Iowa Facts for Kids

A Map of the U.S. state Iowa
  • U.S. State: Iowa
  • Abbreviation: IA
  • Joined the USA: December 27th, 1846 (29th State)
  • Located: Midwestern United States
  • Capital City: Des Moines, IA
  • Most Populated City: Des Moines, IA

31 Iowa Facts for Kids

  1. Iowa is a state in the United States of America.
  2. Iowa is in the midwestern region of the United States.
  3. Iowa became a U.S. state on Sunday, December 27th, 1846.
  4. Iowa was the 29th state to join the United States.
  5. The U.S. state of Iowa covers 56,272 square miles.
  6. Iowa is the 26th largest state by area in the United States.
  7. In 2019, the population of Iowa was estimated to be 3,155,000 residents by the U.S. Census Bureau.
  8. In 2019, Iowa was the 31st most populated state in the United States.
  9. A person who is from or lives in Iowa is called an Iowan.
  10. The capital city of Iowa is Des Moines.
  11. The four most populated cities in Iowa are Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Sioux City.
  12. The largest city by population in Iowa is Des Moines.
  13. The largest metropolitan area in Iowa is the Des Moines metropolitan area.
  14. The U.S. state of Iowa has 99 counties.
  15. The most populated county in Iowa is Polk County with 490,161 residents (2019, U.S. Census Bureau).
  16. The largest county by area in Iowa is Kossuth County with 973 square miles.
  17. The highest elevation point in Iowa is Hawkeye Point at 1,671 feet above sea level.
  18. The lowest elevation point in Iowa is the confluence of Mississippi and Des Moines River at 480′ above sea level.
  19. The average precipitation (rain and snow) in Iowa is 34.5 inches.
  20. Iowa is the 33rd wettest state by precipitation (rain and snow) in the United States.
  21. The average temperature in Iowa is 48.1 °F.
  22. The warmest temperature ever recorded in Iowa was 118 °F on July 20th, 1934.
  23. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Iowa was -47 °F on February 3rd, 1996.
  24. A few natural disasters that can affect Iowa are blizzards, hail, heat waves, ice storms, river flooding, thunderstorms and tornadoes.
  25. Iowa is in one time zone, Central Time Zone (CT).
  26. Iowa is known as the “Hawkeye State”.
  27. The motto of the U.S. state of Iowa is “Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain”.
  28. The USPS abbreviation for Iowa is IA.
  29. The official state bird of Iowa is the eastern goldfinch (Spinus tristis).
  30. The official state flower of Iowa is the wild rose (Rosa acicularis).
  31. The official state tree of Iowa is the oak tree (Quercus).

Additional Resources on Iowa

  • About Iowa – Learn more about the U.S. state of Iowa on the 50 States website.
  • History of Iowa – Discover the history of Iowa on the Iowa State Government website.
  • Facts About Iowa – Find more facts about Iowa on the Info Please website.
  • Iowa – Britannica – Read the Britannica entry on the U.S. state of Iowa to learn more about it.

About the author
Facts Editor

This is an author profile for articles that are created from a collaborative effort. It is not uncommon that articles on this site were either written, researched or fact checked by several authors and team members. So this author profile will be displayed to reflect that. Our team of editors, writers and fact checkers do extensive research before publishing articles on the site, and we do our best to provide the most accurate information possible.