State scorecard
Iowa in the US Political Rank
Every place Iowa holds across our state rankings, in one scorecard. Economy, taxes, education, crime, healthcare, and more, each measured the same way for all 50 states and each linked to the full cited ranking.
#2
of 25 on States Ranked by Housing Affordability
#44
of 25 on States Ranked by Infrastructure Condition
52%
Governor Kim Reynolds performance score, rank 16 of 50
11
state rankings that score Iowa
Governor
Iowa's governor, Kim Reynolds (Republican), holds performance rank 16 of 50 at 52% this week in the Governor Performance Rankings, scored on 263 metrics and updated every Monday.
| Ranking | Iowa's place | Score |
|---|---|---|
| States Ranked by Housing AffordabilityA price-to-income ratio around 2.7, at or below every other state depending on the price series (Best Interest research, 2026). A median Iowa household clears the classic 3.0 affordability bar with room to spare. | #2 of 25 | 95.8 |
| The 2026 Battleground States, RankedTwo open statewide seats at once: Cook and Sabato both moved the Sand-Lahn governor race to Toss Up in spring 2026, and the Hinson-Turek Senate race polled at 48-46 despite its Likely Republican rating (KTTC, 2026; Sabato's Crystal Ball, 2026; The Hill/NYT-Siena, 2026). Iowa voted Democratic for president as recently as 2012, the sharpest documented swing of any state on this list (official returns). | #11 of 15 | 7.0 |
| States Ranked by Violent Crime Rate243.3 per 100,000, with a murder rate below 3.0 per 100,000 (FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2024). | #15 of 50 | 243.3 |
| States Ranked by K-12 Education OutcomesAt or near the national average across the 2024 assessments, with a graduation rate among the highest in the nation (NCES, NAEP 2024; NCES ACGR). | #16 of 50 | 85.9 |
| Ranking the 50 State Economies of 2026Unemployment of 3.2 percent in May 2026, a full point under the national 4.3 percent, and tied for the largest decline in the rate over the year (BLS, 2026). | #16 of 50 | 79.1 |
| States Ranked by Health Care OutcomesRanked 18th on the Commonwealth Fund's 2025 Scorecard including the District of Columbia, with a low uninsured rate and near-average life expectancy (Commonwealth Fund, 2025; CDC NCHS, 2023). | #19 of 50 | 82.0 |
| The Top 20 Energy-Producing StatesThe nation's largest ethanol producer and the state with the highest share of its electricity generated from wind (EIA). | #19 of 20 | 4.5 |
| Voting With Their Feet: States Ranked by Migration and Population GrowthRoughly balanced net domestic migration in the Vintage 2025 estimates (Census Bureau, 2025), paired with unemployment of 3.2 percent, well below the national rate (BLS, 2026). | #27 of 50 | 58.8 |
| States Ranked by Dependence on Federal MoneyAgricultural support payments and transfer receipts keep the per-capita balance of payments positive against modest federal tax payments (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). | #30 of 50 | 64.1 |
| States Ranked by Total Tax BurdenAdopted a flat 3.8 percent income tax, a structural improvement, but property taxes keep the total burden in the upper-middle of the table (Tax Foundation, 2026; Tax Foundation, 2022). | #38 of 50 | 61.5 |
| States Ranked by Infrastructure ConditionLeads the nation in the raw number of structurally deficient bridges, with roughly one in five bridges rated deficient in recent federal data (ARTBA Bridge Report; Reason Foundation, 28th Annual Highway Report). | #44 of 25 | 55.7 |
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