.umn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/county_OBstat_2010_2024.xlsx

OB-GYNs per 100,000 women of reproductive age

Health · as of Physician counts 2023; population denominator 2023

Iowa has the second fewest OB-GYNs per woman of reproductive age in the country.

50th of 51 jurisdictions

Read this carefully. Iowa was last on the 2021-22 data KFF analyzed. On current 2023 physician counts Iowa is 50th of 51 and Idaho is last, so this page says second fewest rather than last.

Source: HRSA Area Health Resources File (AHRF) 2024-2025 county release; OB-GYN counts from the AMA Physician Masterfile, denominator from Census state population estimates (SC-EST vintage 2024) for the same year. Practicing OB-GYNs (non-federal MDs and DOs in patient care, excluding hospital residents) per 100,000 women ages 15-64
https://data.hrsa.gov/DataDownload/AHRF/AHRF_2024-2025_CSV.zip

Ophthalmologists per capita

Health · as of 2023

Iowa has fewer eye physicians per person than most states. They are the ones who treat disease and operate.

37th of 51 jurisdictions

Read this carefully. An ophthalmologist is a physician who treats eye disease and performs surgery. This is not interchangeable with the optometrist count on this page, and the two are never added together here. Iowa is above the national rate on optometrists and below it on ophthalmologists, which is the ordinary rural pattern and is the whole point.

Source: HRSA Area Health Resources File, 2024-2025 release. Optometrists from the National Provider Identifier file (2024) and non-federal ophthalmologists (2023), against county population, recomputed across all 3,235 counties.
https://data.hrsa.gov/DataDownload/AHRF/AHRF_2024-2025_CSV.zip

Optometrists per capita

Health · as of 2024

Iowa has more optometrists per person than most states. They handle exams and glasses.

19th of 51 jurisdictions

Read this carefully. An optometrist examines eyes and prescribes glasses and contacts. Iowa is above the national rate here and below it on ophthalmologists, and the two are counted separately on purpose: they do different work, so one does not offset the other. 19th of 51 is a solid result rather than a standout, which is why it does not carry the does-well badge.

Source: HRSA Area Health Resources File, 2024-2025 release. Optometrists from the National Provider Identifier file (2024) and non-federal ophthalmologists (2023), against county population, recomputed across all 3,235 counties.
https://data.hrsa.gov/DataDownload/AHRF/AHRF_2024-2025_CSV.zip

Overall state health ranking

Health · as of 2025 edition (36th), published January 2026 · composite index

On a broad measure of overall health, Iowa is ahead of two thirds of the country.

17th of 50 states

This is a composite index. America's Health Rankings combines 99 separate measures into one weighted score. It is an index, not a measurement of any single thing, and a strong overall placing can sit on top of very weak individual measures.

Read this carefully. This is an average, and an average hides the distribution. On the specific access measures on this page Iowa is 50th and 51st: counties that lost hospital-based obstetric care, OB-GYNs per capita, and state psychiatric beds.

Source: United Health Foundation, America's Health Rankings 2025 Annual Report (36th edition, published January 2026), overall ranking, Iowa.
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/measures/Overall/IA

Pharmacy access

Health · as of Pharmacy locations April 2022; published March 2024

Iowa does well on this one

Iowa has better pharmacy access than most states.

13th of 51 jurisdictions

Source: Wittenauer R, Shah PD, Bacci JL, Stergachis A. Locations and characteristics of pharmacy deserts in the United States: a geospatial study. Health Affairs Scholar 2024;2(4):qxae035 (Oxford University Press), Supplement Table A2-1. Percent of a state's total resident population living in a pharmacy desert census tract, where a pharmacy desert is a tract that is BOTH low income (20%+ below the federal poverty level, or median household income under 80% of the nearest metro area) AND low access (33%+ of residents beyond 1 mile of a pharmacy if urban, 5 miles if suburban, 10 miles if rural, 0.5 miles if fewer than 100 residents own a car). Denominator is the state's own total population.
https://academic.oup.com/healthaffairsscholar/article/2/4/qxae035/7630415

Projected primary care supply

Health · as of 2030 projection, from the December 2025 release

Iowa is projected to meet a smaller share of its primary care need than most states.

39th of 51 jurisdictions

Source: U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, Health Workforce Projections (Health Workforce Simulation Model), December 2025 release covering 2023-2038; full-data spreadsheet behind the Workforce Projections Dashboard. Projected physician supply as a percent of projected physician demand in 2030 (percent adequacy = FTE supply / FTE demand x 100). Below 100% = projected shortage. Covers all physician specialties including psychiatry, as the state-level rows of the HRSA file are constructed
https://data.hrsa.gov/DataDownload/StaticDocuments/Workforce_Projections_FullData.xlsx

Physicians per capita

Health · as of 2024 (AMA Physician Professional Data; U.S. Census Bureau population estimates)

Iowa has fewer doctors per person than all but a handful of states.

43rd of 51 jurisdictions

Source: AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges), U.S. Physician Workforce Data Dashboard, 2025 release, 'Physician Density by Location & Specialty'. Active physicians (MD and DO, all specialties) per 100,000 population
https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/report/us-physician-workforce-data-dashboard

Households burdened by housing costs

Housing · as of 2024 (ACS 1-year, released September 2025)

Iowa does well on this one

A smaller share of Iowa households is burdened by housing costs than almost anywhere else.

3rd of 51 jurisdictions

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 one-year estimates. Percent of occupied housing units paying 30 percent or more of household income for housing costs, owners and renters combined.
https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/1YRData/acsdt1y2024-b25106.dat

Effective property tax rate

Housing · as of 2024 (ACS 1-year estimates)

Iowa homeowners pay a higher effective property tax rate than most of the country.

43rd of 51 jurisdictions

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 one-year estimates. Effective property tax rate on owner-occupied homes: median real estate taxes paid as a percent of median home value.
https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/1YRData/acsdt1y2024-b25103.dat

Structurally deficient bridges

Infrastructure · as of 2025

Iowa has more bridges rated structurally deficient than any other state.

50th of 50 states

The source ranks the worst first, where Iowa is 1 of 50.

Read this carefully. Every figure here is from ARTBA's Iowa profile, built on the federal National Bridge Inventory as downloaded on June 24, 2025: 4,423 of Iowa's 23,716 bridges, 18.6 percent, are rated structurally deficient, down from 4,504 in 2021. ARTBA ranks West Virginia second; its profile puts that share at 17.8 percent, 1,307 of 7,345 bridges. Structurally deficient does not mean unsafe or closed. It does mean these bridges are small: they hold 1.3 percent of Iowa's total bridge deck area, and 96 percent of them are on rural local and collector roads.

Source: ARTBA Bridge Report, Iowa profile, 2025 edition, analyzing the FHWA National Bridge Inventory.
https://artbabridgereport.org/state/profile/IA

Mental health providers per capita

Mental health · as of Providers 2025; population July 2024

Iowa has far fewer mental health providers per person than the country as a whole.

43rd of 50 jurisdictions, the 50 states and the District of Columbia minus Connecticut, which the source did not update

Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), Supplemental Data Release, 25 March 2026 -- measure v062, Mental Health Providers, built from the CMS National Provider Identifier downloadable file. Mental health providers per 100,000 residents (higher is better). Providers are all NPI-registered psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, providers treating alcohol and other drug abuse, and advanced practice nurses specialising in mental health care. Denominator is total resident population.
https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/sites/default/files/media/document/analytic_supplement_20260325%5B1%5D.csv

State psychiatric beds per capita

Mental health · as of 2023 (TAC survey of state officials, April-August 2023)

Iowa has fewer state psychiatric beds per person than any other state.

51st of 51 jurisdictions

Source: Treatment Advocacy Center, Prevention Over Punishment: Finding the Right Balance of Civil and Forensic State Psychiatric Hospital Beds (January 2024), Tables 2 and 8. Staffed ('online') adult state psychiatric hospital beds per 100,000 residents; excludes pediatric, geriatric, sex-offender, corrections-run, contracted and non-hospital-level beds
https://www.tac.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Prevention-Over-Punishment-Full-Report.pdf

Graduates produced versus graduates kept

Population · as of Graduates 2010-2018; published September 2022

Iowa's colleges produce far more graduates than Iowa keeps.

42nd of 51 jurisdictions

Read this carefully. This is a net stock comparison, not a retention rate. A retention rate cannot exceed 100 percent; this measure runs from -57.5 to +302.7. Illinois scores 5th best on it while losing its own students, because Chicago imports graduates. Data is frozen at a 2022 LinkedIn snapshot.

Source: The Washington Post, Department of Data, "States with the worst brain drain -- and more!" (Sept. 9, 2022), analyzing NBER Working Paper 30088, "Grads on the Go" (Conzelmann et al., May 2022). Percentage difference between college graduates produced in a state (alumni of colleges located there) and college graduates living there; percent, negative = net exporter
https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/UzMfz/3/dataset.csv

Working-age population, ages 18 to 64

Population · as of Vintage 2025 estimates; July 1 2020 to July 1 2025

Iowa's working-age population shrank slightly, 0.21 percent, while the country's grew 1.57 percent.

34th of 51 jurisdictions

Read this carefully. This counts residents aged 18 to 64, not everyone. Over the same five years Iowa's total population grew 1.48 percent, from 3,191,081 to 3,238,387, and the country's grew 3.08 percent (Census Bureau Vintage 2025 state totals, file NST-EST2025-ALLDATA). So this card says Iowa's working-age share is slipping, not that Iowa is losing people.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025. Percent change in resident population aged 18-64, July 1 2020 to July 1 2025; the denominator is the same state's 2020 population aged 18-64 from the same file
https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/state/asrh/sc-est2025-alldata6.csv

State minimum wage

Wages · as of In effect July 1, 2026

Iowa's minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009.

32nd of 51 jurisdictions

Read this carefully. This is a twenty-state tie at the federal floor, so the rank is a tie for 32nd rather than a precise position. The median state is at $11.85.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Consolidated State Minimum Wage Update Table (effective July 1, 2026). Minimum wage in force for FLSA-covered workers, dollars per hour, standard statewide rate (states with no minimum wage law or a rate below the federal floor are shown at the federal $7.25)
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/mw-consolidated

Wage growth per resident

Wages · as of 2015-2025

Iowa paychecks have grown more slowly than the country's for a decade. This is the measure that does not change answer depending on which year you start from.

43rd of 50 states

The national rate was 4.53 percent a year over the same decade.

Read this carefully. This replaces personal income growth, which is on this page's held-back list. That measure puts Iowa 48th on a 2022 base but 24th to 32nd on other bases, so it tells you more about the start year than about Iowa. Wages per resident holds at 43rd to 50th in every window tested, which is why it is the one shown.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, SAINC, wages and salaries per resident by state, compound annual growth 2015 to 2025.
https://www.bea.gov/data/income-saving/personal-income-by-state

Share of assessed river miles impaired

Water and environment · as of Most recent complete reporting cycle per state, 2022-2026

Nearly three quarters of Iowa's assessed river miles are too polluted for their intended use.

30th of 51 jurisdictions

Read this carefully. This is the comparable measure. Raw counts of impaired segments cannot be ranked across states, because states define a segment differently: Pennsylvania files 217,000 assessment units and Delaware 1,060.

Source: U.S. EPA ATTAINS, Clean Water Act section 305(b)/303(d) assessments, retrieved via EPA Expert Query; each state's most recent complete Integrated Report cycle. Percent of assessed river and stream miles rated impaired (overall status Not Supporting) -- impaired miles divided by assessed miles, rivers and streams only
https://owapps.epa.gov/expertquery/attains

Impaired water segments

Water and environment · as of 2026

More than seven hundred stretches of Iowa rivers, lakes and wetlands are too polluted to fully serve their intended uses.

723 impaired water segments (574 category 5 plus 149 category 4)

About 51 percent of assessed river segments were designated impaired.

Read this carefully. This is a count from a DRAFT report, not a national rank. States assess differently, so cross-state comparison of these counts is not valid.

Source: Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 2026 draft Integrated Report / 305(b) Assessment Summary, ADBNet.
https://programs.iowadnr.gov/adbnet/Assessments/Summary/2026