How it works
This random city in Iowa picker holds the 607 cities of 250 people or more in the Census Bureau's 2025 estimates, out of 939 in the state. A city of a few hundred comes up as often as Des Moines.
Read the full guide
Why the cards stop at 250 people
Iowa has 332 cities smaller than that, and 119 of them have under 100 people. The cards run from Des Moines down to Fenton, in Kossuth County, with exactly 250. A card's rank counts all 939.
Ninety-nine counties and a dozen misleading names
Every county has a city on the cards. The County list has room for 80, the ones with the largest cities. Twelve cities have the exact name of a county they are not in: Des Moines is in Polk County, while the largest city of Des Moines County is Burlington. Iowa City and Sioux City mislead too: Iowa City is in Johnson County, not Iowa County, and Sioux City in Woodbury County.
- West Des Moines spreads over four counties, so its card says mostly in Polk County.
- Maharishi Vedic City, in Jefferson County, was incorporated in 2001, the first new Iowa city since 1982. It has 281 people.
Questions and answers
How many cities are in Iowa?
Iowa has 939 incorporated cities in the Census Bureau's 2025 estimates. Only 41 have 10,000 people or more and three have 100,000, while 503 have under 500.
What is the difference between a city and a town in Iowa?
In law Iowa has no towns: every incorporated place is called a city, whatever its population. A place people call a town is either a small city or an unincorporated community.
What is the smallest city in Iowa?
Le Roy, in Decatur County, with 10 people in the 2025 estimates, then Beaconsfield in Ringgold County with 14. Both are too small for a card here.
What are the largest cities in Iowa?
Des Moines, the capital, with 212,086 people, then Cedar Rapids with 137,935, Davenport with 100,358, Sioux City with 86,356 and Ankeny with 77,833.