Business Formation Pulse · IA counties

Iowa Business Applications by County

Explore annual Census business applications across Iowa. Bubble size shows application volume; color can show volume or year-over-year change.

Latest year: 2025 · 99 counties

Interactive county map

Where are business applications concentrated?

Choose a year and map view, then select a bubble or ranking bar for exact county context.

Map view
Light to dark: lower to higher application volumeBubble size: applications

County points use official Census internal coordinates. Values are protected estimates from the published annual BFS county file.

County ranking

Highest application counties

The ranking follows the selected year and map measure. Select a bar to inspect that county.

Ranking

All counties

Ranked by 2025 business applications

Iowa counties ranked by 2025 business applications
RankCountyApplicationsvs. prior yearShare of state
1Polk County7,953+13.7%22.7%
2Linn County2,621+12.3%7.5%
3Scott County2,022+9.8%5.8%
4Black Hawk County1,836+7.0%5.2%
5Johnson County1,646+9.3%4.7%
6Dallas County1,508+13.0%4.3%
7Pottawattamie County954+12.0%2.7%
8Woodbury County936+18.3%2.7%
9Dubuque County812-5.1%2.3%
10Story County799+4.2%2.3%
11Warren County613-0.6%1.7%
12Clinton County414+7.5%1.2%
13Des Moines County396+20.7%1.1%
14Cerro Gordo County382+17.2%1.1%
15Marion County370+11.1%1.1%
16Muscatine County363+9.0%1.0%
17Webster County352+12.1%1.0%
18Jasper County342+17.5%1.0%
19Wapello County317+7.8%0.9%
20Sioux County308+17.6%0.9%
21Marshall County285-13.6%0.8%
22Jefferson County266+20.4%0.8%
23Lee County248+18.1%0.7%
24Washington County244+11.9%0.7%
25Boone County243-1.6%0.7%
26Dickinson County228+3.2%0.7%
27Benton County225+21.6%0.6%
28Madison County224+37.4%0.6%
29Carroll County221+19.5%0.6%
30Plymouth County214-42.8%0.6%
31Jones County198+19.3%0.6%
32Bremer County196+12.0%0.6%
33Mahaska County192+28.0%0.5%
34Buena Vista County183+8.9%0.5%
35Poweshiek County178-5.8%0.5%
36Buchanan County177+5.4%0.5%
37Mills County175+10.8%0.5%
38Clay County171+19.6%0.5%
39Henry County165+33.1%0.5%
40Cedar County164+1.9%0.5%
41Hardin County159+17.8%0.5%
42Iowa County1590.0%0.5%
43Clayton County158+4.6%0.5%
44Harrison County157+23.6%0.4%
45Jackson County155+1.3%0.4%
46Delaware County1460.0%0.4%
47Fayette County144-15.3%0.4%
48Page County143+31.2%0.4%
49Hamilton County141+11.9%0.4%
50Winneshiek County139-17.8%0.4%
51Tama County135-10.6%0.4%
52Lyon County130+18.2%0.4%
53Shelby County129+30.3%0.4%
54Kossuth County127+1.6%0.4%
55Appanoose County123+6.0%0.4%
56Crawford County122-12.2%0.3%
57Floyd County119+30.8%0.3%
58Cass County116+84.1%0.3%
59Union County116+3.6%0.3%
60Cherokee County115+17.3%0.3%
61Allamakee County113-8.9%0.3%
62Wright County112+16.7%0.3%
63Sac County108-18.8%0.3%
64Grundy County107+8.1%0.3%
65O'Brien County106-13.1%0.3%
66Montgomery County104+46.5%0.3%
67Butler County103-10.4%0.3%
68Chickasaw County103+2.0%0.3%
69Clarke County103+17.0%0.3%
70Guthrie County100-13.8%0.3%
71Humboldt County98+10.1%0.3%
72Winnebago County94+19.0%0.3%
73Davis County92+13.6%0.3%
74Wayne County92+37.3%0.3%
75Hancock County90-18.9%0.3%
76Van Buren County89+21.9%0.3%
77Greene County86+21.1%0.2%
78Keokuk County86-14.9%0.2%
79Howard County84+18.3%0.2%
80Mitchell County83+15.3%0.2%
81Monroe County81+6.6%0.2%
82Lucas County80-18.4%0.2%
83Decatur County79-6.0%0.2%
84Emmet County79+19.7%0.2%
85Franklin County78+23.8%0.2%
86Pocahontas County77+48.1%0.2%
87Monona County76-14.6%0.2%
88Calhoun County73-20.7%0.2%
89Louisa County71-26.8%0.2%
90Fremont County67-2.9%0.2%
91Adair County66+6.5%0.2%
92Palo Alto County55-19.1%0.2%
93Taylor County52+15.6%0.1%
94Audubon County50-19.4%0.1%
95Worth County49-16.9%0.1%
96Ringgold County46-19.3%0.1%
97Adams County45+66.7%0.1%
98Ida County42-19.2%0.1%
99Osceola County36+12.5%0.1%