Map the Block › Places › Iowa › Howard County
Howard County, Iowa in numbers: crime, income, hazards
The violent-crime rate in Howard County was 1.1 per 1,000 residents (2021-2025 average, FBI), 60% lower than the statewide rate (2.7). The median household earns $67,446 and the unemployment rate was 3.1% in August 2026. It is home to roughly 9,445 residents.
Last updated . Crime: FBI 2021-2025. Income and housing: Census ACS 2020-2024. Unemployment: BLS August 2026. Road work: October 11, 2026.
Also on the map: income · hazard risk · Superfund · dams
What is the crime rate in Howard County?
Police agencies in Howard County reported an average of 10 violent crimes and 37 property crimes a year from 2021 to 2025. That is 1.1 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, 60% lower than the Iowa rate (2.7), and 71% lower than the U.S. rate (3.7). Property crime ran at 4.0 per 1,000, against 13.6 statewide. With this few incidents, one or two cases move the rate a lot from year to year.
| Offense (yearly average, 2021-2025) | Howard County | Per 1,000 | Iowa per 1,000 | U.S. per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 10 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 3.7 |
| Murder | 0 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.06 |
| Rape | 1 | 0.11 | 0.42 | 0.40 |
| Robbery | 0 | 0.00 | 0.20 | 0.62 |
| Aggravated assault | 9 | 0.97 | 2.0 | 2.6 |
| Property crime | 37 | 4.0 | 13.6 | 18.1 |
| Burglary | 13 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| Larceny-theft | 20 | 2.1 | 9.9 | 13.0 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 4 | 0.46 | 1.5 | 2.6 |
Most crime never reaches the police, so these are reported crimes, a floor rather than the full count. In 2024 about half of violent crimes (48%) and about 3 in 10 property crimes (31%) were reported to police (U.S. Justice Department, National Crime Victimization Survey). Rates also depend on how completely each agency reports to the FBI. County figures add up the city police and sheriff reports in the county (2 agencies; 100% of residents covered).
What is the median household income in Howard County?
The median household in Howard County earns $67,446 a year, 10% lower than the Iowa median ($75,059). The typical owner-occupied home is valued at $147,800 by its owners; renters pay a median $713. 6.5% of households received SNAP benefits in the past year (state: 8.8%). The newest monthly figure from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 3.1% for August 2026 (preliminary), with 170 people out of work and looking.
| Census ACS 2020-2024 | Howard County | Iowa | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 9,445 | 3,210,507 | 334,922,499 |
| Median household income | $67,446 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Median home value (owner-occupied) | $147,800 | $208,000 | $332,700 |
| Median gross rent | $713 | $972 | $1,413 |
| Unemployment rate (2020-2024 average) | 1.9% | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| People below the poverty line | 8.9% | 11.1% | 12.5% |
| Households receiving SNAP (food stamps) | 6.5% | 8.8% | 12.1% |
| Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher | 19.5% | 31.4% | 35.7% |
| Homeowner households | 77.4% | 71.7% | 65.2% |
| Median age | 39.2 | 38.6 | 38.9 |
| Households with broadband internet | 85.7% | 88.9% | 91.0% |
| People without health insurance | 10.2% | 5.0% | 8.4% |
What natural hazards and environmental sites are in Howard County?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates the overall natural-hazard risk for Howard County as “Very Low”. None of the seven hazards on our map (floods, wildfire, tornadoes, heat, earthquakes, hurricanes) is rated above “Relatively Moderate” here. The index compares counties with each other and also weighs how vulnerable and resilient a community is, so it is a long-run estimate, not a forecast.
Superfund sites
EPA lists no Superfund site in Howard County, active or completed (October 2026).
Industrial chemical releases
1 facility in the county filed Toxics Release Inventory reports for 2024, together reporting 4,915 pounds of listed chemicals released on site. Reported releases are legal permitted amounts in most cases.
Disasters, air and water
Howard County was covered by 6 federal major disaster declarations from 2016 through 2025 (Severe Storm 3, Flood 3), not counting COVID-19. Of 6 community water systems, none had an open health-based drinking-water violation in EPA's records (September 2026). EPA puts the county in radon zone 1 (highest).
Is there road construction in Howard County?
No highway work zones were listed in Howard County in the October 11, 2026 state feed. Some states publish only part of their road work in open feeds, so check the state's 511 site before you travel. The map's layer refreshes every morning.
See today's work zones on the map →
How many schools, nursing homes and parks are in Howard County?
Federal school lists show 6 public and 2 private schools in the county. 2 nursing homes are certified by Medicare or Medicaid here; star ratings for each are on the map and on Medicare's Care Compare. USGS mapping shows 5 fire or EMS stations and 1 police or sheriff station.
Gun shops, liquor stores and Planned Parenthood in Howard County
Gun shops
One gun shop with a public storefront is on the map in Howard County, plus 9 more licensed dealers without a public storefront (not shown). On the ATF list: Outdoors & More INC (Cresco).
Liquor stores
One liquor store is on the map in Howard County: Cresco liquors (Cresco). Iowa has no complete public liquor licence list we can use, so this count also draws on OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps and may miss some stores or include closed ones.
Planned Parenthood
There is no Planned Parenthood health center in Howard County on the map.
See them on the map: gun shops · liquor stores →
Sources: ATF licensee list (Sept 2026); state liquor licence lists, OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps (non-official; partial in some states); HHS Title X directory and CMS NPPES.
Common questions
What is the crime rate in Howard County?
Howard County averaged 10 reported violent crimes a year in 2021-2025, or 1.1 per 1,000 residents, 60% lower than the Iowa rate (2.7). The property-crime rate was 4.0 per 1,000 (FBI Uniform Crime Reporting).
What is the median household income in Howard County?
$67,446 (Census American Community Survey, 2020-2024 average), compared with $75,059 for Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the unemployment rate in Howard County?
The newest monthly figure from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 3.1% for August 2026 (preliminary), with 170 people out of work and looking.
What natural hazards affect Howard County?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates the overall natural-hazard risk for Howard County as “Very Low”. None of the seven hazards on our map (floods, wildfire, tornadoes, heat, earthquakes, hurricanes) is rated above “Relatively Moderate” here.
Is there road construction in Howard County right now?
No highway work zones were listed in Howard County in the October 11, 2026 state feed. Some states publish only part of their road work in open feeds, so check the state's 511 site before you travel.
How many nursing homes are in Howard County?
2 Medicare- or Medicaid-certified nursing homes (CMS provider data, September 2026).
How does Howard County compare with neighboring counties?
| County | Population | Violent crimes per 1,000 (2021-25) | Median household income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chickasaw County | 11,807 | 1.2 | $75,675 |
| Fillmore County, MN | 21,414 | 0.31 | $77,512 |
| Floyd County | 15,328 | 2.0 | $68,557 |
| Mitchell County | 10,575 | 0.91 | $71,365 |
| Mower County, MN | 40,343 | 1.9 | $73,074 |
| Winneshiek County | 19,873 | 1.3 | $79,066 |
More: Iowa statewide numbers · Sex-offender registry search (U.S. Justice Department, NSOPW)
Where do these numbers come from?
- Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting 2021-2025 (agency level, Return A), averaged and summed by county by Map the Block; Census population; state and national rates: FBI estimated crimes 2021-2025.
- Income, housing, education: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013 (median household income) and related tables.
- Monthly unemployment: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), county data, not seasonally adjusted. Public domain.
- Hazards: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), county scores; disasters: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
- Superfund: U.S. EPA, Superfund site boundaries and NPL status (October 2026). Dams: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Inventory of Dams (public map service, October 2026). Chemical releases: U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory, reporting year 2024 (basic data file).
- Air and water: U.S. EPA AirData, annual AQI by county 2024; EPA Air Quality Design Values 2023-2025 (June 2026); U.S. EPA SDWIS via ECHO drinking-water download (September 30, 2026). Traffic deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2024; Census population.
- Work zones: State departments of transportation, via the U.S. DOT Work Zone Data Exchange (WZDx) and state 511 feeds; refreshed every morning (snapshot October 11, 2026).
- Schools: National Center for Education Statistics, EDGE public school locations 2024-25; budgets: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, fiscal year 2024; National Center for Education Statistics, EDGE Private School geocodes (Private School Survey 2023-24). Nursing homes: U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Nursing Home Provider Information and Penalties (September 2026). Stations: U.S. Geological Survey, National Structures Dataset (Fire Stations/EMS Stations), October 2026 pull.
- Parks: USGS Protected Areas Database of the U.S. (PAD-US 4.1); state park agencies' open data (CA, NY, PA, TN, TX, FL, NJ, KY, HI, UT, MT and others); OpenStreetMap contributors for some hours, phones, fees and camping; U.S. National Park Service: unit boundaries (Land Resources Division), Acreage Report (Sept 30, 2026), park pages on nps.gov (hours, fees), Visitor Use Statistics (2025).
Map the Block shows public statistics about places, not people, and does not rate or rank neighborhoods as places to live. Figures are as published by each source; check the source before relying on a number.
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