18,454 people (2024 Census estimate, −0.9% since 2020)
585 square miles of land · 32 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.
8 active community water systems list Poweshiek County in the area they serve, reporting 15,352 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| GRINNELL WATER DEPARTMENT groundwater · local government · IA7930008 | 9,564 served |
| PONDEROSA UTILITIES INC. buys groundwater · private · IA7950300 | 1,750 served |
| MONTEZUMA MUNI WATER SUPPLY groundwater · local government · IA7950097 | 1,545 served |
| BROOKLYN WATER DEPARTMENT buys groundwater · local government · IA7909047 | 1,505 served |
| GRINNELL MHP MHC buys groundwater · private · IA7930601 | 313 served |
| MALCOM WATER SUPPLY buys groundwater · local government · IA7945018 | 270 served |
| DEEP RIVER WATER SUPPLY buys groundwater · local government · IA7915017 | 249 served |
| BARNES CITY WATER SUPPLY buys groundwater · local government · IA7905088 | 156 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 22 people were held in Poweshiek County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 187 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 18.
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 Poweshiek County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $31.4 million — $26.9 million to run schools, about $17,121 per student, plus $3.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $19.2 million local (mostly property tax), $12.9 million state, $2.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $304,000.
Spent $9.9 million — $7.9 million to run schools, about $14,005 per student, plus $1.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.8 million local (mostly property tax), $4.3 million state, $585,000 federal. Long-term debt: $5.5 million.
Spent $6.8 million — $5.9 million to run schools, about $12,059 per student, plus $332,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6 million local (mostly property tax), $3 million state, $475,000 federal. Long-term debt: $5.4 million.
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 Poweshiek County about $11.8 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
243 bridges in Poweshiek County: 66 in good condition, 82 fair, and 95 poor (39.1%). “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.
| I 80 WB over IOWA 21 · built 1963 | 13,300 vehicles a day |
| US 6 over STONY CREEK · built 1954 | 2,080 vehicles a day |
| FM over BUCK CREEK · built 1969 | 2,000 vehicles a day |
| FM over SMALL STREAM · built 1969 | 2,000 vehicles a day |
| FM over LITTLE BEAR CREEK · built 1977 | 770 vehicles a day |
| FM over STREAM · built 1924 | 750 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $16.6 million of work in Poweshiek County in fiscal 2025, about $890 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 Poweshiek 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 Poweshiek County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Iowa: the state government and every county in Iowa.
Nearby counties: Iowa County (24 mi) · Mahaska County (25 mi) · Tama County (27 mi) · Jasper County (27 mi) · Keokuk County (30 mi) · Marshall County (34 mi).