Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in Iowa
The least rainfall in the country. Dry is easier on a building than wet, but it moves the cost somewhere else: irrigation, foundation movement in shrink-swell soils, and in the driest counties the price and reliability of water itself. Figures are NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals from the weather station nearest each county seat, so they describe a thirty-year average rather than any single year.
Where does yours land?
Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.
Iowa ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clay County | 26.8" | Very Low | $171,500 |
| 2 | Emmet County | 29.3" | Very Low | $106,200 |
| 3 | Ida County | 29.3" | Very Low | $108,800 |
| 4 | Lyon County | 29.3" | Very Low | $215,600 |
| 5 | Woodbury County | 29.3" | Relatively Moderate | $172,000 |
| 6 | Dickinson County | 29.5" | Very Low | $251,600 |
| 7 | Sioux County | 29.9" | Relatively Low | $235,600 |
| 8 | Plymouth County | 30.0" | Relatively Low | $218,600 |
| 9 | Osceola County | 30.2" | Very Low | $123,800 |
| 10 | Cherokee County | 31.2" | Very Low | $145,100 |
| 11 | O'Brien County | 31.4" | Very Low | $158,900 |
| 12 | Monona County | 32.1" | Very Low | $122,600 |
| 13 | Marshall County | 32.8" | Relatively Low | $134,100 |
| 14 | Pocahontas County | 32.8" | Very Low | $93,300 |
| 15 | Sac County | 33.0" | Very Low | $138,400 |
| 16 | Fremont County | 33.3" | Very Low | $147,500 |
| 17 | Palo Alto County | 33.6" | Very Low | $119,300 |
| 18 | Crawford County | 33.6" | Relatively Low | $136,300 |
| 19 | Carroll County | 33.7" | Relatively Low | $175,700 |
| 20 | Buena Vista County | 33.8" | Very Low | $146,900 |
| 21 | Calhoun County | 33.8" | Relatively Low | $114,400 |
| 22 | Kossuth County | 34.1" | Very Low | $135,100 |
| 23 | Wright County | 34.3" | Very Low | $109,800 |
| 24 | Hancock County | 34.3" | Very Low | $129,300 |
| 25 | Shelby County | 34.3" | Very Low | $156,200 |
| 26 | Harrison County | 34.4" | Very Low | $165,300 |
| 27 | Madison County | 34.8" | Very Low | $236,900 |
| 28 | Mills County | 34.8" | Very Low | $228,700 |
| 29 | Audubon County | 35.0" | Very Low | $110,400 |
| 30 | Webster County | 35.1" | Relatively Low | $138,500 |
| 31 | Jasper County | 35.1" | Relatively Low | $176,800 |
| 32 | Tama County | 35.3" | Relatively Low | $139,900 |
| 33 | Adams County | 35.3" | Very Low | $116,900 |
| 34 | Greene County | 35.3" | Very Low | $140,500 |
| 35 | Butler County | 35.4" | Very Low | $156,500 |
| 36 | Worth County | 35.5" | Very Low | $142,300 |
| 37 | Johnson County | 35.7" | Relatively Moderate | $293,100 |
| 38 | Humboldt County | 35.8" | Very Low | $146,900 |
| 39 | Story County | 35.9" | Relatively Low | $243,600 |
| 40 | Winnebago County | 35.9" | Very Low | $132,300 |
| 41 | Appanoose County | 36.0" | Very Low | $119,800 |
| 42 | Dallas County | 36.1" | Relatively Low | $333,400 |
| 43 | Clinton County | 36.2" | Relatively Low | $153,800 |
| 44 | Scott County | 36.2" | Relatively Moderate | $212,500 |
| 45 | Cerro Gordo County | 36.3" | Relatively Low | $154,100 |
| 46 | Black Hawk County | 36.3" | Relatively Low | $182,400 |
| 47 | Pottawattamie County | 36.4" | Relatively Low | $183,600 |
| 48 | Monroe County | 36.5" | Very Low | $135,900 |
| 49 | Cedar County | 36.5" | Very Low | $199,700 |
| 50 | Adair County | 36.5" | Relatively Low | $140,600 |
| 51 | Page County | 36.6" | Very Low | $120,000 |
| 52 | Jackson County | 36.7" | Very Low | $170,000 |
| 53 | Grundy County | 36.8" | Very Low | $180,500 |
| 54 | Ringgold County | 37.0" | Very Low | $150,300 |
| 55 | Wapello County | 37.0" | Relatively Low | $112,900 |
| 56 | Polk County | 37.0" | Relatively Moderate | $248,400 |
| 57 | Cass County | 37.1" | Relatively Low | $133,300 |
| 58 | Guthrie County | 37.1" | Very Low | $163,900 |
| 59 | Hamilton County | 37.2" | Relatively Low | $132,300 |
| 60 | Montgomery County | 37.2" | Very Low | $109,900 |
| 61 | Lucas County | 37.3" | Very Low | $117,000 |
| 62 | Buchanan County | 37.4" | Very Low | $171,400 |
| 63 | Decatur County | 37.4" | Very Low | $109,500 |
| 64 | Keokuk County | 37.4" | Very Low | $112,200 |
| 65 | Marion County | 37.5" | Very Low | $211,100 |
| 66 | Mitchell County | 37.6" | Very Low | $164,100 |
| 67 | Winneshiek County | 37.6" | Very Low | $239,000 |
| 68 | Iowa County | 37.7" | Very Low | $189,800 |
| 69 | Floyd County | 37.7" | Relatively Low | $133,300 |
| 70 | Warren County | 37.8" | Very Low | $252,800 |
| 71 | Hardin County | 37.9" | Relatively Low | $113,000 |
| 72 | Des Moines County | 37.9" | Relatively Low | $137,000 |
| 73 | Union County | 37.9" | Relatively Low | $117,800 |
| 74 | Benton County | 37.9" | Very Low | $198,400 |
| 75 | Washington County | 37.9" | Relatively Low | $199,600 |
| 76 | Howard County | 38.0" | Very Low | $133,900 |
| 77 | Franklin County | 38.1" | Very Low | $118,500 |
| 78 | Poweshiek County | 38.2" | Very Low | $184,200 |
| 79 | Dubuque County | 38.2" | Relatively Low | $226,100 |
| 80 | Muscatine County | 38.3" | Relatively Low | $172,400 |
| 81 | Jefferson County | 38.4" | Very Low | $161,200 |
| 82 | Taylor County | 38.4" | Very Low | $109,700 |
| 83 | Henry County | 38.5" | Very Low | $148,600 |
| 84 | Delaware County | 38.6" | Relatively Low | $168,700 |
| 85 | Bremer County | 38.6" | Very Low | $207,200 |
| 86 | Mahaska County | 38.7" | Very Low | $140,900 |
| 87 | Clarke County | 38.7" | Very Low | $160,200 |
| 88 | Linn County | 38.8" | Relatively Moderate | $204,400 |
| 89 | Clayton County | 38.8" | Very Low | $155,700 |
| 90 | Louisa County | 38.8" | Very Low | $137,600 |
| 91 | Davis County | 39.1" | Relatively Low | $146,000 |
| 92 | Boone County | 39.1" | Very Low | $191,200 |
| 93 | Allamakee County | 39.2" | Very Low | $171,900 |
| 94 | Lee County | 39.2" | Relatively Low | $123,600 |
| 95 | Fayette County | 39.5" | Relatively Low | $130,800 |
| 96 | Van Buren County | 39.7" | Very Low | $118,800 |
| 97 | Jones County | 40.1" | Very Low | $183,400 |
| 98 | Wayne County | 40.4" | Very Low | $102,300 |
| 99 | Chickasaw County | 40.6" | Very Low | $164,400 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Driest Counties across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in Iowa