Now that we’re headed towards the next big election, we wanted to get a better sense of what parts of Iowa would be the most likely to back Donald Trump again.
Specifically, which cities have the highest number of conservative voters in the Hawkeye State?
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to measure how each city in Iowa with populations greater than 5,000 voted in past elections. The cities with the highest percentage of voters who voted Republican were named the most conservative cities in the state.
82.8% Republican vote · #2 most conservative in Iowa
Orange City is a city in and the county seat of Sioux County, Iowa, United States. The population was 6,004 in the 2010 census, an increase from 5,582 in the 2000 census. Named after William of Orange, the community maintains its Dutch settler traditions visibly, with Dutch storefront architecture and an annual Tulip Festival.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
82.8% Republican vote · #2 most conservative in Iowa
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
82.8% Republican vote · #2 most conservative in Iowa
Located in
Sioux County, Iowa
Sioux Center is a city in Sioux County, Iowa, United States with a population of 7,048. Sioux Center is notable for its recent population boom, Dutch heritage, and agribusiness.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
74.1% Republican vote · #6 most conservative in Iowa
Located in
Plymouth County, Iowa
Le Mars is a city in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Iowa, United States. It is located on the Floyd River and northeast of Sioux City. The population was 9,826 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
74.1% Republican vote · #6 most conservative in Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, which makes it the fourth largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, of which it is the county seat, though a small portion is in Plymouth County. Sioux City is located at the navigational head of the Missouri River. Often the city and surrounding area is referred to as Siouxland, especially by the local media and residents. The city is home to several cultural points of interest including the Sioux City Public Museum, Sioux City Art Center and Sergeant Floyd Monument, which is a National Historical Landmark. The city is also home to Chris Larsen Park, commonly referred to as -the Riverfront,- includes the Anderson Dance Pavilion, Sergeant Floyd Riverboat Museum and Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Sioux City is the primary city of the five-county Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Metropolitan Statistical Area, with a population of 168,825 in 2010 and a slight increase to an estimated 168,921 in 2012. The Sioux City-Vermillion, IA-NE-SD Combined Statistical Area had a population of 182,675 as of 2010 and has grown to an estimated population of 183,052 as of 2012.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
73.0% Republican vote · #7 most conservative in Iowa
Located in
Mahaska County, Iowa
Oskaloosa is a city in and the county seat of Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, it was a national center of bituminous coal mining. The population was 11,463 in the 2010 census, an increase from 10,938 in the 2000 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
70.8% Republican vote · #8 most conservative in Iowa
Located in
Page County, Iowa
Clarinda is a city in and the county seat of Page County, Iowa, United States. It is located in Nodaway Township. The population was 5,572 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 5,690 population in the 2000 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
69.4% Republican vote · #9 most conservative in Iowa
Located in
Appanoose County, Iowa
Centerville is a city in and the county seat of Appanoose County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,528 in the 2010 census, a decline from 5,924 in 2000. After the turn of the 20th century Centerville had a booming coal mining industry that attracted many European immigrants. The city today remains the home of many Swedish-Americans, Italian-Americans, Croatian-Americans, Albanian-Americans and others descended from immigrants who worked in the mines.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
69.2% Republican vote · #10 most conservative in Iowa
Cherokee is a city in Cherokee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,253 at the 2010 Census, down from 5,369 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cherokee County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
69.2% Republican vote · #11 most conservative in Iowa
Located in
Kossuth County, Iowa
Algona is a city in and the county seat of Kossuth County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,560 at the 2010 census. Ambrose A. Call State Park is located two miles southwest of the city.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Iowa’s statewide median.
On the map
Mapping the conservative strongholds in Iowa
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the most conservative cities in Iowa for 2026
To find the most conservative places in Iowa, we used Saturday Night Science – the argument you’d make at a bar – to find the cities with the most conservatives.
We started by making a list of every city in Iowa over 5,000 people based on the 2020-2024 American Community Survey. That left us with 85 cities and towns.
We then measured the voting record and MIT election data to determine which places rock the most rightward in their allegiances by:
- Percentage Of Votes For The Republican President In 2020
Because no voting data exists at the city level, we used county-level election results from the 2020 election. We assigned every city in a county the percentage of votes that went to the Republicans, effectively extending the county’s results to the city level. In cases where larger cities encompassed an entire county, the election outcomes accurately reflected the city’s political landscape.
Next, we ranked each city from 1 to 85 for each criterion, where number one was the most conservative.
The winner, Orange City, is “The Most Conservative City in Iowa For 2026”. The most liberal place in Iowa was North Liberty.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the most conservative places to live in Iowa.
The full plate
Most Conservative Places In Iowa
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Conservative Score | Population | % Conservative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Orange City | 2.00 | 6,426 | 82.8% |
| 2 | Sheldon | 2.00 | 5,474 | 82.8% |
| 2 | Sioux Center | 2.00 | 8,454 | 82.8% |
| 4 | Le Mars | 5.50 | 10,640 | 74.1% |
| 4 | Sioux City | 5.50 | 86,101 | 74.1% |
| 6 | Oskaloosa | 7.00 | 11,504 | 73.0% |
| 7 | Clarinda | 8.00 | 5,353 | 70.8% |
| 8 | Centerville | 9.00 | 5,372 | 69.4% |
| 9 | Cherokee | 10.00 | 5,154 | 69.2% |
| 10 | Algona | 11.00 | 5,377 | 69.2% |
| 11 | Red Oak | 12.00 | 5,510 | 68.8% |
| 12 | Spencer | 13.00 | 11,400 | 68.7% |
| 13 | Carroll | 14.00 | 10,208 | 68.5% |
| 14 | Atlantic | 15.00 | 6,763 | 68.4% |
| 15 | Denison | 16.00 | 8,260 | 68.0% |
| 16 | Glenwood | 17.00 | 5,144 | 67.9% |
| 17 | Osceola | 18.00 | 5,523 | 67.5% |
| 18 | Estherville | 19.00 | 5,839 | 67.3% |
| 19 | Manchester | 20.00 | 5,191 | 66.9% |
| 20 | Winterset | 21.50 | 5,416 | 66.4% |
| 20 | West Des Moines | 21.50 | 71,083 | 66.4% |
| 22 | Spirit Lake | 23.00 | 5,518 | 66.3% |
| 23 | Knoxville | 24.50 | 7,473 | 66.2% |
| 23 | Pella | 24.50 | 10,720 | 66.2% |
| 25 | Mount Pleasant | 26.00 | 8,951 | 65.4% |
| 26 | Iowa Falls | 27.00 | 5,038 | 65.2% |
| 27 | Creston | 28.00 | 7,435 | 65.1% |
| 28 | Webster City | 29.00 | 7,769 | 62.7% |
| 29 | Maquoketa | 30.00 | 6,075 | 62.5% |
| 30 | Storm Lake | 31.00 | 11,428 | 62.1% |
| 31 | Fort Dodge | 32.00 | 24,827 | 61.6% |
| 32 | Ottumwa | 33.00 | 25,430 | 61.0% |
| 33 | Oelwein | 34.00 | 5,834 | 60.6% |
| 34 | Newton | 35.00 | 15,700 | 60.1% |
| 35 | Anamosa | 36.00 | 5,629 | 60.0% |
| 36 | Independence | 37.00 | 6,164 | 59.7% |
| 37 | Washington | 38.00 | 7,290 | 59.4% |
| 38 | Charles City | 39.00 | 7,232 | 59.1% |
| 39 | Keokuk | 40.50 | 9,662 | 58.6% |
| 39 | Fort Madison | 40.50 | 10,133 | 58.6% |
| 41 | Council Bluffs | 42.00 | 62,586 | 57.6% |
| 43 | Norwalk | 44.50 | 14,183 | 57.6% |
| 43 | Des Moines | 44.50 | 212,421 | 57.6% |
| 43 | Indianola | 44.50 | 16,044 | 57.6% |
| 45 | Waverly | 47.00 | 10,494 | 57.2% |
| 46 | Sergeant Bluff | 48.50 | 5,171 | 57.2% |
| 47 | Boone | 50.00 | 12,424 | 56.9% |
| 48 | Grinnell | 51.00 | 9,505 | 55.9% |
| 49 | Clinton | 52.50 | 24,322 | 54.3% |
| 50 | Burlington | 54.00 | 23,728 | 53.3% |
| 51 | Marshalltown | 55.00 | 27,626 | 53.0% |
| 52 | Muscatine | 56.00 | 23,489 | 52.6% |
| 53 | Mason City | 57.50 | 27,050 | 52.5% |
| 53 | Clear Lake | 57.50 | 7,607 | 52.5% |
| 55 | Decorah | 59.00 | 7,535 | 51.9% |
| 56 | Asbury | 60.50 | 5,989 | 50.7% |
| 56 | Dubuque | 60.50 | 59,174 | 50.7% |
| 60 | Urbandale | 65.00 | 46,595 | 50.3% |
| 60 | Clive | 65.00 | 19,012 | 50.3% |
| 60 | Perry | 65.00 | 7,985 | 50.3% |
| 60 | Grimes | 65.00 | 16,366 | 50.3% |
| 60 | Waukee | 65.00 | 29,236 | 50.3% |
| 60 | Adel | 65.00 | 6,430 | 50.3% |
| 64 | Fairfield | 69.00 | 9,456 | 50.0% |
| 66 | Eldridge | 71.00 | 6,818 | 47.5% |
| 66 | Bettendorf | 71.00 | 39,647 | 47.5% |
| 66 | Davenport | 71.00 | 100,913 | 47.5% |
| 68 | Waterloo | 73.50 | 67,008 | 44.8% |
| 68 | Cedar Falls | 73.50 | 40,888 | 44.8% |
| 71 | Cedar Rapids | 76.00 | 137,264 | 42.2% |
| 71 | Hiawatha | 76.00 | 7,206 | 42.2% |
| 71 | Marion | 76.00 | 41,896 | 42.2% |
| 76 | Windsor Heights | 84.00 | 5,143 | 41.6% |
| 76 | Ankeny | 84.00 | 72,615 | 41.6% |
| 76 | Johnston | 84.00 | 24,384 | 41.6% |
| 76 | Polk City | 84.00 | 6,037 | 41.6% |
| 76 | Altoona | 84.00 | 21,495 | 41.6% |
| 76 | Pleasant Hill | 84.00 | 11,136 | 41.6% |
| 76 | Bondurant | 84.00 | 8,560 | 41.6% |
| 80 | Nevada | 91.50 | 6,983 | 40.2% |
| 80 | Ames | 91.50 | 67,669 | 40.2% |
| 83 | Iowa City | 94.50 | 75,752 | 27.7% |
| 83 | Tiffin | 94.50 | 5,737 | 27.7% |
| 83 | Coralville | 94.50 | 23,234 | 27.7% |
| 83 | North Liberty | 94.50 | 21,125 | 27.7% |
Source: county-level 2020 election results, U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 85 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summing Up The Conservative Strongholds in Iowa
Well, there you have it, the places in Iowa that have the highest number of conservatives per capita, with Orange City ranking as the most conservative in the entire state.
The most conservative cities in Iowa are Orange City, Sheldon, Sioux Center, Le Mars, Sioux City, Oskaloosa, Clarinda, Centerville, Cherokee, and Algona.
If you’re curious, here are the least conservative cities in Iowa. Not sold on Iowa? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
