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PantryPath Research · Rural & Persistent Poverty Atlas

Rural poverty in Iowa

0 persistent-poverty counties

Iowa has 77 nonmetro counties and no counties flagged by USDA ERS for persistent poverty. The state's all-ages poverty rate is 11.0% and child poverty is 12.7%.

0

Persistent-poverty counties

77

Nonmetro counties (RUCC 4–9)

0

Residents in PPCs

99

Total counties

Iowa by county

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Toggle between the rural hunger risk score, all-ages poverty, child poverty, the Rural-Urban Continuum Code, and the binary persistent-poverty flag. Hover a county for its ERS typology and ACS poverty rate.

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Iowa at a glance

Poverty rate

11.0%

All ages, ACS S1701

Child poverty

12.7%

Under 18

PPC share

0.0%

Of counties in state

Nonmetro share

77.8%

RUCC 4–9

Pantries / 100K

4.04

PantryPath verified

Risk score (mean)

0.24

Composite 0–1

"Pantries / 100K" divides Iowa's 129 verified PantryPath pantries by the state population — a minimum-density indicator, not a saturated census. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 99 in Iowa.

Highest rural hunger risk

Composite 0–1 score

  1. 1 Osceola 0.37
  2. 2 Cherokee 0.36
  3. 3 Decatur 0.36
  4. 4 Franklin 0.36
  5. 5 Wayne 0.36

Highest poverty rate

ACS all-ages

  1. 1 Appanoose 20.4%
  2. 2 Story 18.6%
  3. 3 Cass 17.4%
  4. 4 Johnson 16.7%
  5. 5 Wapello 16.7%

Persistent-poverty counties

PPCs ranked by current poverty

Iowa has no persistent-poverty counties in the 2025 ERS typology.

Every county in Iowa

All 99 counties with RUCC, typology flags, and ACS poverty data.

County RUCC PPC Flags Poverty Child poverty Population Risk
Adair 8 — Pop. loss 10.3% 12.8% 7,471 0.30
Adams 9 — Pop. loss 9.5% 7.7% 3,641 0.34
Allamakee 8 — Pop. loss 12.1% 14.5% 14,038 0.31
Appanoose 7 — Pop. loss 20.4% 27.7% 12,242 0.31
Audubon 9 — Pop. loss 11.8% 19.0% 5,622 0.35
Benton 2 — — 7.9% 7.2% 25,698 0.07
Black Hawk 3 — — 14.7% 16.6% 130,693 0.13
Boone 3 — — 6.7% 7.3% 26,669 0.10
Bremer 3 — — 7.5% 8.1% 25,118 0.10
Buchanan 6 — Pop. loss 7.0% 5.9% 20,645 0.22
Buena Vista 7 — — 8.2% 9.8% 20,684 0.26
Butler 8 — Pop. loss 10.7% 14.8% 14,301 0.31
Calhoun 9 — — 8.6% 7.9% 9,858 0.33
Carroll 7 — Pop. loss 8.3% 5.6% 20,677 0.26
Cass 6 — Pop. loss 17.4% 28.4% 13,115 0.26
Cedar 8 — — 7.2% 8.5% 18,427 0.29
Cerro Gordo 5 — Pop. loss 9.4% 12.1% 42,785 0.19
Cherokee 9 — Pop. loss 15.2% 25.0% 11,587 0.36
Chickasaw 8 — Pop. loss 7.1% 5.3% 11,868 0.29
Clarke 6 — — 13.8% 25.5% 9,690 0.24
Clay 7 — Pop. loss 11.5% 19.3% 16,446 0.27
Clayton 8 — Pop. loss 13.6% 16.5% 17,069 0.32
Clinton 4 — Pop. loss 13.1% 17.8% 46,383 0.16
Crawford 7 — — 16.4% 25.2% 16,289 0.29
Dallas 2 — Retire. 5.8% 5.6% 104,136 0.06
Davis 9 — — 7.2% 8.4% 9,127 0.33
Decatur 9 — Pop. loss 15.2% 18.9% 7,669 0.36
Delaware 8 — Pop. loss 7.9% 5.6% 17,549 0.29
Des Moines 5 — Pop. loss 14.1% 20.2% 38,597 0.21
Dickinson 7 — — 6.3% 6.2% 17,844 0.25
Dubuque 3 — — 9.4% 9.5% 98,948 0.11
Emmet 7 — Pop. loss 10.4% 15.0% 9,316 0.27
Fayette 6 — Pop. loss 12.5% 14.5% 19,393 0.24
Floyd 7 — Pop. loss 11.4% 16.5% 15,502 0.27
Franklin 9 — Pop. loss 15.1% 24.3% 9,977 0.36
Fremont 8 — Pop. loss 7.6% 7.6% 6,570 0.29
Greene 8 — Pop. loss 10.4% 11.8% 8,722 0.30
Grundy 3 — — 6.4% 6.7% 12,352 0.10
Guthrie 2 — Pop. loss 9.3% 14.2% 10,646 0.07
Hamilton 6 — Pop. loss 8.0% 6.5% 14,893 0.22
Hancock 9 — Pop. loss 12.1% 15.4% 10,718 0.35
Hardin 6 — Pop. loss 8.6% 10.1% 16,729 0.22
Harrison 2 — Pop. loss 7.5% 9.8% 14,645 0.07
Henry 6 — — 12.1% 17.4% 20,228 0.24
Howard 8 — Pop. loss 8.4% 11.0% 9,459 0.30
Humboldt 7 — Pop. loss 13.7% 19.9% 9,573 0.28
Ida 8 — Pop. loss 10.4% 8.3% 6,944 0.30
Iowa 8 — — 9.2% 13.5% 16,547 0.30
Jackson 6 — Pop. loss 10.3% 12.7% 19,429 0.23
Jasper 2 — — 8.2% 10.3% 37,864 0.07
Jefferson 7 — — 14.6% 17.2% 15,676 0.28
Johnson 3 — Housing 16.7% 11.0% 154,881 0.14
Jones 2 — — 10.4% 14.0% 20,799 0.08
Keokuk 8 — Pop. loss 12.0% 12.3% 9,964 0.31
Kossuth 7 — Pop. loss 9.6% 13.8% 14,610 0.26
Lee 7 — Pop. loss 13.0% 18.5% 33,175 0.28
Linn 2 — — 9.9% 11.7% 229,463 0.08
Louisa 8 — Pop. loss 9.9% 14.5% 10,710 0.30
Lucas 8 — Pop. loss 16.5% 22.5% 8,685 0.33
Lyon 8 — — 5.3% 5.8% 12,087 0.28
Madison 2 — — 6.8% 8.2% 16,760 0.06
Mahaska 7 — — 11.9% 12.9% 22,045 0.27
Marion 6 — — 7.1% 6.0% 33,551 0.22
Marshall 4 — — 11.1% 16.4% 39,971 0.16
Mills 2 — — 6.9% 5.4% 14,563 0.07
Mitchell 9 — Pop. loss 6.9% 2.5% 10,548 0.33
Monona 8 — Pop. loss 11.2% 14.3% 8,619 0.31
Monroe 9 — Pop. loss 9.2% 9.8% 7,546 0.34
Montgomery 6 — Pop. loss 12.0% 16.2% 10,254 0.24
Muscatine 4 — — 11.6% 14.2% 42,735 0.16
O'Brien 7 — Pop. loss 13.8% 19.8% 14,103 0.28
Osceola 9 — Pop. loss 16.3% 34.6% 6,114 0.37
Page 6 — Pop. loss 13.4% 14.7% 15,168 0.24
Palo Alto 9 — Pop. loss 11.7% 20.3% 8,902 0.35
Plymouth 6 — — 6.8% 8.4% 25,699 0.21
Pocahontas 9 — Pop. loss 8.7% 6.9% 7,040 0.33
Polk 2 — — 10.1% 13.1% 497,441 0.08
Pottawattamie 2 — — 10.9% 14.5% 93,407 0.08
Poweshiek 6 — — 11.1% 9.9% 18,582 0.23
Ringgold 9 — Pop. loss 9.0% 14.0% 4,664 0.34
Sac 9 — Pop. loss 7.9% 11.0% 9,759 0.33
Scott 2 — — 11.6% 13.9% 174,302 0.08
Shelby 8 — Pop. loss 8.5% 3.5% 11,757 0.30
Sioux 6 — — 6.4% 5.6% 35,984 0.21
Story 3 — Housing 18.6% 8.4% 98,592 0.15
Tama 6 — Pop. loss 15.4% 24.8% 16,982 0.25
Taylor 9 — Pop. loss 10.4% 12.2% 5,901 0.34
Union 6 — — 12.6% 17.5% 12,038 0.24
Van Buren 9 — Pop. loss 12.2% 16.1% 7,236 0.35
Wapello 5 — Pop. loss 16.7% 22.1% 35,265 0.22
Warren 2 — — 5.4% 4.6% 53,484 0.06
Washington 3 — — 8.5% 11.7% 22,539 0.11
Wayne 9 — — 15.0% 19.9% 6,518 0.36
Webster 5 — Pop. loss 11.7% 14.2% 36,848 0.20
Winnebago 9 — Pop. loss 9.8% 11.8% 10,648 0.34
Winneshiek 7 — Pop. loss 7.9% 8.0% 19,972 0.26
Woodbury 3 — — 13.3% 16.7% 105,760 0.13
Worth 9 — Pop. loss 7.3% 10.4% 7,380 0.33
Wright 9 — Pop. loss 14.8% 23.7% 12,817 0.36

Find a food pantry in Iowa

Search Iowa's 129 verified pantries, food banks, and meal programs — filtered by city, open-now status, and service type.

Iowa pantry directory

Iowa SNAP

Income limits, application steps, and EBT card details for residents of persistent-poverty counties and beyond.

Iowa SNAP guide

Emergency food help

National hotlines, 211 referrals, and same-day food options — critical in rural counties where the nearest pantry may be 30+ miles away.

Emergency food

Food deserts atlas

Rural poverty and low food access often overlap. Compare persistent-poverty counties to USDA's low-income / low-access food desert designations.

Iowa food deserts

Methodology

How we combined USDA ERS typology codes, the Rural-Urban Continuum, ACS poverty data, and PantryPath's own pantry directory — plus the risk-score formula.

Full methodology