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 countiesInteractive county map
Where are business applications concentrated?
Choose a year and map view, then select a bubble or ranking bar for exact county context.
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.
All counties
Ranked by 2025 business applications
| Rank | County | Applications | vs. prior year | Share of state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polk County | 7,953 | +13.7% | 22.7% |
| 2 | Linn County | 2,621 | +12.3% | 7.5% |
| 3 | Scott County | 2,022 | +9.8% | 5.8% |
| 4 | Black Hawk County | 1,836 | +7.0% | 5.2% |
| 5 | Johnson County | 1,646 | +9.3% | 4.7% |
| 6 | Dallas County | 1,508 | +13.0% | 4.3% |
| 7 | Pottawattamie County | 954 | +12.0% | 2.7% |
| 8 | Woodbury County | 936 | +18.3% | 2.7% |
| 9 | Dubuque County | 812 | -5.1% | 2.3% |
| 10 | Story County | 799 | +4.2% | 2.3% |
| 11 | Warren County | 613 | -0.6% | 1.7% |
| 12 | Clinton County | 414 | +7.5% | 1.2% |
| 13 | Des Moines County | 396 | +20.7% | 1.1% |
| 14 | Cerro Gordo County | 382 | +17.2% | 1.1% |
| 15 | Marion County | 370 | +11.1% | 1.1% |
| 16 | Muscatine County | 363 | +9.0% | 1.0% |
| 17 | Webster County | 352 | +12.1% | 1.0% |
| 18 | Jasper County | 342 | +17.5% | 1.0% |
| 19 | Wapello County | 317 | +7.8% | 0.9% |
| 20 | Sioux County | 308 | +17.6% | 0.9% |
| 21 | Marshall County | 285 | -13.6% | 0.8% |
| 22 | Jefferson County | 266 | +20.4% | 0.8% |
| 23 | Lee County | 248 | +18.1% | 0.7% |
| 24 | Washington County | 244 | +11.9% | 0.7% |
| 25 | Boone County | 243 | -1.6% | 0.7% |
| 26 | Dickinson County | 228 | +3.2% | 0.7% |
| 27 | Benton County | 225 | +21.6% | 0.6% |
| 28 | Madison County | 224 | +37.4% | 0.6% |
| 29 | Carroll County | 221 | +19.5% | 0.6% |
| 30 | Plymouth County | 214 | -42.8% | 0.6% |
| 31 | Jones County | 198 | +19.3% | 0.6% |
| 32 | Bremer County | 196 | +12.0% | 0.6% |
| 33 | Mahaska County | 192 | +28.0% | 0.5% |
| 34 | Buena Vista County | 183 | +8.9% | 0.5% |
| 35 | Poweshiek County | 178 | -5.8% | 0.5% |
| 36 | Buchanan County | 177 | +5.4% | 0.5% |
| 37 | Mills County | 175 | +10.8% | 0.5% |
| 38 | Clay County | 171 | +19.6% | 0.5% |
| 39 | Henry County | 165 | +33.1% | 0.5% |
| 40 | Cedar County | 164 | +1.9% | 0.5% |
| 41 | Hardin County | 159 | +17.8% | 0.5% |
| 42 | Iowa County | 159 | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| 43 | Clayton County | 158 | +4.6% | 0.5% |
| 44 | Harrison County | 157 | +23.6% | 0.4% |
| 45 | Jackson County | 155 | +1.3% | 0.4% |
| 46 | Delaware County | 146 | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| 47 | Fayette County | 144 | -15.3% | 0.4% |
| 48 | Page County | 143 | +31.2% | 0.4% |
| 49 | Hamilton County | 141 | +11.9% | 0.4% |
| 50 | Winneshiek County | 139 | -17.8% | 0.4% |
| 51 | Tama County | 135 | -10.6% | 0.4% |
| 52 | Lyon County | 130 | +18.2% | 0.4% |
| 53 | Shelby County | 129 | +30.3% | 0.4% |
| 54 | Kossuth County | 127 | +1.6% | 0.4% |
| 55 | Appanoose County | 123 | +6.0% | 0.4% |
| 56 | Crawford County | 122 | -12.2% | 0.3% |
| 57 | Floyd County | 119 | +30.8% | 0.3% |
| 58 | Cass County | 116 | +84.1% | 0.3% |
| 59 | Union County | 116 | +3.6% | 0.3% |
| 60 | Cherokee County | 115 | +17.3% | 0.3% |
| 61 | Allamakee County | 113 | -8.9% | 0.3% |
| 62 | Wright County | 112 | +16.7% | 0.3% |
| 63 | Sac County | 108 | -18.8% | 0.3% |
| 64 | Grundy County | 107 | +8.1% | 0.3% |
| 65 | O'Brien County | 106 | -13.1% | 0.3% |
| 66 | Montgomery County | 104 | +46.5% | 0.3% |
| 67 | Butler County | 103 | -10.4% | 0.3% |
| 68 | Chickasaw County | 103 | +2.0% | 0.3% |
| 69 | Clarke County | 103 | +17.0% | 0.3% |
| 70 | Guthrie County | 100 | -13.8% | 0.3% |
| 71 | Humboldt County | 98 | +10.1% | 0.3% |
| 72 | Winnebago County | 94 | +19.0% | 0.3% |
| 73 | Davis County | 92 | +13.6% | 0.3% |
| 74 | Wayne County | 92 | +37.3% | 0.3% |
| 75 | Hancock County | 90 | -18.9% | 0.3% |
| 76 | Van Buren County | 89 | +21.9% | 0.3% |
| 77 | Greene County | 86 | +21.1% | 0.2% |
| 78 | Keokuk County | 86 | -14.9% | 0.2% |
| 79 | Howard County | 84 | +18.3% | 0.2% |
| 80 | Mitchell County | 83 | +15.3% | 0.2% |
| 81 | Monroe County | 81 | +6.6% | 0.2% |
| 82 | Lucas County | 80 | -18.4% | 0.2% |
| 83 | Decatur County | 79 | -6.0% | 0.2% |
| 84 | Emmet County | 79 | +19.7% | 0.2% |
| 85 | Franklin County | 78 | +23.8% | 0.2% |
| 86 | Pocahontas County | 77 | +48.1% | 0.2% |
| 87 | Monona County | 76 | -14.6% | 0.2% |
| 88 | Calhoun County | 73 | -20.7% | 0.2% |
| 89 | Louisa County | 71 | -26.8% | 0.2% |
| 90 | Fremont County | 67 | -2.9% | 0.2% |
| 91 | Adair County | 66 | +6.5% | 0.2% |
| 92 | Palo Alto County | 55 | -19.1% | 0.2% |
| 93 | Taylor County | 52 | +15.6% | 0.1% |
| 94 | Audubon County | 50 | -19.4% | 0.1% |
| 95 | Worth County | 49 | -16.9% | 0.1% |
| 96 | Ringgold County | 46 | -19.3% | 0.1% |
| 97 | Adams County | 45 | +66.7% | 0.1% |
| 98 | Ida County | 42 | -19.2% | 0.1% |
| 99 | Osceola County | 36 | +12.5% | 0.1% |
