You’re probably never going to make enough money to live in the richest counties in Iowa.
The median household income in Dallas County, the richest county in Iowa is $102,379, significantly higher than the US median of $74,580, which means based purely on math most people never make enough to live there.
And that’s okay because it’s still fun to look at the people living in the lap of luxury.
So we used Saturday Night Science and the most recent Census to rank home prices and incomes for all 99 counties in the Hawkeye State. Let’s star gaze together.
What is the richest county in Iowa? The richest county in Iowa is Dallas County. In contrast, the poorest county in the state is Appanoose County, according to the Census data.
$102,379 median income · $349,911 median home price
$90,855 median income · $333,980 median home price
$94,588 median income · $320,411 median home price
$90,753 median income · $277,125 median home price
$86,098 median income · $303,973 median home price
$86,962 median income · $276,829 median home price
$83,576 median income · $278,561 median home price
$79,066 median income · $313,931 median home price
$83,251 median income · $286,326 median home price
$86,784 median income · $252,840 median home price
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Iowa’s statewide median.
Iowa statewide median: $75,059
Iowa statewide median: $231,585
On the map
Where Iowa’s richest counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which Iowa county is the richest?
To determine the richest county in Iowa, we have to look at a handful of metrics that correlate with how rich people are. To do that, we made assumptions about what makes a county rich. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to the American Community Survey data and Zillow for the most recent reporting period for data on the following:
- Average Home Price
- Median Income
We then ranked each county in Iowa for each of the criteria from one to 99, with one being the richest.
Taking the average rank across the two criteria, we created a Rich Score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Richest County In Iowa.”
The result is some of the places with the most expensive real estate and highest earners in the Hawkeye State.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our first time ranking the richest counties to live in Iowa.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Richest Counties In Iowa
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas County | 107,968 | $102,379 | $349,911 |
| 2 | Madison County | 16,926 | $90,855 | $333,980 |
| 2 | Warren County | 54,409 | $94,588 | $320,411 |
| 4 | Mills County | 14,568 | $90,753 | $277,125 |
| 5 | Sioux County | 36,212 | $86,098 | $303,973 |
| 6 | Benton County | 25,724 | $86,962 | $276,829 |
| 7 | Polk County | 503,175 | $83,576 | $278,561 |
| 8 | Winneshiek County | 19,873 | $79,066 | $313,931 |
| 8 | Plymouth County | 25,747 | $83,251 | $286,326 |
| 10 | Bremer County | 25,204 | $86,784 | $252,840 |
| 11 | Dickinson County | 17,990 | $75,432 | $375,032 |
| 12 | Marion County | 33,642 | $78,680 | $266,824 |
| 13 | Cedar County | 18,349 | $80,602 | $247,380 |
| 14 | Guthrie County | 10,688 | $77,711 | $270,628 |
| 15 | Dubuque County | 99,030 | $77,630 | $272,846 |
| 16 | Johnson County | 156,639 | $74,935 | $305,263 |
| 17 | Boone County | 26,668 | $83,531 | $230,323 |
| 17 | Scott County | 174,608 | $78,277 | $241,812 |
| 19 | Grundy County | 12,384 | $87,205 | $214,673 |
| 20 | Lyon County | 12,162 | $76,746 | $259,058 |
| 21 | Linn County | 230,004 | $77,649 | $232,276 |
| 22 | Harrison County | 14,632 | $79,535 | $218,653 |
| 23 | Buchanan County | 20,694 | $78,236 | $220,037 |
| 24 | Davis County | 9,157 | $77,194 | $229,109 |
| 25 | Delaware County | 17,558 | $74,989 | $231,870 |
| 27 | Washington County | 22,561 | $75,647 | $226,574 |
| 27 | Jackson County | 19,390 | $74,186 | $230,726 |
| 27 | Pottawattamie County | 93,424 | $73,602 | $236,650 |
| 29 | Jones County | 20,896 | $73,531 | $236,012 |
| 30 | Chickasaw County | 11,807 | $75,675 | $212,357 |
| 31 | Worth County | 7,350 | $78,008 | $187,844 |
| 31 | Story County | 100,466 | $69,685 | $273,205 |
| 33 | Woodbury County | 106,247 | $73,658 | $203,074 |
| 34 | Allamakee County | 14,092 | $70,694 | $248,586 |
| 35 | Jasper County | 37,954 | $71,311 | $226,755 |
| 35 | Shelby County | 11,778 | $72,738 | $211,831 |
| 37 | Carroll County | 20,594 | $72,930 | $202,644 |
| 38 | Iowa County | 16,507 | $71,223 | $224,938 |
| 40 | Mitchell County | 10,575 | $71,365 | $206,631 |
| 40 | Butler County | 14,268 | $73,715 | $184,889 |
| 40 | Marshall County | 40,114 | $73,315 | $189,667 |
| 42 | Clayton County | 17,013 | $67,242 | $265,997 |
| 43 | Louisa County | 10,678 | $77,354 | $170,178 |
| 44 | Clarke County | 9,662 | $71,641 | $192,362 |
| 45 | Buena Vista County | 20,753 | $71,719 | $186,339 |
| 45 | Mahaska County | 22,021 | $70,940 | $194,979 |
| 47 | Ringgold County | 4,645 | $73,346 | $172,344 |
| 48 | Muscatine County | 42,559 | $69,396 | $195,873 |
| 49 | Sac County | 9,689 | $73,838 | $164,687 |
| 50 | Fremont County | 6,514 | $71,621 | $180,884 |
| 51 | Cerro Gordo County | 42,632 | $68,189 | $196,088 |
| 51 | Poweshiek County | 18,545 | $67,391 | $215,588 |
| 53 | Palo Alto County | 8,863 | $72,781 | $169,655 |
| 54 | O’Brien County | 14,126 | $68,356 | $192,728 |
| 55 | Adair County | 7,460 | $68,092 | $190,466 |
| 56 | Howard County | 9,445 | $67,446 | $194,689 |
| 56 | Hamilton County | 14,886 | $72,432 | $163,454 |
| 58 | Hancock County | 10,671 | $70,601 | $180,647 |
| 59 | Humboldt County | 9,591 | $71,946 | $159,105 |
| 60 | Tama County | 16,868 | $70,781 | $171,357 |
| 61 | Monroe County | 7,513 | $70,996 | $168,654 |
| 62 | Adams County | 3,622 | $71,875 | $156,660 |
| 63 | Osceola County | 6,100 | $69,239 | $171,599 |
| 63 | Henry County | 20,004 | $67,436 | $186,274 |
| 65 | Cherokee County | 11,600 | $71,269 | $157,504 |
| 66 | Clay County | 16,461 | $65,428 | $189,272 |
| 67 | Black Hawk County | 131,049 | $66,417 | $182,638 |
| 68 | Crawford County | 16,277 | $67,027 | $176,453 |
| 69 | Clinton County | 46,268 | $66,981 | $173,141 |
| 69 | Kossuth County | 14,516 | $67,697 | $167,979 |
| 71 | Floyd County | 15,328 | $68,557 | $156,965 |
| 72 | Monona County | 8,557 | $68,377 | $156,608 |
| 73 | Jefferson County | 15,705 | $61,620 | $182,079 |
| 74 | Greene County | 8,688 | $63,409 | $170,550 |
| 75 | Van Buren County | 7,241 | $61,161 | $181,866 |
| 76 | Lucas County | 8,716 | $61,793 | $176,555 |
| 77 | Winnebago County | 10,583 | $67,642 | $150,841 |
| 77 | Webster County | 36,886 | $68,975 | $137,618 |
| 79 | Cass County | 13,096 | $63,013 | $160,246 |
| 80 | Taylor County | 5,868 | $67,740 | $135,815 |
| 81 | Emmet County | 9,262 | $63,730 | $151,541 |
| 81 | Calhoun County | 9,803 | $64,964 | $149,518 |
| 83 | Wright County | 12,791 | $67,190 | $136,478 |
| 83 | Ida County | 6,911 | $63,073 | $151,974 |
| 85 | Hardin County | 16,639 | $65,069 | $141,286 |
| 86 | Montgomery County | 10,214 | $63,666 | $142,131 |
| 87 | Union County | 11,993 | $57,772 | $157,377 |
| 87 | Des Moines County | 38,487 | $62,928 | $145,501 |
| 89 | Franklin County | 9,956 | $59,894 | $155,096 |
| 91 | Fayette County | 19,288 | $60,165 | $152,872 |
| 91 | Wapello County | 35,362 | $64,766 | $127,723 |
| 91 | Audubon County | 5,599 | $58,229 | $155,863 |
| 93 | Decatur County | 7,759 | $59,044 | $154,886 |
| 93 | Keokuk County | 9,924 | $62,329 | $144,716 |
| 95 | Wayne County | 6,532 | $61,964 | $140,437 |
| 96 | Lee County | 32,893 | $62,382 | $120,739 |
| 97 | Page County | 15,131 | $57,953 | $147,055 |
| 98 | Pocahontas County | 7,046 | $61,875 | $103,731 |
| 99 | Appanoose County | 12,184 | $54,934 | $111,977 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + Zillow via Saturday Night Science. All 99 Iowa counties.
Summary
Summary: The Richest Counties In Iowa For 2026
Living in Iowa can vary from one part of the state to the next, with pretty extreme variance in home prices and incomes across counties.
The richest counties in Iowa are Dallas County, Madison County, Warren County, Mills County, Sioux County, Benton County, Polk County, Winneshiek County, Plymouth County, and Bremer County.
Now you know the parts of the state where Goodwill will have the best goodies, and that’s what you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome.
