State food-access profile · 99 counties

Food access in Iowa

How far Iowa residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · June 23, 2026

20.0%
low-access pop.: 85
food-desert tracts: 8.8%
on SNAP: 99
counties

The statewide picture

About 608K Iowa residents - 20.0% - live in a low-access area, and 85 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

608K
low-access residents: 173K
food-desert residents: 5.4%
households, no vehicle: 11.1%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where Iowa stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, Iowa is ringed. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in Iowa against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 99 counties and 3.2M residents, Iowa's population-weighted low-access share is 20.0%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 85 tracts in Iowa, home to roughly 173K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 8.8% of households, and 5.4% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

Counties

20.0%

Low-access (pop-weighted)

608K

Low-access residents

8.8%

Avg. SNAP

Fremont

76
Wapello

50.4
Wayne

40
Howard

37.8
Henry

33.6
Webster

32.3
Crawford

32.1
Emmet

31.3

All counties in Iowa

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Fremont County	7K	76.0%	11.7%	2.4%	7.7%
Wapello County	35K	50.4%	15.3%	6.6%	15.8%
Wayne County	7K	40.0%	10.3%	6.7%	10.1%
Howard County	9K	37.8%	6.5%	4.9%	8.9%
Henry County	20K	33.6%	9.0%	4.8%	12.0%
Webster County	37K	32.3%	11.0%	6.7%	12.9%
Crawford County	16K	32.1%	10.5%	3.4%	14.8%
Emmet County	9K	31.3%	8.5%	6.1%	9.9%
Pottawattamie County	93K	30.6%	9.8%	6.3%	12.1%
Des Moines County	38K	30.1%	11.4%	7.3%	12.8%
Calhoun County	10K	29.9%	9.5%	3.4%	9.3%
Clinton County	46K	29.7%	12.8%	7.2%	13.2%
Osceola County	6K	29.6%	8.7%	1.4%	16.0%
Linn County	230K	29.2%	8.1%	4.9%	9.4%
Cass County	13K	28.7%	12.0%	5.7%	14.3%
Lee County	33K	28.3%	13.5%	5.0%	13.1%
Warren County	54K	28.2%	6.1%	3.3%	5.1%
Marshall County	40K	28.1%	9.2%	5.5%	11.2%
Black Hawk County	131K	27.5%	11.1%	6.3%	14.9%
Lucas County	9K	27.5%	9.9%	7.7%	14.9%
Mahaska County	22K	25.6%	13.0%	4.0%	12.6%
Keokuk County	10K	25.4%	9.4%	4.3%	12.1%
Humboldt County	10K	24.5%	11.3%	4.8%	12.9%
Palo Alto County	9K	24.4%	10.0%	3.4%	11.6%
Van Buren County	7K	24.3%	8.0%	10.2%	15.1%
Jackson County	19K	24.0%	10.5%	5.2%	9.7%
Cherokee County	12K	23.3%	7.0%	5.7%	12.1%
Dubuque County	99K	23.3%	8.0%	6.1%	9.7%
Story County	100K	23.1%	4.6%	5.8%	18.2%
Cedar County	18K	22.6%	6.5%	2.6%	7.3%
Mitchell County	11K	22.3%	7.7%	3.0%	9.5%
Pocahontas County	7K	22.3%	7.6%	4.6%	10.3%
Floyd County	15K	22.2%	8.3%	6.7%	11.6%
Dallas County	108K	22.1%	5.5%	2.9%	6.3%
Union County	12K	22.1%	17.4%	5.9%	12.4%
Shelby County	12K	21.9%	7.3%	3.2%	7.6%
Cerro Gordo County	43K	21.6%	9.0%	5.0%	10.6%
Montgomery County	10K	20.7%	14.5%	4.0%	15.3%
Franklin County	10K	19.7%	6.9%	4.1%	13.6%
Harrison County	15K	19.7%	6.5%	4.1%	7.1%
Madison County	17K	19.7%	6.1%	6.6%	7.0%
Polk County	503K	19.4%	9.8%	5.8%	10.3%
Woodbury County	106K	19.2%	12.6%	6.1%	14.0%
Kossuth County	15K	18.7%	4.6%	6.1%	8.2%
Greene County	9K	18.6%	8.2%	3.2%	9.8%
Jefferson County	16K	18.5%	12.9%	7.5%	15.2%
Benton County	26K	17.0%	4.8%	3.3%	7.4%
Muscatine County	43K	17.0%	12.1%	3.8%	13.7%
Buena Vista County	21K	16.6%	10.0%	1.7%	7.8%
Monona County	9K	16.3%	8.8%	4.2%	10.6%
Jasper County	38K	16.2%	7.4%	4.4%	8.3%
Marion County	34K	15.9%	7.9%	3.4%	8.2%
Plymouth County	26K	15.9%	6.6%	3.8%	6.9%
Appanoose County	12K	15.7%	13.3%	6.9%	17.5%
Jones County	21K	15.6%	10.6%	3.0%	12.0%
Tama County	17K	15.4%	9.6%	2.5%	14.8%
Clay County	16K	14.9%	9.4%	5.5%	11.4%
Buchanan County	21K	14.1%	6.6%	6.6%	8.6%
Scott County	175K	13.9%	10.3%	6.7%	11.5%
Mills County	15K	13.3%	6.5%	4.8%	8.2%
Lyon County	12K	12.8%	3.2%	3.6%	5.3%
Chickasaw County	12K	12.6%	5.0%	3.0%	8.8%
Wright County	13K	12.4%	9.5%	4.4%	16.8%
O'Brien County	14K	12.0%	7.7%	4.7%	13.3%
Delaware County	18K	11.3%	8.5%	8.5%	7.8%
Guthrie County	11K	11.3%	7.9%	4.0%	9.9%
Sac County	10K	11.2%	7.5%	5.3%	9.2%
Allamakee County	14K	10.9%	8.3%	3.7%	10.1%
Davis County	9K	10.9%	6.7%	15.6%	7.2%
Ringgold County	5K	10.9%	13.1%	6.0%	8.8%
Page County	15K	10.7%	12.8%	7.5%	13.8%
Winneshiek County	20K	10.7%	3.1%	4.5%	8.4%
Boone County	27K	10.1%	4.8%	5.5%	6.2%
Bremer County	25K	10.0%	5.3%	2.6%	7.3%
Hamilton County	15K	10.0%	8.0%	4.7%	7.4%
Decatur County	8K	9.9%	9.7%	7.5%	14.6%
Hancock County	11K	9.6%	6.5%	5.1%	12.2%
Clarke County	10K	9.2%	11.5%	12.5%	9.7%
Carroll County	21K	8.9%	5.9%	4.9%	7.9%
Monroe County	8K	8.9%	7.8%	5.6%	9.2%
Washington County	23K	8.9%	8.1%	4.8%	8.2%
Hardin County	17K	8.6%	8.4%	5.3%	9.7%
Johnson County	157K	8.6%	6.0%	7.1%	17.1%
Dickinson County	18K	8.4%	4.5%	4.4%	7.6%
Worth County	7K	8.1%	6.7%	4.6%	8.2%
Adair County	7K	8.0%	9.8%	4.4%	9.5%
Winnebago County	11K	7.8%	10.0%	5.8%	11.2%
Audubon County	6K	7.4%	8.4%	7.6%	11.8%
Butler County	14K	6.9%	7.0%	3.6%	9.2%
Adams County	4K	6.4%	9.5%	5.5%	9.1%
Poweshiek County	19K	6.1%	9.4%	7.2%	10.7%
Iowa County	17K	5.1%	6.5%	3.5%	8.9%
Taylor County	6K	4.2%	10.1%	4.3%	11.0%
Fayette County	19K	4.0%	8.3%	5.7%	12.0%
Clayton County	17K	2.5%	6.7%	6.9%	10.9%
Sioux County	36K	1.5%	2.8%	2.9%	6.7%
Ida County	7K	1.3%	7.6%	4.6%	11.3%
Louisa County	11K	1.1%	13.7%	5.5%	9.8%
Grundy County	12K	0.0%	4.4%	3.2%	6.5%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

20.0% of Iowa residents, about 608K people, live in a low-access area.
85 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 173K low-income, low-access residents.
8.8% of households receive SNAP, and 5.4% have no vehicle.
Fremont County has the state's highest low-access share at 76.0%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of Iowa has low food access?▼

20.0% of Iowa residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).

How many food deserts are in Iowa?▼

85 census tracts in Iowa are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 173K low-income residents.

What is the SNAP participation rate in Iowa?▼

Across Iowa counties, an average of 8.8% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.

Which county in Iowa has the worst food access?▼

Fremont County has the highest low-access share in Iowa at 76.0%, with 11.7% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of 2026-06-23 (most recent source-data vintage).

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