Skip to content
Beacon CRE

Which counties in Iowa are building the most new homes?

Clarke County (14.4 per 1,000 residents), Marion County (9.9 per 1,000 residents) and Sioux County (9.8 per 1,000 residents) permitted the most new homes for their size in Iowa in 2025.

Data as of 2025 · updated

Want Pro for Iowa? Get notified

All 99 ranked Iowa counties

Iowa counties ranked by new homes permitted per 1,000 residents
RankCountyPer 1,000 residents, 2025Homes permitted 2025Residents
1Clarke County14.41389,574
2Marion County9.933934,192
3Sioux County9.835936,774
4Polk County9.24,730516,546
5Warren County8.146557,331
6Johnson County7.81,241160,044
7Boone County7.720726,799
8Dallas County7.4875118,457
9Allamakee County6.99814,238
10Dickinson County6.511718,077
11Floyd County5.27714,901
12Cherokee County4.95611,369
13Linn County4.1941232,028
14Madison County3.86617,270
15Clay County3.86116,202
16Black Hawk County3.7488131,532
17Cedar County3.66718,359
18Pottawattamie County3.633492,996
19Mitchell County3.53710,650
20Dubuque County3.433499,381
21Lyon County3.34112,354
22Adams County3.3123,617
23Clayton County3.35516,845
24Adair County3.1237,403
25Guthrie County3.13310,782
26Mahaska County3.06621,880
27Buchanan County3.06220,883
28Montgomery County2.92910,002
29Muscatine County2.811941,853
30Cerro Gordo County2.711642,372
31Lee County2.58032,306
32Poweshiek County2.44418,368
33Fremont County2.3156,522
34Woodbury County2.2238106,649
35Des Moines County2.18138,077
36Scott County2.1372175,259
37Jasper County2.18038,153
38Louisa County2.02110,416
39Union County1.92311,829
40Delaware County1.93317,674
41Clinton County1.88546,002
42Story County1.8185101,291
43Bremer County1.84625,296
44Winneshiek County1.83519,733
45Carroll County1.83620,303
46Plymouth County1.84525,697
47Mills County1.72514,793
48Jackson County1.73219,288
49Henry County1.73219,349
50Monroe County1.6127,406
51Grundy County1.62012,361
52Fayette County1.63019,047
53Emmet County1.5149,107
54Humboldt County1.5149,409
55Wright County1.51912,801
56Sac County1.5149,525
57Harrison County1.42014,623
58Calhoun County1.4139,562
59Ringgold County1.364,642
60Butler County1.31814,049
61Audubon County1.375,509
62O'Brien County1.31814,220
63Wapello County1.24235,210
64Crawford County1.21916,237
65Washington County1.12522,667
66Hardin County1.11816,455
67Benton County1.12826,004
68Appanoose County0.91112,077
69Cass County0.81112,960
70Jones County0.81821,253
71Marshall County0.83339,890
72Monona County0.878,539
73Page County0.81214,856
74Hamilton County0.81214,944
75Buena Vista County0.81620,449
76Van Buren County0.757,131
77Greene County0.768,658
78Chickasaw County0.7811,663
79Taylor County0.745,835
80Worth County0.757,338
81Palo Alto County0.768,899
82Hancock County0.7710,528
83Howard County0.669,415
84Webster County0.62336,838
85Iowa County0.5916,504
86Osceola County0.535,980
87Wayne County0.436,738
88Winnebago County0.4410,251
89Franklin County0.339,868
90Tama County0.3516,796
91Ida County0.326,777
92Kossuth County0.3414,322
93Shelby County0.3311,689
94Lucas County0.228,847
95Jefferson County0.1215,291
96Decatur County0.117,655
97Davis County0.119,230
98Keokuk County0.119,797
99Pocahontas County0.006,819

How this is ranked

Housing units authorized by building permits in 2025 (Census Bureau Building Permits Survey), per 1,000 residents. Permits count homes authorized, not finished. Counties with fewer than 1,000 residents, or without a figure for the same period as the others, are not ranked.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Figures come from public federal statistics and are informational only, not investment advice. Check the source before relying on a number. Methodology: how ranks and figures are built. More on every layer: data sources and licences.

Get the report for any Iowa county — $99

The County Growth and Demographics Report for any county as a PDF, from federal data: population and migration, housing and rents, permits, private employers and jobs, unemployment, ranks in the state and the country, and neighbouring counties, with a source next to every number. Pay once, no subscription.

Every purchase also includes a CSV of every table in the report, ready for a spreadsheet.

Refund terms: Terms. · How we compute every number

Questions

Which county in Iowa is building the most new homes?

Clarke County: 14.4 per 1,000 residents, ahead of Marion County (9.9 per 1,000 residents) and Sioux County (9.8 per 1,000 residents), of 99 Iowa counties ranked.

How is this ranking calculated?

Housing units authorized by building permits in 2025 (Census Bureau Building Permits Survey), per 1,000 residents. Permits count homes authorized, not finished. Counties with fewer than 1,000 residents, or without a figure for the same period as the others, are not ranked.

More county rankings for Iowa

New homes permitted per 1,000 residents in other states

Across the U.S.