Local government spending in Iowa
The 50 largest counties, cities and townships in Iowa with fully reported figures, out of 740 in this data. Schools, hospitals and utilities are often run by separate districts, so a total here is not comparable between places. Compare one service at a time. A zero means this government reported no spending on that service; another government may provide it.
Largest governments
| Government | Residents | FY2022 spending | Police per resident | Fire per resident | Roads per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polk County | 494,281 | $715.5 million | $42 | $2 | $38 |
| Linn County | 227,854 | $139.7 million | $58 | $0 | $80 |
| Des Moines | 212,312 | $646.5 million | $359 | $222 | $601 |
| Cedar Rapids | 134,027 | $495.7 million | $387 | $175 | $178 |
| Black Hawk County | 130,786 | $55.1 million | $37 | $0 | $30 |
| Woodbury County | 103,138 | $84.8 million | $60 | $0 | $84 |
| Davenport | 101,799 | $160.2 million | $287 | $207 | $176 |
| Story County | 98,237 | $76.2 million | $63 | $0 | $67 |
| Dubuque County | 97,590 | $58.2 million | $74 | $0 | $119 |
| Dallas County | 96,963 | $83.8 million | $79 | $0 | $105 |
| Pottawattamie County | 93,328 | $95.9 million | $143 | $0 | $160 |
| Sioux City | 82,759 | $248.2 million | $292 | $243 | $408 |
| Iowa City | 76,608 | $139.9 million | $182 | $119 | $119 |
| Ankeny | 70,068 | $109.0 million | $181 | $59 | $424 |
| West Des Moines | 69,057 | $126.2 million | $209 | $164 | $138 |
| Waterloo | 67,292 | $190.4 million | $298 | $197 | $328 |
| Ames | 67,033 | $375.8 million | $144 | $116 | $297 |
| Council Bluffs | 62,216 | $184.2 million | $320 | $226 | $134 |
| Dubuque | 57,781 | $154.0 million | $265 | $175 | $140 |
| Clinton County | 46,392 | $32.7 million | $81 | $0 | $182 |
| Urbandale | 44,650 | $70.6 million | $227 | $183 | $131 |
| Muscatine County | 42,394 | $31.5 million | $122 | $0 | $153 |
| Cerro Gordo County | 42,103 | $35.6 million | $88 | $1 | $240 |
| Marion | 40,780 | $84.1 million | $196 | $145 | $114 |
| Cedar Falls | 40,231 | $176.6 million | $170 | $111 | $402 |
| Des Moines County | 38,708 | $30.8 million | $86 | $0 | $204 |
| Bettendorf | 36,665 | $53.6 million | $227 | $133 | $89 |
| Webster County | 35,934 | $16.5 million | $103 | $0 | $292 |
| Sioux County | 35,043 | $22.8 million | $67 | $0 | $236 |
| Mason City | 26,682 | $64.1 million | $264 | $141 | $136 |
| Waukee | 26,166 | $77.9 million | $167 | $42 | $862 |
| Plymouth County | 25,219 | $21.9 million | $99 | $0 | $427 |
| Clinton | 25,039 | $54.4 million | $282 | $232 | $362 |
| Burlington | 24,516 | $59.5 million | $245 | $150 | $628 |
| Ottumwa | 24,375 | $63.2 million | $258 | $147 | $321 |
| Fort Dodge | 23,906 | $78.8 million | $216 | $178 | $122 |
| Muscatine | 23,523 | $186.9 million | $237 | $233 | $479 |
| Johnston | 23,092 | $48.7 million | $209 | $48 | $111 |
| Coralville | 22,484 | $76.8 million | $208 | $43 | $401 |
| Mahaska County | 22,370 | $89.7 million | $52 | $0 | $451 |
| Washington County | 21,992 | $70.9 million | $108 | $1 | $410 |
| Carroll County | 19,914 | $29.7 million | $96 | $0 | $378 |
| Winneshiek County | 19,862 | $102.2 million | $162 | $0 | $571 |
| Henry County | 19,697 | $39.9 million | $199 | $0 | $305 |
| Altoona | 19,503 | $56.0 million | $284 | $149 | $336 |
| Fayette County | 19,258 | $16.0 million | $244 | $0 | $35 |
| Jackson County | 19,205 | $37.5 million | $112 | $0 | $361 |
| Jefferson County | 18,347 | $72.9 million | $101 | $0 | $311 |
| Dickinson County | 17,549 | $76.6 million | $101 | $0 | $423 |
| Clive | 17,444 | $31.9 million | $267 | $106 | $249 |
How to read this
Per-resident figures are our calculation: spending divided by the population Census lists.
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Source and coverage
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments, individual unit file (revision 07/15/2026). Our per-resident figures are our own calculation; the Census Bureau has not reviewed or sanctioned them. Census has not reviewed unit data as a time series, and the data may contain non-sampling error.
Census unit file. Covers counties, cities and townships for fiscal year 2022 only, not a trend. Governments where Census estimated part of the spending are left out, so a missing place is not a zero: about 14,200 of 38,400 are absent for that reason. Pushbuild is not affiliated with any government listed.