2025

Counties in Iowa ranked by White Population

This list ranks the 99 counties in Iowa based on their White population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these counties over the past five years.
Updated Feb 10, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest White population in Iowa

View All
  • 1
    Polk County
    White population in Polk County is 416,914
    78.49% of Polk County population is White
  • 2
    Linn County
    White population in Linn County is 207,089
    84.84% of Linn County population is White
  • 3
    Scott County
    White population in Scott County is 152,921
    81.30% of Scott County population is White
  • 4
    Johnson County
    White population in Johnson County is 129,798
    78.20% of Johnson County population is White
  • 5
    Black Hawk County
    White population in Black Hawk County is 110,564
    80.37% of Black Hawk County population is White

List of 99 counties in Iowa by White Population

View Methodology
Rank by White Population
County
White Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Iowa White Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Polk County 416,914 78.49% 14.34%
2 Linn County 207,089 84.84% 7.12%
3 Scott County 152,921 81.30% 5.26%
4 Johnson County 129,798 78.20% 4.46%
5 Black Hawk County 110,564 80.37% 3.80%
6 Dallas County 94,455 85.23% 3.25%
7 Dubuque County 92,973 90.20% 3.20%
8 91,507 76.20% 3.15%
9 88,630 89.22% 3.05%
10 86,726 83.40% 2.98%
11 52,253 93.38% 1.80%
12 44,377 90.44% 1.53%
13 40,651 90.94% 1.40%
14 37,445 82.57% 1.29%
15 36,164 87.02% 1.24%
16 36,006 92.01% 1.24%
17 34,360 76.85% 1.18%
18 34,297 87.01% 1.18%
19 33,644 88.17% 1.16%
20 32,675 94.87% 1.12%
21 31,855 91.24% 1.10%
22 31,385 82.18% 1.08%
23 26,053 94.51% 0.90%
24 25,220 95.34% 0.87%
25 24,266 90.75% 0.83%
26 24,231 93.11% 0.83%
27 21,365 90.84% 0.73%
28 21,226 92.96% 0.73%
29 20,341 96.49% 0.70%
30 20,119 93.78% 0.69%
31 20,020 91.28% 0.69%
32 19,392 94.04% 0.67%
33 19,028 96.01% 0.65%
34 18,923 92.91% 0.65%
35 18,891 88.35% 0.65%
36 18,108 95.26% 0.62%
37 17,707 91.77% 0.61%
38 17,599 94.29% 0.61%
39 17,381 95.65% 0.60%
40 16,785 95.86% 0.58%
41 16,398 95.68% 0.56%
42 16,306 94.93% 0.56%
43 16,155 94.67% 0.56%
44 15,874 91.95% 0.55%
45 15,481 68.43% 0.53%
46 15,136 82.37% 0.52%
47 15,002 90.94% 0.52%
48 14,613 92.24% 0.50%
49 14,450 95.78% 0.50%
50 14,394 93.76% 0.50%
51 14,086 93.14% 0.48%
52 13,982 95.14% 0.48%
53 13,967 73.68% 0.48%
54 13,936 87.87% 0.48%
55 13,683 84.44% 0.47%
56 13,363 90.39% 0.46%
57 13,329 90.76% 0.46%
58 12,833 96.18% 0.44%
59 12,070 96.17% 0.42%
60 12,061 94.51% 0.41%
61 12,057 83.85% 0.41%
62 11,853 94.46% 0.41%
63 11,773 94.36% 0.40%
64 11,655 95.55% 0.40%
65 11,489 93.20% 0.40%
66 11,090 90.77% 0.38%
67 10,402 94.08% 0.36%
68 10,347 96.80% 0.36%
69 10,334 93.56% 0.36%
70 10,116 91.05% 0.35%
71 9,888 93.20% 0.34%
72 9,787 95.71% 0.34%
73 9,578 92.38% 0.33%
74 9,566 87.91% 0.33%
75 9,502 82.93% 0.33%
76 9,420 94.88% 0.32%
77 9,312 92.06% 0.32%
78 9,213 93.79% 0.32%
79 9,005 86.66% 0.31%
80 8,965 95.79% 0.31%
81 8,902 89.32% 0.31%
82 8,605 92.76% 0.30%
83 8,584 95.92% 0.30%
84 8,561 93.86% 0.29%
85 8,515 94.36% 0.29%
86 7,420 95.04% 0.26%
87 7,391 93.05% 0.25%
88 7,242 94.84% 0.25%
89 7,224 94.74% 0.25%
90 7,130 95.91% 0.25%
91 6,749 94.22% 0.23%
92 6,726 91.85% 0.23%
93 6,493 93.80% 0.22%
94 6,440 94.66% 0.22%
95 5,888 90.33% 0.20%
96 5,680 92.27% 0.20%
97 5,511 94.98% 0.19%
98 4,609 95.96% 0.16%
99 3,605 95.60% 0.12%

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks counties in Iowa by their White population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines White Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as White, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as White alone, while others identify as White along with another race (such as White and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and White .
  • We’ve used the “White alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the White population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as White alone or in combination in counties. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as White .
  2. % of Total Iowa White Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. White population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small White populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Counties that don’t have any reported White population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where White populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.