The local economy of Iowa and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
3.2%
August 2026, 3.5% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,301
Q1 2026, 1,537,509 jobs
New homes permitted
12,933
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
-1,538
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Iowa, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Iowa is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in Iowa was 3.2% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 3.5% a year earlier. 1,669,600 people were employed out of a labor force of 1,724,263. Among its counties, Adair County had the lowest rate (2.1%) and Allamakee County the highest (5.7%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Iowa was $1,301 in Q1 2026, up 3.9% from a year earlier, across 1,537,509 jobs at 110,818 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 1,142 new homes in Iowa in August 2026 (682 single-family and 384 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 8,831, down 2.9% from the same months last year, and 12,933 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Polk County (3,528), Johnson County (1,414), Dallas County (1,045) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 57,647 people moved to Iowa and 59,185 moved away, a net loss of 1,538 (-0.6 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, and most people who left went to Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for Iowa. In its region, Midwest, regular gasoline averaged $4.29 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.