12,106 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.4% since 2020)
497 square miles of land · 24 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
6 active community water systems list Appanoose County in the area they serve, reporting 40,200 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| RATHBUN REGIONAL WATER ASSN (RATHBUN) surface water · private · IA0400900 | 33,000 served |
| CENTERVILLE MUNICIPAL WATERWORKS buys surface water · local government · IA0407008 | 5,344 served |
| MORAVIA PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY buys surface water · local government · IA0467008 | 637 served |
| MOULTON WATER DEPARTMENT buys surface water · local government · IA0472012 | 607 served |
| MYSTIC WATER SUPPLY buys surface water · local government · IA0477040 | 322 served |
| CINCINNATI MUNICIPAL WATER CO buys surface water · local government · IA0410026 | 290 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 10 people were held in Appanoose County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 138 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 20.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
3 school districts have their office in Appanoose County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $26.1 million — $15.7 million to run schools, about $11,550 per student, plus $8.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.8 million local (mostly property tax), $13 million state, $2.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $20.7 million.
Spent $5.7 million — $4.6 million to run schools, about $12,131 per student, plus $366,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.9 million local (mostly property tax), $3.1 million state, $596,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2 million.
Spent $3.7 million — $2.7 million to run schools, about $16,524 per student, plus $552,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.6 million local (mostly property tax), $1.5 million state, $333,000 federal.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Appanoose County about $10.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
185 bridges in Appanoose County: 81 in good condition, 50 fair, and 54 poor (29.2%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| OLD IA 138 over WALNUT CREEK · built 1973 | 1,060 vehicles a day |
| FM over NORTH SOAP CREEK · built 1968 | 850 vehicles a day |
| FM over SOAP CREEK · built 1970 | 790 vehicles a day |
| FM over LITTLE WALNUT CREEK · built 1967 | 530 vehicles a day |
| 4TH STREET over WALNUT CREEK · built 1971 | 226 vehicles a day |
| FM over WALNUT CREEK · built 1955 | 160 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $1.7 million of work in Appanoose County in fiscal 2025, about $137 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Iowa are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Appanoose County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Appanoose County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Iowa: the state government and every county in Iowa.
Nearby counties: Monroe County (20 mi) · Putnam County, MO (20 mi) · Wayne County (24 mi) · Davis County (24 mi) · Schuyler County, MO (27 mi) · Lucas County (31 mi).