Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Highest Heating Demand in Iowa
Heating degree days measure how far and how long the outside temperature sits below 65°F across a year, which is the closest single number to how much heat a house has to make. 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 | Heating degree days | Winter low | Monthly to own |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worth County | 8,378 | 3.8°F | $1,269 |
| 2 | Osceola County | 8,036 | 4.7°F | $1,128 |
| 3 | Emmet County | 7,910 | 6.6°F | $1,033 |
| 4 | Chickasaw County | 7,872 | 5.5°F | $1,437 |
| 5 | Winnebago County | 7,857 | 5.6°F | $1,225 |
| 6 | Howard County | 7,839 | 5.7°F | $1,231 |
| 7 | Fayette County | 7,767 | 6.2°F | $1,209 |
| 8 | Mitchell County | 7,746 | 6.2°F | $1,443 |
| 9 | Hancock County | 7,722 | 6.3°F | $1,184 |
| 10 | Allamakee County | 7,657 | 8.4°F | $1,512 |
| 11 | Cerro Gordo County | 7,647 | 7.2°F | $1,411 |
| 12 | Lyon County | 7,624 | 6.1°F | $1,791 |
| 13 | Dickinson County | 7,569 | 7.5°F | $2,068 |
| 14 | Kossuth County | 7,569 | 6.0°F | $1,213 |
| 15 | Clayton County | 7,512 | 6.3°F | $1,409 |
| 16 | Hamilton County | 7,457 | 6.9°F | $1,226 |
| 17 | Benton County | 7,441 | 8.1°F | $1,731 |
| 18 | Bremer County | 7,435 | 7.3°F | $1,803 |
| 19 | Cherokee County | 7,404 | 7.1°F | $1,290 |
| 20 | Delaware County | 7,392 | 8.2°F | $1,504 |
| 21 | Webster County | 7,388 | 7.4°F | $1,287 |
| 22 | Sac County | 7,372 | 7.8°F | $1,234 |
| 23 | Franklin County | 7,363 | 7.9°F | $1,117 |
| 24 | Butler County | 7,358 | 7.5°F | $1,415 |
| 25 | Floyd County | 7,356 | 8.6°F | $1,236 |
| 26 | Clay County | 7,353 | 8.1°F | $1,503 |
| 27 | Pocahontas County | 7,344 | 7.5°F | $906 |
| 28 | Plymouth County | 7,312 | 7.4°F | $1,842 |
| 29 | Wright County | 7,309 | 6.2°F | $1,068 |
| 30 | Humboldt County | 7,304 | 8.0°F | $1,329 |
| 31 | Hardin County | 7,269 | 8.4°F | $1,082 |
| 32 | Buchanan County | 7,252 | 8.0°F | $1,524 |
| 33 | Palo Alto County | 7,250 | 7.4°F | $1,112 |
| 34 | Buena Vista County | 7,230 | 8.8°F | $1,323 |
| 35 | Grundy County | 7,227 | 8.7°F | $1,554 |
| 36 | Calhoun County | 7,187 | 8.4°F | $1,082 |
| 37 | Jones County | 7,182 | 8.8°F | $1,611 |
| 38 | Audubon County | 7,171 | 8.8°F | $1,043 |
| 39 | Tama County | 7,115 | 9.4°F | $1,287 |
| 40 | Crawford County | 7,112 | 9.8°F | $1,251 |
| 41 | Dubuque County | 7,084 | 11.1°F | $1,932 |
| 42 | Poweshiek County | 7,038 | 10.2°F | $1,615 |
| 43 | Greene County | 7,002 | 9.1°F | $1,269 |
| 44 | Marshall County | 6,996 | 10.1°F | $1,256 |
| 45 | Sioux County | 6,993 | 9.4°F | $1,984 |
| 46 | O'Brien County | 6,989 | 9.4°F | $1,382 |
| 47 | Jackson County | 6,943 | 11.4°F | $1,502 |
| 48 | Boone County | 6,921 | 9.1°F | $1,693 |
| 49 | Carroll County | 6,921 | 10.3°F | $1,516 |
| 50 | Monona County | 6,879 | 10.3°F | $1,129 |
| 51 | Madison County | 6,870 | 9.8°F | $2,073 |
| 52 | Iowa County | 6,866 | 10.4°F | $1,668 |
| 53 | Ida County | 6,860 | 10.4°F | $1,016 |
| 54 | Woodbury County | 6,860 | 10.4°F | $1,549 |
| 55 | Guthrie County | 6,850 | 9.6°F | $1,465 |
| 56 | Jasper County | 6,803 | 10.4°F | $1,579 |
| 57 | Lucas County | 6,801 | 10.6°F | $1,118 |
| 58 | Winneshiek County | 6,794 | 10.4°F | $2,012 |
| 59 | Story County | 6,748 | 10.9°F | $2,109 |
| 60 | Dallas County | 6,740 | 10.2°F | $2,808 |
| 61 | Black Hawk County | 6,714 | 10.7°F | $1,639 |
| 62 | Harrison County | 6,702 | 9.9°F | $1,478 |
| 63 | Union County | 6,696 | 10.6°F | $1,155 |
| 64 | Louisa County | 6,661 | 10.9°F | $1,256 |
| 65 | Keokuk County | 6,641 | 11.5°F | $1,067 |
| 66 | Cass County | 6,638 | 9.9°F | $1,240 |
| 67 | Adair County | 6,628 | 10.8°F | $1,285 |
| 68 | Cedar County | 6,573 | 11.9°F | $1,723 |
| 69 | Shelby County | 6,566 | 10.3°F | $1,398 |
| 70 | Pottawattamie County | 6,555 | 11.8°F | $1,661 |
| 71 | Polk County | 6,547 | 11.7°F | $2,206 |
| 72 | Washington County | 6,536 | 11.5°F | $1,744 |
| 73 | Adams County | 6,509 | 12.0°F | $1,097 |
| 74 | Clarke County | 6,442 | 11.4°F | $1,454 |
| 75 | Ringgold County | 6,422 | 11.7°F | $1,353 |
| 76 | Warren County | 6,417 | 11.6°F | $2,188 |
| 77 | Marion County | 6,416 | 12.5°F | $1,823 |
| 78 | Linn County | 6,384 | 12.5°F | $1,834 |
| 79 | Henry County | 6,381 | 12.5°F | $1,382 |
| 80 | Jefferson County | 6,377 | 13.6°F | $1,466 |
| 81 | Mahaska County | 6,366 | 12.2°F | $1,295 |
| 82 | Wayne County | 6,363 | 12.8°F | $992 |
| 83 | Monroe County | 6,336 | 13.2°F | $1,271 |
| 84 | Appanoose County | 6,330 | 12.0°F | $1,118 |
| 85 | Clinton County | 6,326 | 14.0°F | $1,416 |
| 86 | Scott County | 6,326 | 14.0°F | $1,873 |
| 87 | Taylor County | 6,294 | 12.4°F | $1,037 |
| 88 | Page County | 6,292 | 11.9°F | $1,137 |
| 89 | Muscatine County | 6,284 | 13.9°F | $1,562 |
| 90 | Montgomery County | 6,205 | 12.5°F | $1,091 |
| 91 | Mills County | 6,188 | 12.2°F | $1,990 |
| 92 | Fremont County | 6,182 | 13.1°F | $1,335 |
| 93 | Van Buren County | 6,180 | 13.8°F | $1,105 |
| 94 | Wapello County | 6,145 | 13.8°F | $1,101 |
| 95 | Johnson County | 6,114 | 14.6°F | $2,520 |
| 96 | Davis County | 6,035 | 14.8°F | $1,350 |
| 97 | Lee County | 5,910 | 15.3°F | $1,172 |
| 98 | Decatur County | 5,895 | 15.6°F | $1,079 |
| 99 | Des Moines County | 5,820 | 16.4°F | $1,281 |
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
Highest Heating Demand across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in Iowa