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Cities with the Highest Poverty Rate in Iowa

The top 25 of 44 Iowa cities on GIS Map, ranked by the share of residents below the poverty level.

#CityBelow poverty level
1Iowa City
26.3%
2Ames
25.5%
3Fairfield
20.7%
4Muscatine
19.1%
5Clinton
18.5%
6Keokuk
18.3%
7Atlantic
17.4%
8Ottumwa
17.2%
9Oskaloosa
16.6%
10Waterloo
16.6%
11Fort Dodge
15.9%
12Cedar Falls
15.7%
13Sioux City
15.3%
14Davenport
15.2%
15Council Bluffs
15.1%
16Des Moines
15%
17Fort Madison
15%
18Marshalltown
14.3%
19Spencer
14%
20Burlington
13.2%
21Coralville
13%
22Dubuque
12.7%
23Mason City
12%
24Grinnell
11.1%
25Newton
11.1%

Top Iowa Counties

Counties ranked by the share of residents below the poverty level.

1. Story County18.2%2. Appanoose County17.5%3. Johnson County17.1%4. Wright County16.8%5. Osceola County16%6. Wapello County15.8%7. Montgomery County15.3%8. Jefferson County15.2%9. Van Buren County15.1%10. Black Hawk County14.9%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Only cities covered by GIS Map with at least 1,000 residents are ranked. Estimates carry margins of error.

Citing this page: GIS Map, “Cities with the Highest Poverty Rate in Iowa”, https://gismap.land/rankings/iowa/highest-poverty-cities. Figures from U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

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