Iowa County Map with Cities and Towns

Discover Iowa's Rich Network of Cities, Counties, and Towns on the Detailed Map

This Iowa county map with cities and roads is a large detailed map of Iowa (USA), covering every county with towns clearly labeled. Use this detailed map to understand Iowa's full county grid, every administrative capital (county seat), the major cities and towns, bordering states and waters, and a few highway cues for orientation only. It is the best map style for residents, travelers, and geography students who want clarity without road clutter. Every county seat stays labeled clearly here, so the layout is easy to scan whether you're checking a jurisdiction, planning a route, or studying the state for class.

Borders and waters at a glance: Minnesota forms the entire north line, South Dakota and Nebraska border the west across the Missouri River, Missouri forms the south line, and Illinois and Wisconsin border the east across the Mississippi River, six neighboring states in total. The Des Moines and Cedar rivers run through the interior as additional orientation lines on this map of Iowa with cities and towns.

Road-light orientation: the I-29 spine clips the far west near Sioux City and Council Bluffs; I-35 runs Minnesota line–Ames–Des Moines–Osceola–Missouri line; I-80 spans Council Bluffs–Des Moines–Iowa City–Davenport; I-380 connects Cedar Rapids–Iowa City; I-74 crosses the Mississippi River at the Quad Cities, linking Scott County to Illinois; US-61/151 trace the Mississippi corridor linking Dubuque–Clinton–Davenport–Burlington. Use these as gentle reference threads while you follow the counties.

Iowa at a glance

This map of Iowa counties is bordered by Minnesota to the north, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east across the Mississippi River, Missouri to the south, and South Dakota and Nebraska to the west across the Missouri River. The map shows 99 counties as color blocks, stitched together by I-29, I-35, I-74, I-80, and I-380. Capital and largest city: Des Moines (Polk County). Largest county by land area: Kossuth County, about 973 square miles. Smallest county by land area: Dickinson County, about 381 square miles. Most populous county: Polk County, home to Des Moines. Least populous county: Adams County. Oldest county: Des Moines County and Dubuque County, tied as Iowa's first two counties, both established in 1834. Total state area: approximately 56,273 square miles. This Map of Iowa major cities ranks the ten largest as Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Sioux City, Iowa City, Ankeny, West Des Moines, Waterloo, Ames, and Council Bluffs.

Complete county and seat index

This Iowa map with counties and cities lists every one of the state's 99 counties with its seat, in alphabetical order: Adair–Greenfield; Adams–Corning; Allamakee–Waukon; Appanoose–Centerville; Audubon–Audubon; Benton–Vinton; Black Hawk–Waterloo; Boone–Boone; Bremer–Waverly; Buchanan–Independence; Buena Vista–Storm Lake; Butler–Allison; Calhoun–Rockwell City; Carroll–Carroll; Cass–Atlantic; Cedar–Tipton; Cerro Gordo–Mason City; Cherokee–Cherokee; Chickasaw–New Hampton; Clarke–Osceola; Clay–Spencer; Clayton–Elkader; Clinton–Clinton; Crawford–Denison; Dallas–Adel; Davis–Bloomfield; Decatur–Leon; Delaware–Manchester; Des Moines–Burlington; Dickinson–Spirit Lake; Dubuque–Dubuque; Emmet–Estherville; Fayette–West Union; Floyd–Charles City; Franklin–Hampton; Fremont–Sidney; Greene–Jefferson; Grundy–Grundy Center; Guthrie–Guthrie Center; Hamilton–Webster City; Hancock–Garner; Hardin–Eldora; Harrison–Logan; Henry–Mount Pleasant; Howard–Cresco; Humboldt–Dakota City; Ida–Ida Grove; Iowa–Marengo; Jackson–Maquoketa; Jasper–Newton; Jefferson–Fairfield; Johnson–Iowa City; Jones–Anamosa; Keokuk–Sigourney; Kossuth–Algona; Lee–Fort Madison/Keokuk; Linn–Cedar Rapids; Louisa–Wapello; Lucas–Chariton; Lyon–Rock Rapids; Madison–Winterset; Mahaska–Oskaloosa; Marion–Knoxville; Marshall–Marshalltown; Mills–Glenwood; Mitchell–Osage; Monona–Onawa; Monroe–Albia; Montgomery–Red Oak; Muscatine–Muscatine; O'Brien–Primghar; Osceola–Sibley; Page–Clarinda; Palo Alto–Emmetsburg; Plymouth–Le Mars; Pocahontas–Pocahontas; Polk–Des Moines; Pottawattamie–Council Bluffs; Poweshiek–Montezuma; Ringgold–Mount Ayr; Sac–Sac City; Scott–Davenport; Shelby–Harlan; Sioux–Orange City; Story–Nevada; Tama–Toledo; Taylor–Bedford; Union–Creston; Van Buren–Keosauqua; Wapello–Ottumwa; Warren–Indianola; Washington–Washington; Wayne–Corydon; Webster–Fort Dodge; Winnebago–Forest City; Winneshiek–Decorah; Woodbury–Sioux City; Worth–Northwood; Wright–Clarion.

Western Iowa: the Missouri River tier

Northwest corner – Big Sioux Valley and the Lakes area

Begin at the tri-state corner where South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa meet along the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers.

Sioux County – seat: Orange City. The map shows Sioux Center, Orange City, and Rock Valley aligned across a rich agricultural plain. A bit south, Hawarden sits on the river near South Dakota.

Lyon County – seat: Rock Rapids. Iowa's far northwest county, Rock Rapids is central, with Inwood and Larchwood near the South Dakota border.

Osceola County – seat: Sibley. Compact and rural, Sibley anchors the county with Ashton and Ocheyedan indicated.

O'Brien County – seat: Primghar. The seat Primghar lies near the center; Sheldon, a regional hub, straddles the O'Brien and Sioux line on the map.

Cherokee County – seat: Cherokee. Cherokee is bold, with Aurelia and Marcus labeled along a soft bend of the Little Sioux River.

Plymouth County – seat: Le Mars. Known for its ice cream heritage, Le Mars is just north of Sioux City; Hinton and Akron line the Missouri approach.

Woodbury County – seat: Sioux City. A major label at the Missouri and Big Sioux confluence; Sioux City is adjacent to South Sioux City, Nebraska, and North Sioux City, South Dakota. Moville and Sloan appear downriver.

Dickinson County – seat: Spirit Lake. The Iowa Great Lakes, including Okoboji, Arnolds Park, and Spirit Lake, are the blue centerpiece of the map here.

Emmet County – seat: Estherville. Estherville lines the Des Moines River; Armstrong sits on the county's west edge.

The Little Sioux to Raccoon River arc – west-central counties

Drop back to the western tier south of Sioux City to follow a neat chain along the Maple and Boyer valleys.

Monona County – seat: Onawa. Between Woodbury and Harrison, Onawa is near the Missouri; Mapleton sits inland.

Harrison County – seat: Logan. Missouri Valley and Dunlap mark the Loess Hills edge.

Shelby County – seat: Harlan. Harlan is central; Defiance and Elk Horn are visible to the north and south.

Crawford County – seat: Denison, a regional town on the Boyer River with Manilla and Charter Oak nearby.

Ida County – seat: Ida Grove, with castle-like landmarks and Holstein to the west.

Sac County – seat: Sac City, flanked by Lake View on Black Hawk Lake and Odebolt.

Calhoun County – seat: Rockwell City, set between Manson and Lake City.

Greene County – seat: Jefferson, where a tall courthouse tower stands out; Grand Junction and Scranton line the diagonals.

Carroll County – seat: Carroll, a trading hub with Manning and Glidden on either flank.

Guthrie County – seat: Guthrie Center, with lake towns Panora and Lake Panorama noted eastward.

Audubon County – seat: Audubon, home to "Albert the Bull," squeezed neatly between Shelby and Guthrie.

Cass County – seat: Atlantic, just north of I-80, with Anita to the northeast.

Northern Iowa: the Minnesota line and lake country

North-central prairies – rows of square counties under Minnesota

Continuing east along the Minnesota line, counties create a tidy checkerboard that's excellent for memorization.

Buena Vista County – seat: Storm Lake, with Alta and Newell around the large lake. Clay County – seat: Spencer, a retail hub at the Little Sioux. Palo Alto County – seat: Emmetsburg, with Graettinger and West Bend. Pocahontas County – seat: Pocahontas, a small central city.

Humboldt County – seat: Dakota City (twin to Humboldt across the river).

Kossuth County – seat: Algona. Iowa's largest county by area, Algona, Bancroft, and Whittemore dot the top row.

Winnebago County – seat: Forest City, along the state line with Lake Mills near I-35.

Worth County – seat: Northwood, where the Shell Rock River dips south.

Mitchell County – seat: Osage, between Worth and Howard; St. Ansgar stands near the Minnesota border.

Howard County – seat: Cresco, with Lime Springs noted on the line.

Winneshiek County – seat: Decorah. A standout rivers-and-bluffs county, Decorah is large, with Calmar and Ossian appearing to the south.

Allamakee County – seat: Waukon. Iowa's far northeast; Waukon sits inland while Lansing and Harpers Ferry cling to the Mississippi, across from Wisconsin.

Floyd County – seat: Charles City. South of Mitchell and Cerro Gordo, the Cedar River runs through Charles City, once nicknamed "America's Hometown of the Tractor" for its Hart-Parr works; Rockford and Nora Springs sit nearby.

Chickasaw County – seat: New Hampton. East of Floyd and south of Howard, New Hampton sits near the geographic center of the county on the Little Cedar River, with Nashua and Lawler labeled.

Central Iowa: Greater Des Moines and the capital region

Greater Des Moines region – the capital and its ring

The map places Des Moines prominently in Polk County, at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers.

Polk County – seat: Des Moines. Labels show Des Moines, West Des Moines, Ankeny, Altoona, and Clive spreading through central Iowa.

Dallas County – seat: Adel. Fast-growing suburbs like Waukee and Perry sit along the I-80/US-169 corridors.

Warren County – seat: Indianola, south of the metro with Norwalk and Carlisle near the Polk line.

Madison County – seat: Winterset, home to covered bridge lore; Earlham and Truro are on the grid.

Jasper County – seat: Newton, with Colfax and Baxter along the Des Moines River slope.

Marion County – seat: Knoxville, with Pella and Lake Red Rock highlighted.

Boone County – seat: Boone, northwest of the metro; Ogden and the High Trestle Trail area sit near the Des Moines River.

Story County – seat: Nevada. The university city of Ames is prominent just north of the county seat.

Marshall County – seat: Marshalltown, with State Center showing as "Mid-Iowa."

Central and north-central interior – Fort Dodge and Mason City corridors

Moving north from Des Moines, two river hubs anchor central Iowa.

Webster County – seat: Fort Dodge. Fort Dodge is bold along the Des Moines River with Gowrie to the south.

Hamilton County – seat: Webster City, a tidy label on the Boone River below I-35.

Hardin County – seat: Eldora, with Iowa Falls straddling the Iowa River.

Wright County – seat: Clarion, with Eagle Grove and Belmond forming a west-east line.

Hancock County – seat: Garner, while Britt, Kanawha, and Forest City lie around the edges.

Cerro Gordo County – seat: Mason City. Mason City and Clear Lake form a twin-town complex visible from the interstate.

Eastern Iowa: the Cedar Valley to the Mississippi

The Cedar Valley and Northeast corridor – Waterloo-Cedar Falls to Dubuque

Follow the Shell Rock and Cedar rivers eastward through a dense chain of county seats.

Franklin County – seat: Hampton, sitting between Cerro Gordo and Hardin.

Butler County – seat: Allison, with Shell Rock and Clarksville following the river.

Bremer County – seat: Waverly. Waverly is central, while Cedar Falls touches the county's southern line in neighboring Black Hawk County.

Black Hawk County – seat: Waterloo (with Cedar Falls beside it). This duo is a primary label cluster on the Cedar River.

Grundy County – seat: Grundy Center, a farm services hub between Waterloo and Marshalltown.

Buchanan County – seat: Independence, east of Black Hawk on US-20.

Fayette County – seat: West Union, with Oelwein and Fayette along branch rivers.

Clayton County – seat: Elkader. Along the Mississippi palisades, Guttenberg and McGregor sit on river bends, across from Wisconsin.

Delaware County – seat: Manchester. The Maquoketa River threads through; Earlville and Delhi are marked.

Dubuque County – seat: Dubuque. A strong Mississippi anchor with Dyersville inland, famous for baseball lore.

Cedar Rapids and Iowa City corridor – I-380 and the southern driftless edge

Linn County – seat: Cedar Rapids. The map shows Cedar Rapids with Marion and Hiawatha; the Cedar River loops through.

Benton County – seat: Vinton, between Cedar Rapids and Waterloo; Belle Plaine lies on the county's south line.

Tama County – seat: Toledo, with Tama, a twin city, and Traer on the south tier.

Poweshiek County – seat: Montezuma, with Grinnell, a college town, prominent along I-80.

Iowa County – seat: Marengo, where the English River meanders; Williamsburg appears along the interstate.

Johnson County – seat: Iowa City. Iowa City is a bold label, connected to Coralville and just north of University Heights.

Cedar County – seat: Tipton, with West Branch and Mechanicsville on the county grid.

Jones County – seat: Anamosa, with Monticello on the US-151 line.

Jackson County – seat: Maquoketa, a halfway hub on US-61 with Bellevue pressed to the Mississippi.

The Mississippi arc from Clinton to Burlington

Clinton County – seat: Clinton. Clinton straddles the Mississippi with bridges to Illinois; DeWitt sits inland along the county's crossroads.

Scott County – seat: Davenport. The Quad Cities region shows Davenport and neighboring Bettendorf, facing Rock Island and Moline across the river, connected by the I-74 bridge.

Muscatine County – seat: Muscatine. A river bend city with West Liberty and Wilton inland.

Louisa County – seat: Wapello, where the Iowa and Mississippi rivers meet; Columbus Junction is highlighted at the confluence.

Des Moines County – seat: Burlington. Burlington anchors the Great River Bridge area with West Burlington beside it.

Lee County – dual seats: Fort Madison and Keokuk. The only dual-seat county in Iowa, Keokuk is at the far southeast tip of the river; Fort Madison lies upstream.

Southern Iowa: the Missouri line and south-central uplands

Southeast interior – Amish routes, courthouse squares, and university towns

Washington County – seat: Washington, with Kalona on the county's north edge and Riverside along the English River.

Keokuk County – seat: Sigourney, surrounded by small towns like What Cheer and Keota.

Jefferson County – seat: Fairfield, a cultural hub with Fairfield's central square and Lockridge marked.

Henry County – seat: Mount Pleasant, with New London and Winfield nearby.

Van Buren County – seat: Keosauqua, a riverbend county with the Villages of Van Buren, Farmington, and Bonaparte lining the Des Moines River.

Wapello County – seat: Ottumwa, a major label on the Des Moines River; Eddyville lies northwest on the county's border.

Mahaska County – seat: Oskaloosa, with New Sharon north and University Park adjacent to the seat.

Monroe County – seat: Albia, centered between Wapello and Lucas.

Appanoose County – seat: Centerville, with lake country around Rathbun Lake stretching into Wayne and Lucas.

Davis County – seat: Bloomfield, on the Missouri line with Eldon just over in Wapello County.

Southern tier westward – Missouri line counties

Fremont County – seat: Sidney, where the Nishnabotna meets the Missouri; Hamburg lies at the extreme southwest corner.

Page County – seat: Clarinda, with Shenandoah to the north.

Taylor County – seat: Bedford, on the rolling Missouri border.

Ringgold County – seat: Mount Ayr, a small but distinct seat on US-169.

Decatur County – seat: Leon, just west of Lamoni along I-35 at the Missouri line.

Wayne County – seat: Corydon, north of Mercer County, Missouri.

Lucas County – seat: Chariton, with Russell and Derby marked.

Clarke County – seat: Osceola, a junction town on I-35 with Murray westward.

Union County – seat: Creston, a rail town with Afton at the county's east edge.

Adams County – seat: Corning, a small county centered along the Nodaway.

Montgomery County – seat: Red Oak, with Villisca and Stanton around it.

Mills County – seat: Glenwood, north of the Nishnabotna, with Malvern along US-34.

Pottawattamie County – seats: Council Bluffs and Avoca (primary functions based in Council Bluffs). The map shows Council Bluffs directly across from Omaha, Nebraska.

South-central uplands back toward Des Moines

Adair County – seat: Greenfield, with Stuart and Orient visible.

Madison County (seat Winterset), Warren County (seat Indianola), and Marion County (seat Knoxville) were already noted above under Central Iowa; Lucas, Clarke, and Decatur described the I-35 corridor to Missouri just above.

Rivers and orientation recap

Two border rivers and two interior rivers do most of the orientation work on this page. The Mississippi River traces the entire eastern edge past Dubuque, Clinton, Davenport, Muscatine, and Burlington. The Missouri River traces the entire western edge past Sioux City and Council Bluffs. The Des Moines River cuts diagonally through the interior past Fort Dodge, the capital, Ottumwa, and Keosauqua. The Cedar River runs through Waterloo, Cedar Falls, and Cedar Rapids on its way to join the Iowa River. Keep these four in mind and any county on the map is easy to place.

Road-light snapshot

The road layer is intentionally minimal. I-29 tracks the Missouri River from Council Bluffs to Sioux City and on to the Minnesota line. I-35 runs the Minnesota line to Des Moines to the Missouri line, straight through Ames along the way. I-80 crosses the entire state east to west, Council Bluffs to Des Moines to Iowa City to the Quad Cities. I-380 links Cedar Rapids to Iowa City and on to I-80. I-74 makes a short but important crossing of the Mississippi at the Quad Cities. None of these are meant for turn-by-turn navigation, only as county-placement cues.

Why a county-first map still makes sense here

Iowa's 99 counties are famously tidy, mostly rectangular blocks arranged in a near-perfect grid, which is exactly why a county-first map works so well here. Residents and researchers can confirm jurisdictions, useful for property records, courts, and elections, because every county name and seat is unmistakably labeled. Travelers can see how metro clusters sit within their counties: Des Moines in Polk, Cedar Rapids in Linn, Iowa City in Johnson, Waterloo in Black Hawk, Davenport in Scott, Sioux City in Woodbury, Council Bluffs in Pottawattamie, Dubuque in Dubuque, and Mason City in Cerro Gordo. Geography students appreciate the checkerboard rows that make Iowa one of the best states in the country for county-seat quizzes. The gentle use of the interstate system helps everyone orient without turning the page into a highway atlas.

People, economy, and activity

This Map of Iowa cities and towns lines up neatly with where the state's economy concentrates. Des Moines and Polk County carry Iowa's financial and insurance sector, with Principal Financial Group headquartered there alongside a growing cluster of tech and data-center investment from companies like Meta and Microsoft in Polk and Dallas counties. Cedar Rapids, in Linn County, built its economy around cereal and grain processing, still home to a major Quaker Oats plant, while the Quad Cities area around Scott County leans on Deere and Company and other farm-equipment manufacturing shared with Illinois across the river. Outside those hubs, agriculture dominates the map more completely than in almost any other state. Iowa is the nation's top producer of corn, soybeans, hogs, and eggs, with nearly every county's economy tied to row crops or livestock in some way. The ten largest cities by population are Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Sioux City, Iowa City, Ankeny, West Des Moines, Waterloo, Ames, and Council Bluffs, with Ankeny and West Des Moines both reflecting Polk and Dallas counties' rapid suburban growth.

Culture and heritage

Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa in Johnson County, hosts the Iowa Writers' Workshop, one of the most influential creative writing programs in the country, and the city carries a UNESCO City of Literature designation because of it. Ames, in Story County, is home to Iowa State University, the state's other major public research campus. Dubuque County holds the state's oldest city and river-port heritage along the Mississippi, while the Amana Colonies in Iowa County preserve a well-known 19th-century communal-living settlement that's now a major tourist draw. The Iowa State Fair, held each August in Des Moines, is one of the largest state fairs in the country and remains the single biggest annual cultural event tied to the state's farming identity. Field of Dreams, in Dyersville, Dubuque County, has turned a working farm into a minor-league and pop-culture pilgrimage site since the 1989 film.

Physical geography (quick orientation)

On this map, the loess hills (west), the Driftless bluffs (northeast), and the broad till plain (center) double as landmarks for finding counties quickly, with the Mississippi, Missouri, and Des Moines rivers as navigation lines. For elevation, terrain, and land-cover detail, see our Physical Map of Iowa.

Climate (quick note)

Iowa has a humid continental climate statewide, with cold, snowy winters and warm, humid summers, and slightly milder winters in the southeast along the Mississippi. For a full seasonal and biome breakdown, see our Physical Map of Iowa.

Getting around (map-aligned)

North to south, I-29 and I-35 are the main spines, with I-29 tracking the Missouri River along the western counties and I-35 running through Des Moines up to the Minnesota line. East to west, I-80 is the backbone, crossing the state from Council Bluffs through Des Moines and Iowa City to the Quad Cities, where I-74 branches off to cross the Mississippi into Illinois. I-380 links Cedar Rapids to Iowa City. One quick note on the map itself: county lines and ZIP code boundaries don't always match. A single ZIP code can straddle two counties, so use the shaded county blocks on this map for jurisdiction, taxes, and courts, not a ZIP lookup.