2025

Counties in Iowa ranked by Non-Hispanic White Population

This list ranks the 99 counties in Iowa based on their Non-Hispanic White population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these counties over the past five years.
Updated Feb 13, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest Non-Hispanic White population in Iowa

View All
  • 1
    Polk County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Polk County is 368,617
    69.39% of Polk County population is Non-Hispanic White
  • 2
    Linn County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Linn County is 190,404
    78.01% of Linn County population is Non-Hispanic White
  • 3
    Scott County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Scott County is 135,337
    71.95% of Scott County population is Non-Hispanic White
  • 4
    Johnson County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Johnson County is 116,962
    70.46% of Johnson County population is Non-Hispanic White
  • 5
    Black Hawk County
    Non-Hispanic White population in Black Hawk County is 102,976
    74.85% of Black Hawk County population is Non-Hispanic White

List of 99 counties in Iowa by Non-Hispanic White Population

View Methodology
Rank by Non-Hispanic White Population
County
Non-Hispanic White Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Iowa Non-Hispanic White Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Polk County 368,617 69.39% 13.89%
2 Linn County 190,404 78.01% 7.17%
3 Scott County 135,337 71.95% 5.10%
4 Johnson County 116,962 70.46% 4.41%
5 Black Hawk County 102,976 74.85% 3.88%
6 Dubuque County 87,977 85.35% 3.31%
7 Dallas County 85,128 76.81% 3.21%
8 80,243 77.16% 3.02%
9 79,725 80.25% 3.00%
10 72,293 60.20% 2.72%
11 49,496 88.45% 1.86%
12 41,505 84.59% 1.56%
13 38,032 85.08% 1.43%
14 34,781 88.88% 1.31%
15 32,877 79.11% 1.24%
16 32,174 70.95% 1.21%
17 31,407 91.19% 1.18%
18 31,190 79.12% 1.17%
19 30,087 78.84% 1.13%
20 30,029 86.01% 1.13%
21 27,265 71.39% 1.03%
22 26,950 60.28% 1.02%
23 24,883 90.26% 0.94%
24 24,346 92.03% 0.92%
25 23,298 89.53% 0.88%
26 22,809 85.31% 0.86%
27 20,334 89.06% 0.77%
28 20,105 85.48% 0.76%
29 19,662 93.26% 0.74%
30 19,199 89.49% 0.72%
31 19,110 87.13% 0.72%
32 18,726 90.81% 0.71%
33 18,380 92.74% 0.69%
34 17,693 86.88% 0.67%
35 17,511 81.90% 0.66%
36 17,286 90.93% 0.65%
37 16,856 87.36% 0.63%
38 16,744 89.71% 0.63%
39 16,687 91.83% 0.63%
40 16,245 92.78% 0.61%
41 15,813 92.27% 0.60%
42 15,447 89.93% 0.58%
43 15,169 87.87% 0.57%
44 15,085 88.40% 0.57%
45 13,906 92.18% 0.52%
46 13,769 83.46% 0.52%
47 13,729 86.66% 0.52%
48 13,582 88.47% 0.51%
49 13,575 92.37% 0.51%
50 13,467 89.05% 0.51%
51 13,393 72.88% 0.50%
52 12,961 79.99% 0.49%
53 12,539 79.07% 0.47%
54 12,487 84.46% 0.47%
55 12,354 92.59% 0.47%
56 12,269 83.54% 0.46%
57 11,806 94.06% 0.44%
58 11,530 90.35% 0.43%
59 11,361 90.54% 0.43%
60 11,143 89.31% 0.42%
61 11,087 90.89% 0.42%
62 11,058 48.88% 0.42%
63 10,829 87.85% 0.41%
64 10,395 85.08% 0.39%
65 10,228 53.96% 0.39%
66 10,098 94.47% 0.38%
67 9,936 89.87% 0.37%
68 9,872 68.66% 0.37%
69 9,698 87.80% 0.37%
70 9,515 85.64% 0.36%
71 9,485 89.40% 0.36%
72 9,480 92.70% 0.36%
73 9,082 91.48% 0.34%
74 9,028 87.08% 0.34%
75 8,851 90.10% 0.33%
76 8,719 86.20% 0.33%
77 8,677 92.71% 0.33%
78 8,307 72.50% 0.31%
79 8,211 91.75% 0.31%
80 8,153 87.88% 0.31%
81 8,087 88.66% 0.30%
82 8,065 74.12% 0.30%
83 8,041 89.11% 0.30%
84 7,974 80.01% 0.30%
85 7,557 72.73% 0.28%
86 7,176 91.92% 0.27%
87 6,980 91.54% 0.26%
88 6,974 87.80% 0.26%
89 6,909 90.48% 0.26%
90 6,845 92.08% 0.26%
91 6,404 89.40% 0.24%
92 6,336 86.52% 0.24%
93 6,136 90.20% 0.23%
94 6,093 88.02% 0.23%
95 5,328 91.83% 0.20%
96 5,266 85.54% 0.20%
97 5,200 79.78% 0.20%
98 4,432 92.28% 0.17%
99 3,453 91.57% 0.13%

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks counties in Iowa by their Non-Hispanic White population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines Non-Hispanic White Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as Non-Hispanic White, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as Non-Hispanic White alone, while others identify as Non-Hispanic White along with another race (such as Non-Hispanic White and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White .
  • We’ve used the “Non-Hispanic White alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Non-Hispanic White population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Non-Hispanic White alone or in combination in counties. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Non-Hispanic White .
  2. % of Total Iowa Non-Hispanic White Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Non-Hispanic White population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Non-Hispanic White populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Counties that don’t have any reported Non-Hispanic White population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Non-Hispanic White populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.