In Medill's 2026 data, Iowa has 210 newspapers, 8 digital-only news sites, 4 public broadcasters and 12 local TV newsrooms. None of its 99 counties is a news desert, and 25 have only one source. That is 6.5 newspapers for every 100,000 residents, against 1.6 nationally.
Want to know whether your story would run? Todd Simon, National PR Director, will tell you on a strategy call.
Book a call with Todd| Measure | Iowa | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Newspapers | 210 | 5,523 |
| Digital-only news sites | 8 | 1,926 |
| Public broadcasters | 4 | 342 |
| Local TV newsrooms | 12 | 678 |
| Newspapers per 100,000 residents | 6.5 | 1.6 |
| Counties with no local news source | 0 | 238 |
| Counties with only one | 25 | 1,478 |
| Counties | 99 | 3,144 |
How Iowa compares
- Iowa has 6.5 newspapers for every 100,000 residents, the 4th highest of the 50 states and DC. The national figure is 1.6.
- Iowa is one of 10 states where every county has at least one local news source.
- The county with the most local news sources is Polk, with 11.
Map: local news by county
Code to put this map on your site
Every county in Iowa
| County | Newspapers | Digital sites | Public broadcasters | Local TV | Local news sources | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adair | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Adams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Allamakee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Appanoose | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Audubon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Benton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Black Hawk | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | Two or more |
| Boone | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Bremer | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Buchanan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Buena Vista | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Butler | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Calhoun | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Carroll | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Cass | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Cedar | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Cerro Gordo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | Two or more |
| Cherokee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Chickasaw | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Clarke | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Clay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Clayton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Clinton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Crawford | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Dallas | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Davis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Decatur | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Delaware | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Des Moines | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Dickinson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Dubuque | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Emmet | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Fayette | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Floyd | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Franklin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Fremont | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Greene | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Grundy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Guthrie | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Hamilton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Hancock | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Hardin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Harrison | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Henry | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Howard | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Humboldt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Ida | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Iowa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Jackson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Jasper | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Jefferson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Johnson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Jones | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Keokuk | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Kossuth | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Lee | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Linn | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | Two or more |
| Louisa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Lucas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Lyon | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Madison | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Mahaska | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Marion | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Marshall | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Mills | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Mitchell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Monona | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Monroe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Montgomery | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Muscatine | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| O'Brien | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Osceola | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Page | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Palo Alto | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Plymouth | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Pocahontas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Polk | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 11 | Two or more |
| Pottawattamie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Poweshiek | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Ringgold | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Sac | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Scott | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | Two or more |
| Shelby | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Sioux | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | Two or more |
| Story | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | Two or more |
| Tama | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Taylor | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Union | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Van Buren | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Wapello | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Two or more |
| Warren | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Washington | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Wayne | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Webster | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Winnebago | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Winneshiek | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Woodbury | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | Two or more |
| Worth | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Wright | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
Neighboring states
Iowa borders Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Closest to Iowa (6.5) on newspapers per 100,000 residents: Nebraska (6.4) and Wyoming (6.6).
Use this data
Iowa alone: Iowa by county, 2026 (CSV). Every county in the country is in one file: news outlets by county, 2026 (CSV). State totals are in news outlets by state (CSV) and news deserts by state (CSV). Credit the Medill Local News Initiative for the figures, and link to this page or to news deserts by state, which has every state side by side and a lookup you can put on your own site.
Put these figures on your site
You are welcome to embed this card on your own site. It shows Iowa's figures from Medill's 2026 data and links back to this page. Copy this code. On narrow pages, raise the height to 500.
Getting a story onto local news sites
A feature story placed through a syndication network can run on local news sites in many states at once. How to get your brand on local news sites explains how that works, and local news statistics has the national picture.
Questions
How many news deserts are in Iowa?
None. Every one of its 99 counties has at least one local news source in Medill's 2026 data.
How many newspapers are in Iowa?
210, in Medill's 2026 data. That is 6.5 for every 100,000 residents, against 1.6 for the whole country.
Which Iowa county has the most local news sources?
Polk, with 11: 2 newspapers, 4 digital sites, 1 public broadcaster and 4 local TV newsrooms, in Medill's 2026 data.
How this page was made
Outlet counts and news deserts come from the Medill Local News Initiative's 2026 data: the state figures on its map (read November 8, 2026) and the outlet list and county data behind it (read November 9). NewsUSA counted the outlets by county and checked on every build that the counties add up to Medill's state figures. Population is the US Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate. How these guides are made.