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PantryPath Research · WIC Coverage Atlas

WIC in Iowa

67.1% coverage

Iowa's WIC program reaches 67.1% of eligible residents — an estimated 51,000 participants out of 76,000 who qualify. That leaves 25,000 pregnant women, infants, and young children eligible but not receiving WIC's food package or nutrition counseling.

76K

WIC eligibles

51K

Participants (FY2024 avg)

25K

Unserved eligibles

99

Counties

Iowa by county

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Toggle between estimated WIC eligibles, unserved gap, low-income child counts, and child-poverty share. Hover a county for its exact value.

Note: USDA does not publish sub-state WIC participation, so every county in Iowa inherits the state's 67.1% coverage rate. County-level eligibles are allocated from state totals in proportion to the county's share of low-income children under 6 (ACS B17024). See methodology.

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Iowa at a glance

Coverage rate

67.1%

Participants ÷ eligibles

Participation gap

32.9%

1 − coverage

Eligibles

76K

USDA FNS FY2022

Participants

51K

Monthly avg FY2024

Unserved

25K

Eligibles − participants

Kids < 6 low-income

74K

32.6% of universe

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 99 counties in Iowa.

Most WIC eligibles

Estimated eligible population

  1. 1 Polk 14K
  2. 2 Linn 6K
  3. 3 Scott 4K
  4. 4 Black Hawk 4K
  5. 5 Woodbury 4K

Largest unserved gap

Eligibles not receiving WIC

  1. 1 Polk 5K
  2. 2 Linn 2K
  3. 3 Scott 1K
  4. 4 Black Hawk 1K
  5. 5 Woodbury 1K

Highest child-poverty share

Children < 6 at ≤185% FPL

  1. 1 Clarke 61.7%
  2. 2 Floyd 57.9%
  3. 3 Jefferson 56.9%
  4. 4 Wright 54.4%
  5. 5 Wayne 53.2%

Every county in Iowa

All 99 counties with WIC eligibility estimates, unserved gap, and ACS child-poverty context.

County Eligibles est. Participants est. Unserved est. Kids < 6 low-income Poverty share
Adair 156 105 51 151 29.5%
Adams 58 39 19 56 25.0%
Allamakee 500 336 164 484 42.7%
Appanoose 414 278 136 401 49.9%
Audubon 151 101 50 146 36.0%
Benton 308 207 101 298 18.4%
Black Hawk 3,665 2,459 1,206 3,547 38.6%
Boone 272 182 90 263 16.6%
Bremer 410 275 135 397 22.7%
Buchanan 513 345 168 497 31.8%
Buena Vista 745 500 245 721 42.8%
Butler 219 147 72 212 23.7%
Calhoun 243 163 80 235 37.6%
Carroll 443 297 146 429 30.1%
Cass 406 272 134 393 50.4%
Cedar 391 262 129 378 34.6%
Cerro Gordo 1,003 673 330 971 34.1%
Cherokee 244 164 80 236 35.0%
Chickasaw 359 241 118 347 40.4%
Clarke 468 314 154 453 61.7%
Clay 461 309 152 446 43.9%
Clayton 479 322 157 464 37.5%
Clinton 1,268 851 417 1,227 42.2%
Crawford 543 365 178 526 43.3%
Dallas 1,405 943 462 1,360 15.8%
Davis 415 279 136 402 42.4%
Decatur 316 212 104 306 52.0%
Delaware 317 213 104 307 26.6%
Des Moines 1,236 829 407 1,196 46.1%
Dickinson 224 150 74 217 22.4%
Dubuque 1,735 1,164 571 1,679 23.4%
Emmet 175 117 58 169 37.9%
Fayette 428 287 141 414 31.8%
Floyd 686 460 226 664 57.9%
Franklin 411 276 135 398 49.5%
Fremont 97 65 32 94 25.9%
Greene 180 121 59 174 29.2%
Grundy 202 136 66 196 22.1%
Guthrie 183 123 60 177 28.0%
Hamilton 249 167 82 241 24.6%
Hancock 134 90 44 130 18.0%
Hardin 302 202 100 292 31.4%
Harrison 295 198 97 286 28.2%
Henry 487 327 160 471 38.9%
Howard 235 157 78 227 27.6%
Humboldt 211 141 70 204 29.3%
Ida 138 93 45 134 29.6%
Iowa 388 261 127 376 36.6%
Jackson 477 320 157 462 34.8%
Jasper 746 501 245 722 31.2%
Jefferson 576 387 189 558 56.9%
Johnson 2,650 1,778 872 2,565 25.6%
Jones 387 260 127 375 28.8%
Keokuk 201 135 66 195 30.9%
Kossuth 409 275 134 396 39.3%
Lee 975 654 321 944 45.2%
Linn 5,691 3,819 1,872 5,508 34.2%
Louisa 206 138 68 199 28.7%
Lucas 291 196 95 282 45.1%
Lyon 268 180 88 259 26.3%
Madison 284 191 93 275 24.6%
Mahaska 519 348 171 502 32.9%
Marion 424 284 140 410 18.3%
Marshall 1,362 914 448 1,318 42.0%
Mills 218 146 72 211 21.7%
Mitchell 256 172 84 248 34.0%
Monona 193 130 63 187 31.4%
Monroe 166 112 54 161 34.0%
Montgomery 280 188 92 271 40.9%
Muscatine 853 573 280 826 27.1%
O'Brien 509 342 167 493 41.5%
Osceola 247 166 81 239 51.4%
Page 429 288 141 415 44.9%
Palo Alto 244 164 80 236 35.9%
Plymouth 462 310 152 447 23.8%
Pocahontas 179 120 59 173 33.2%
Polk 13,708 9,199 4,509 13,268 33.7%
Pottawattamie 2,309 1,550 759 2,235 35.0%
Poweshiek 372 250 122 360 37.2%
Ringgold 68 46 22 66 18.8%
Sac 276 185 91 267 38.4%
Scott 4,203 2,820 1,383 4,068 32.9%
Shelby 315 211 104 305 40.9%
Sioux 807 541 266 781 26.4%
Story 1,032 693 339 999 20.0%
Tama 473 318 155 458 36.6%
Taylor 110 73 37 106 25.6%
Union 223 150 73 216 31.1%
Van Buren 286 192 94 277 51.3%
Wapello 1,089 731 358 1,054 41.6%
Warren 798 535 263 772 20.5%
Washington 533 358 175 516 31.8%
Wayne 300 201 99 290 53.2%
Webster 494 331 163 478 20.3%
Winnebago 309 207 102 299 45.0%
Winneshiek 222 149 73 215 20.9%
Woodbury 3,613 2,424 1,189 3,497 40.1%
Worth 235 157 78 227 42.7%
Wright 557 374 183 539 54.4%

Apply for WIC in Iowa

Income limits, food-package rules, clinic locator, and application instructions specific to Iowa's WIC agency.

Iowa WIC guide

Families with children

Our population-specific guide: WIC, SNAP, school meals, Summer EBT, and pantry programs for families with kids in Iowa.

Families guide

Iowa SNAP

SNAP recipients are automatically income-eligible for WIC through adjunctive eligibility — often the fastest path to enrollment.

Iowa SNAP guide

Find a food pantry

Search Iowa's verified pantries — many partner with WIC clinics and distribute infant formula, baby food, and diapers.

Iowa food pantries

WIC methodology

How we estimated county-level eligibles, why state coverage rates can't be disaggregated, and which data sources we used.

Full methodology