State overview · IA · Census CBP 2023
Iowa Industry Benchmarks
Employment, establishments, and payroll for 763 industries in Iowa. Drill into any industry for a Iowa-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.
- 1.3M
- Workers
- 79K
- Establishments
- 763
- Industries tracked
Data updated August 2026
The verdict · Iowa
Iowa employs 1,306,260 workers across 763 tracked industries, led by General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (71,141 workers) among the 332 detailed industries with published employment.
No single sector dominates Iowa (lead 17%; top-three 48%). Margins stay on national industry pages.
Iowa sector employment mix
Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.
Iowa spreads employment across sectors: the largest, Manufacturing, is only 17% of 1,306,260 private-sector workers (about the 39th percentile of states by employment). No single NAICS-2 block dominates the private labor market here.
Not ranked: 3 of 20 sectors have no published employment figure. Census County Business Patterns applies 2% or more noise to those cells, and PlainBizBench publishes only low-noise figures rather than estimating. Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services (4,015) reports more establishments than Manufacturing, so Manufacturing leads only among the 17 sectors with published employment. Total employment, shares and the mix on this page sum only the sectors with a published figure. How we handle withheld data.
| Sector | Workers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing (31) | 224,293 | 17% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance (62) | 220,971 | 17% |
| Retail Trade (44) | 187,097 | 14% |
| Top-three cumulative 48% - no single NAICS-2 block dominates. | ||
Profit margins are national (IRS SOI); open any industry row below, then the matching national industry page for profitability.
Census CBP firm roll
County Business Patterns IA DISTRIBUTED · CBP
#31/51 · 1,306,260 workers · 78,571 firms
- EMP 1,306,260
- EST 78,571
- RANK #31/51
- PCT 39th pct
- LEAD Manufacturing
- SHARE 17% lead
- BAND distributed
- DENS 16.6 /firm
- BOOK 763 NAICS
- PHOTO Nevada
Nearest employment-scale peer: Nevada (1,298,196 workers)
According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, Iowa ranks #31 of 51 states and territories by total private-sector employment (level-2 sector totals, the same non-double-counted aggregate shown above). Margins stay on national industry pages (IRS SOI). Read with this state → · Lead 6-digit industry →
IA in the employment-scale neighbourhood
Top Industries by Employment
Not ranked: 410 of 742 detailed industries have no published employment figure. Census County Business Patterns applies 2% or more noise to those cells, and PlainBizBench publishes only low-noise figures rather than estimating. Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (1,446), Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (1,195), Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings (710) and 18 more report more establishments than General Medical and Surgical Hospitals, so General Medical and Surgical Hospitals leads only among the 332 detailed industries with published employment. How we handle withheld data.
Breadth peers near Iowa's private employment
Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (1,306,260 in Iowa), excluding IA.
Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · IA
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.