Iowa

Highlights

• #17 of 50: Innovation and patents
• #22 of 50: Scale-ups
• #29 of 50: Talent

The seven inputs

Each input is a z-score against the other states: 0 is the average state, and each step is one standard deviation (capped at ±3). Ranks are among the 50 states.

• Venture capital -0.7 #40 of 50
• Startup formation -0.8 #43 of 50
• Scale-ups +0.1 #22 of 50
• Economic output and wealth -0.4 #32 of 50
• Innovation and patents +0.4 #17 of 50
• Talent -0.2 #29 of 50
• Momentum -1.6 #49 of 50

Top companies

The largest companies headquartered in Iowa, by latest annual revenue.

1. Deere & Company DE · Industrials · Moline · Davenport–Moline, IA-IL metro $45.7B
2. Casey's General Stores, Inc. CASY · Consumer Discretionary · Ankeny · Des Moines, IA metro $17.6B
3. Principal Financial Group, Inc. PFG · Financials · Des Moines, IA $15.6B
4. Hy-Vee Private · Food Markets · West Des Moines · Des Moines, IA metro $13.0B
5. F&G Annuities & Life, Inc. FG · Financials · Des Moines, IA $5.7B

Roots Density Data, All Companies (public: SEC filings; private: Forbes Top Private Companies 2025). Ranked by latest annual revenue.

Metros in Iowa

• Des Moines, IA #45 of 109 metros 47
• Omaha, NE-IA #66 of 109 metros 36
• Cedar Rapids, IA #83 of 109 metros 27
• Davenport–Moline, IA-IL #92 of 109 metros 19