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Ham radio operators in Iowa: new licenses by county

6,372 licensed amateur radio operators; 223 new in the past 12 months. Updated weekly from FCC data.

At a glance · Data as of

New hams · last 30 days
14
New hams · last 12 months
223
▲ 33% vs prior 12 mo
Active licensed hams
6,372
Upgrades · 12 mo
105
Vanity callsigns · 12 mo
46
Address updates · 12 mo
79
Often a move into the area
Expiring · next 6 mo
360

About ham radio in Iowa

New licenses are climbing in Iowa: 223 people earned a first amateur radio license in the past 12 months, 33% more than the year before. Iowa ranks tied for #31 of 52 states and territories for new licenses. Polk County leads the state with 29 new hams. Technicians make up 44% of the state’s licensees, below the U.S. average of 48%, a sign of an experienced community with many HF operators. 105 operators upgraded their license in the past year, the moment many buy their first HF rig.

New hams by month

New hams per month in Iowa, October 2025 to September 2026 223 in total. Highest: 26 in April 2026. Lowest: 0 in October 2025. Up 33% from the prior 12 months. Oct 2025: 0 new hams 0 Oct 2025 Nov 2025: 19 new hams 19 Nov Dec 2025: 24 new hams 24 Dec Jan 2026: 11 new hams 11 Jan 2026 Feb 2026: 23 new hams 23 Feb Mar 2026: 20 new hams 20 Mar Apr 2026: 26 new hams 26 Apr May 2026: 18 new hams 18 May Jun 2026: 19 new hams 19 Jun Jul 2026: 25 new hams 25 Jul Aug 2026: 22 new hams 22 Aug Sep 2026: 16 new hams 16 Sep
Complete calendar months only, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026. The current month is left out until it ends.
Show data table
New hams per month in Iowa
MonthNew hams
Oct 20250
Nov 202519
Dec 202524
Jan 202611
Feb 202623
Mar 202620
Apr 202626
May 202618
Jun 202619
Jul 202625
Aug 202622
Sep 202616
Total223

License classes

Active licensees in Iowa by license class, compared with U.S.
ClassHamsShareU.S.
Technician 2,78844%48%
General 1,63226%25%
Amateur Extra 1,50024%21%
Advanced 3055%3%
Novice / Other 1472%2%

Bar = Iowa share · Tick = U.S. share

In the past 12 months, 40 operators upgraded to General and 57 to Amateur Extra.

How Iowa compares

Tied for #31 of 52 states and territories for new hams in the past 12 months

Rates per 1,000 active licensees
Per 1,000 active hamsIowaU.S.
New hams, past 12 months35.032.3
Upgrades, past 12 months16.514.7
Expiring, next 6 months56.557.3

223 new hams in Iowa this past year. Get next month’s list free.

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Top 10 Iowa counties for new hams

Scroll sideways for more columns →

#CountyNew hams 12 moChange vs prior yearActive hamsNew per 1,000
1Polk County29▲ 53%79536.5
2Linn County27▼ 16%95028.4
3Benton County23—165139.4
4Story County12—28242.6
5Johnson County11▼ 15%28139.1
6Warren County11—12488.7
7Scott County10—28834.7
8Black Hawk County8—19940.2
9Dallas County7▼ 46%17639.8
10Woodbury County5—13836.2

— in Change means fewer than 10 new hams the year before.

All Iowa counties

13 counties with their own page. Numbers are new hams in the past 12 months.

Smaller Iowa counties

These 86 counties have too few licensees or too little recent activity for a page of their own, so their numbers are listed here.

Show all 86 smaller counties
CountyActive hamsNew hams · 12 mo
Adair County150
Adams County61
Allamakee County131
Appanoose County260
Audubon County60
Boone County862
Bremer County593
Buchanan County350
Buena Vista County290
Butler County240
Calhoun County141
Carroll County251
Cass County131
Cedar County381
Cerro Gordo County990
Cherokee County100
Chickasaw County180
Clarke County102
Clay County300
Clayton County260
Clinton County932
Crawford County222
Davis County80
Decatur County140
Delaware County191
Des Moines County720
Dickinson County410
Emmet County161
Fayette County311
Floyd County180
Franklin County161
Fremont County140
Greene County200
Grundy County331
Guthrie County170
Hamilton County350
Hancock County193
Hardin County320
Harrison County500
Henry County431
Howard County240
Humboldt County270
Ida County100
Iowa County340
Jackson County210
Jasper County521
Jefferson County483
Jones County630
Keokuk County110
Kossuth County231
Lee County592
Louisa County100
Lucas County172
Lyon County140
Madison County543
Marion County730
Marshall County793
Mills County400
Mitchell County251
Monona County170
Monroe County100
Montgomery County242
Muscatine County813
O'Brien County160
Osceola County110
Page County391
Palo Alto County120
Plymouth County492
Pocahontas County60
Poweshiek County322
Ringgold County70
Sac County140
Shelby County151
Sioux County270
Tama County330
Taylor County150
Union County221
Van Buren County100
Wapello County540
Washington County530
Wayne County101
Webster County401
Winnebago County210
Winneshiek County510
Worth County210
Wright County170

Neighboring states

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Figures may be reused with credit to Ham Recruiter (CC BY 4.0).

Questions about hams in Iowa

How many ham radio operators are in Iowa?

6,372 active amateur radio licensees are on file for Iowa as of Oct 1, 2026.

How many new hams were licensed in Iowa last year?

223 people in Iowa received their first FCC amateur radio license in the 12 months ending Oct 1, 2026.

Which Iowa counties have the most new hams?

In the past 12 months: Polk County (29), Linn County (27) and Benton County (23).

Where does this data come from?

From the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public amateur license database, which we download every Monday. Addresses are matched to counties with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. This page shows totals only.

Can I see the names or call signs on this page?

No. Public pages show totals only. Verified Ham Recruiter users can search and export lists for outreach; see how licensee information is handled.

About this data

Data as of . Source: FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) weekly amateur license database; county from U.S. Census Bureau geocoding. Aggregates only, no individual licensee data is shown. Aggregate figures © Ham Recruiter, CC BY 4.0.

How we count

  • New ham: an active licensee whose first license was granted in the period.
  • Address updates: a change of FCC mailing address, often a move into the area.
  • Counts use each licensee’s current FCC address. Someone licensed here who later moved is counted where they live now.
  • Each license keeps only its most recent event of each type, so two upgrades in one year count once.
  • PO-box-only addresses often can’t be matched to a county, so rural counties are slightly undercounted.

100% of Iowa licensees could be matched to a county.