Languages Spoken in Iowa: Map and County Data

31.3%

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about 216,000 people age 5 and older in Iowa speak a language other than English at home, representing 7.4% of the state’s population age 5+. Spanish is the most spoken non-English language, with about 115,000 speakers, followed by German and Chinese.

Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Iowa

The most spoken non-English languages in Iowa are Spanish, German, and Chinese. Spanish is spoken at home by about 115,000 people, or roughly 4.0% of the state’s population age 5+.

#1 non-English language

Spanish

About 115,000 speakers

#2 non-English language

German

About 12,500 speakers

#3 non-English language

Chinese

About 11,400 speakers

Key Language Findings for Iowa

About 216,000 people in Iowa speak a language other than English at home, representing 7.4% of residents age 5 and older.

The most spoken non-English languages in Iowa are Spanish, German, and Chinese.

Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in Iowa, with about 115,000 speakers, representing roughly 4.0% of residents age 5 and older.

Polk County has the largest Spanish-speaking population in Iowa, with about 24,400 speakers.

Polk County has the largest population speaking a language other than English at home, with more than 52,100 residents.

While Spanish is the most spoken non-English language statewide, another language leads in 15 of the 99 Iowa counties, including Chinese in Story County.

How Language Use Varies Across Iowa Counties

Language patterns differ sharply by county. Spanish is the leading non-English language across most of Iowa, but county-level rankings show large local communities speaking German, Chinese, Serbo-Croatian, African languages, Vietnamese, other West Germanic languages, other Asian languages, and other languages.

Polk County has the largest number of residents speaking a language other than English at home, while Buena Vista County has the highest share relative to its age-5+ population, at 31.3%. In Story County, Chinese is the leading non-English language, showing how statewide rankings can differ substantially at the local level.

English Proficiency and Language Access in Iowa

Speaking a language other than English at home does not necessarily mean someone has limited English proficiency. Census table B16001 also separates language groups by whether residents report speaking English "very well" or less than "very well," providing additional context for organizations planning language access services. For a broader look at limited English proficiency across the country, explore Boostlingo's LEP State Map.

Plan Language Access Around the Communities You Serve

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Most Spoken Languages in Iowa by County

Search or sort the full county dataset to compare the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home and the six most spoken non-English languages in each county.

County	% Other Language	Other-Language Speakers	#1 Language	#2 Language	#3 Language	#4 Language	#5 Language	#6 Language	Population Age 5+
Buena Vista County	31.3%	5,944	Spanish 4,315	Laotian 674	Hmong 318	Vietnamese 128	Other Asian 126	African languages 109	18,961
Crawford County	23.4%	3,724	Spanish 3,580	Other West Germanic 52	Japanese 26	Other Asian 25	German 15	African languages 9	15,916
Marshall County	19.3%	7,361	Spanish 6,163	Other Asian 467	Chinese 216	Arabic 123	Thai 122	African languages 66	38,072
Davis County	18.7%	1,501	Other West Germanic 825	German 556	Spanish 92	Russian 7	Tagalog / Filipino 7	Korean 5	8,026
Louisa County	16.0%	1,708	Spanish 1,423	Chinese 137	Other Indic 71	Other Asian 38	Polish 13	Other Native North American 12	10,662
Woodbury County	15.4%	14,572	Spanish 11,280	Vietnamese 1,555	African languages 313	Chinese 213	Laotian 200	German 186	94,851
Muscatine County	14.7%	5,879	Spanish 4,947	Chinese 153	German 123	Laotian 79	French 74	Other Asian 72	40,002
Jefferson County	14.2%	2,347	Hindi 810	Chinese 526	Spanish 398	Other Indic 117	Serbo-Croatian 104	African languages 75	16,523
Johnson County	13.9%	18,133	Spanish 5,303	Chinese 3,367	German 1,342	Arabic 1,287	Korean 983	French 783	130,867
Polk County	12.4%	52,145	Spanish 24,417	Serbo-Croatian 4,751	African languages 3,773	Other Asian 2,599	Vietnamese 2,555	Laotian 1,936	419,225
Wapello County	12.1%	3,997	Spanish 3,128	African languages 217	Vietnamese 104	Laotian 92	French 88	Arabic 77	33,132
Clarke County	10.3%	886	Spanish 757	German 76	Korean 18	Chinese 11	Other West Germanic 10	French 5	8,631
Franklin County	10.0%	985	Spanish 880	Other Indo-European 54	Other West Germanic 13	Tagalog / Filipino 10	German 8	Japanese 8	9,881
Tama County	10.0%	1,640	Spanish 961	Other Native North American 570	Other Slavic 29	Vietnamese 24	French 21	German 12	16,446
Story County	9.7%	8,629	Chinese 3,064	Spanish 1,898	Arabic 462	Other Asian 407	Korean 370	Other Indic 288	88,891
Dallas County	9.5%	6,505	Spanish 3,414	Vietnamese 518	Other Asian 470	Serbo-Croatian 388	Arabic 320	Other Indic 311	68,669
Sioux County	9.3%	2,966	Spanish 2,524	Other West Germanic 189	German 55	Chinese 51	Korean 30	Other / unspecified 29	31,908
Washington County	8.7%	1,787	Spanish 855	German 603	Other West Germanic 125	Chinese 68	Russian 27	African languages 27	20,603
Emmet County	8.4%	786	Spanish 734	German 13	Hindi 13	Other West Germanic 11	French 6	Scandinavian 5	9,388
Taylor County	8.3%	489	Spanish 430	Chinese 18	German 12	French 6	Japanese 5	Vietnamese 5	5,890
Osceola County	7.9%	463	Spanish 397	Chinese 16	Portuguese 15	German 12	French 8	Other West Germanic 7	5,863
Hamilton County	7.8%	1,138	Spanish 740	Laotian 144	Tagalog / Filipino 71	Hindi 64	French 33	Scandinavian 32	14,550
Wright County	7.7%	942	Spanish 861	Other Indic 20	Polish 16	French 11	German 9	Tagalog / Filipino 5	12,175
Allamakee County	7.6%	996	Spanish 650	Hebrew 85	German 81	Yiddish 52	Other Slavic 47	French 23	13,180
Wayne County	7.5%	447	German 361	Other West Germanic 40	Spanish 19	Other Native North American 8	French Creole 5	Tagalog / Filipino 4	5,962
Black Hawk County	7.4%	9,150	Spanish 3,641	Serbo-Croatian 2,130	Arabic 470	German 414	Other Asian 367	French 281	124,243
Decatur County	6.8%	530	German 246	Spanish 129	Other West Germanic 93	Tagalog / Filipino 23	Portuguese 13	French 10	7,801
Ringgold County	6.6%	312	German 191	Other West Germanic 88	Spanish 24	Other Indic 9	—	—	4,755
Pottawattamie County	6.5%	5,634	Spanish 4,616	French 220	German 178	Tagalog / Filipino 140	Chinese 109	Other Slavic 72	87,136
Van Buren County	6.3%	440	German 254	Other West Germanic 121	Spanish 52	French 8	Korean 3	Greek 2	6,961
Buchanan County	5.9%	1,154	German 780	Spanish 209	French 31	Russian 27	Chinese 22	Greek 19	19,600
Lucas County	5.7%	467	Russian 268	Other Slavic 100	German 72	Spanish 12	Other West Germanic 11	Japanese 4	8,255
Scott County	5.7%	8,969	Spanish 4,343	Vietnamese 929	Other Asian 664	German 425	French 326	Hindi 299	158,682
Floyd County	5.6%	845	Spanish 269	Other West Germanic 231	German 179	African languages 56	Tagalog / Filipino 39	Thai 28	15,120
Mitchell County	5.5%	553	Other West Germanic 342	German 122	Spanish 62	French 12	Vietnamese 5	Other / unspecified 4	10,134
Henry County	5.4%	1,011	Spanish 564	Laotian 170	Tagalog / Filipino 96	German 69	Vietnamese 34	Chinese 20	18,864
Howard County	5.3%	468	Other West Germanic 190	German 134	Spanish 69	Other Slavic 39	Other Indo-European 16	Scandinavian 11	8,850
Winnebago County	4.7%	473	Spanish 181	Scandinavian 84	Chinese 52	German 41	Other Native North American 30	Tagalog / Filipino 25	10,040
Plymouth County	4.6%	1,077	Spanish 857	French 73	German 34	Tagalog / Filipino 32	Other Pacific Island 26	Russian 20	23,332
Poweshiek County	4.6%	815	Spanish 391	Russian 77	Japanese 61	Chinese 55	French 40	African languages 31	17,758
Linn County	4.5%	9,064	Spanish 3,693	Chinese 702	French 647	German 604	Other Asian 457	Hindi 452	202,706
O'Brien County	4.4%	585	Spanish 474	Serbo-Croatian 27	Laotian 18	German 13	Chinese 12	Other Asian 11	13,273
Iowa County	4.3%	671	Spanish 309	German 209	Scandinavian 58	French 40	Other West Germanic 23	Yiddish 18	15,437
Chickasaw County	4.0%	456	Spanish 251	Other West Germanic 116	Tagalog / Filipino 31	Other Slavic 27	German 14	Scandinavian 7	11,531
Union County	4.0%	476	Spanish 187	Other West Germanic 115	German 75	African languages 41	French 30	Japanese 17	11,774
Marion County	3.8%	1,171	Spanish 469	Serbo-Croatian 171	Laotian 107	Hmong 73	Chinese 61	Tagalog / Filipino 58	31,165
Dubuque County	3.7%	3,299	Spanish 1,487	German 286	Other Pacific Island 274	Chinese 176	Vietnamese 163	French 146	89,953
Montgomery County	3.6%	354	Spanish 304	German 20	French 14	Italian 10	Other West Germanic 3	Other Pacific Island 3	9,875
Pocahontas County	3.6%	242	Spanish 157	Other West Germanic 30	German 29	French 11	Vietnamese 4	Other Pacific Island 4	6,751
Cerro Gordo County	3.5%	1,418	Spanish 773	Laotian 147	German 125	Greek 69	Other Indo-European 53	Other Indic 44	41,100
Hardin County	3.5%	578	Spanish 392	German 55	Serbo-Croatian 32	Japanese 32	Greek 13	Other Slavic 11	16,478
Monroe County	3.5%	266	Spanish 125	German 111	Russian 20	Vietnamese 10	—	—	7,568
Webster County	3.5%	1,239	Spanish 660	Korean 212	African languages 85	German 71	Gujarati 55	Vietnamese 32	35,150
Winneshiek County	3.5%	693	Spanish 349	Other Asian 125	German 60	Other Slavic 33	African languages 31	Scandinavian 29	19,952
Cherokee County	3.4%	382	Spanish 306	German 36	Russian 16	Tagalog / Filipino 10	Scandinavian 7	Japanese 4	11,224
Clay County	3.4%	519	Spanish 335	Thai 49	German 40	Other Pacific Island 38	Scandinavian 17	African languages 11	15,461
Clinton County	3.2%	1,447	Spanish 853	German 129	Russian 85	French 45	Korean 45	Other Indo-European 42	45,417
Humboldt County	3.2%	291	Spanish 229	Chinese 16	German 12	Scandinavian 10	Italian 9	Other Pacific Island 6	9,114
Palo Alto County	3.2%	275	Spanish 164	French 38	German 27	African languages 23	Tagalog / Filipino 15	Vietnamese 4	8,649
Bremer County	3.1%	712	Spanish 245	German 183	African languages 58	Laotian 47	Japanese 32	Tagalog / Filipino 32	23,246
Clayton County	3.1%	528	Spanish 270	German 97	African languages 76	Other West Germanic 28	Scandinavian 11	Other Slavic 9	16,806
Page County	3.1%	446	Spanish 306	German 29	African languages 28	Japanese 23	Other Native North American 22	French 19	14,603
Shelby County	3.1%	349	Spanish 242	French 22	German 16	Other Slavic 16	Chinese 12	Scandinavian 11	11,334
Hancock County	3.0%	309	Spanish 197	German 59	French 13	Other Slavic 10	Scandinavian 8	Other Pacific Island 8	10,468
Jones County	2.6%	504	Spanish 330	Vietnamese 47	German 44	Tagalog / Filipino 23	African languages 18	Polish 14	19,489
Lyon County	2.6%	285	Spanish 204	German 53	Other West Germanic 16	Scandinavian 7	Other Pacific Island 2	Chinese 1	10,872
Boone County	2.5%	614	Spanish 389	French 75	German 52	Chinese 43	Japanese 28	Serbo-Croatian 10	24,959
Carroll County	2.5%	482	Spanish 354	French 36	Other West Germanic 31	German 14	Hungarian 14	Chinese 12	19,283
Des Moines County	2.5%	948	Spanish 400	German 147	Arabic 55	Hebrew 53	Tagalog / Filipino 48	Italian 47	37,729
Delaware County	2.4%	390	Spanish 244	German 104	Portuguese 17	Vietnamese 9	Other West Germanic 8	Korean 4	16,437
Fayette County	2.4%	462	German 147	Spanish 136	Other Indic 40	Portuguese 28	Other Asian 15	French 12	19,370
Lee County	2.4%	814	Spanish 365	German 160	Italian 80	Gujarati 73	Chinese 53	Korean 18	33,291
Mahaska County	2.4%	511	Spanish 187	Other West Germanic 91	Japanese 60	Tagalog / Filipino 41	African languages 28	Korean 17	20,995
Sac County	2.4%	228	Spanish 186	German 21	French 13	Tagalog / Filipino 6	Other Indo-European 2	—	9,574
Appanoose County	2.3%	276	German 85	Spanish 84	Chinese 29	Other West Germanic 23	Scandinavian 23	Tagalog / Filipino 15	11,929
Fremont County	2.3%	153	Spanish 125	Other West Germanic 9	German 6	Scandinavian 6	French 4	Other Indo-European 3	6,688
Worth County	2.3%	165	Spanish 115	Scandinavian 17	Arabic 16	German 9	Urdu 3	Korean 3	7,159
Cass County	2.2%	279	Spanish 174	Other Pacific Island 28	Scandinavian 27	French 24	German 12	Other Asian 9	12,787
Cedar County	2.2%	379	Spanish 160	Vietnamese 82	German 56	Other Indo-European 53	Other Indic 17	Korean 4	17,395
Jackson County	2.2%	409	German 175	Spanish 100	Other Pacific Island 47	Tagalog / Filipino 40	Chinese 27	Scandinavian 12	18,545
Warren County	2.2%	990	Spanish 456	German 166	Other Pacific Island 81	Serbo-Croatian 61	French 37	Scandinavian 29	44,628
Kossuth County	2.1%	300	Spanish 215	German 26	Thai 19	Chinese 15	French 11	Other Native North American 4	14,416
Monona County	2.1%	181	Spanish 134	French 40	German 3	Other West Germanic 3	Other Slavic 1	—	8,665
Dickinson County	2.0%	320	Spanish 216	German 48	Scandinavian 14	Other Native North American 10	Hindi 8	French 6	16,073
Greene County	2.0%	178	Spanish 108	Japanese 22	Chinese 10	Italian 9	Other West Germanic 9	German 5	8,688
Guthrie County	2.0%	204	Spanish 135	German 18	French 14	Scandinavian 13	Vietnamese 12	Other Native North American 6	10,172
Jasper County	2.0%	694	Spanish 265	German 122	Chinese 107	Other West Germanic 62	Laotian 50	Other Pacific Island 15	34,703
Mills County	2.0%	282	Spanish 164	German 50	French 35	Italian 12	Tagalog / Filipino 8	Scandinavian 6	14,060
Benton County	1.9%	450	Spanish 250	German 66	French 57	Other Indic 30	Other Slavic 26	Other Asian 9	24,260
Grundy County	1.8%	211	Spanish 95	German 80	French 11	Scandinavian 10	Thai 6	Italian 4	11,613
Madison County	1.8%	261	Spanish 111	German 42	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 41	Other Slavic 21	Tagalog / Filipino 13	Vietnamese 12	14,678
Butler County	1.7%	235	German 117	Other Asian 44	Spanish 35	Japanese 9	Yiddish 8	French 7	14,050
Keokuk County	1.7%	165	Spanish 82	Polish 27	Greek 16	Other Native North American 13	German 9	Tagalog / Filipino 9	9,675
Harrison County	1.6%	220	Spanish 128	German 42	Tagalog / Filipino 13	Portuguese 11	French 5	Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 5	13,668
Ida County	1.6%	109	Spanish 70	German 15	Tagalog / Filipino 11	French 5	Other Pacific Island 4	Italian 3	6,609
Adair County	1.2%	87	Spanish 44	German 24	Tagalog / Filipino 6	Russian 5	Other Pacific Island 5	French 2	7,067
Calhoun County	1.2%	110	Spanish 74	German 24	Thai 5	Arabic 3	Chinese 2	Tagalog / Filipino 2	9,349
Audubon County	1.1%	64	Spanish 32	Scandinavian 11	Vietnamese 9	Tagalog / Filipino 5	German 3	Portuguese 2	5,589
Adams County	0.8%	31	Spanish 24	African languages 7	—	—	—	—	3,651

No counties found.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2011–2015 5-Year Estimates, Table B16001 · Population age 5 and over

About the Data

Data on this page comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2011–2015 5-Year Estimates, table B16001, Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over. Statewide and county estimates use the same Census table so the figures can be compared consistently across the page.

The estimates describe languages spoken at home among residents age 5 and older. Census estimates include margins of error, particularly for smaller counties and less common language groups.

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Languages Spoken in Iowa: Map and County Data

Languages Spoken Across Iowa Counties

Most Spoken Non-English Languages in Iowa

Key Language Findings for Iowa

How Language Use Varies Across Iowa Counties

English Proficiency and Language Access in Iowa

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