Biggest Sources of Immigrants to Iowa

SD Dirk // Wikimedia Commons

Biggest sources of immigrants to Iowa

Over 14% of the United States population is composed of immigrants. But in reality, the vast majority of Americans today are here because of relatives who immigrated from other countries some time in the last several hundred years.

And while the distinctive American culture and spirit is the result of blending many diverse cultures and histories, the United States has for centuries had an up-and-down relationship with immigration.

Each era of immigration has been met with reductive ideas and resistance, whether the backlash was directed toward the Chinese, Irish, Italians, or Mexicans. Immigration laws have targeted specific groups at various times, stoking intolerance and preventing people from truly joining American society. Over time, however, as laws changed to be more equitable and immigrants found their footings, we have reaped the rewards of innovation in business, music, art, literature, dance, food, societal norms, entertainment, and sports—all while realizing a greater understanding of and respect for different cultures, religions, and ideas.

Stacker compiled a list of the biggest sources of immigrants to Iowa using data from the "U.S. Census Bureau. Countries are ranked by the highest number of residents according to 2020 5-year estimates. Keep reading to find out more about the immigrant community in your home state.

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Sergei25 // Shutterstock

#50. Jordan

Iowa
- Number of residents: 394
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
National
- Number of residents: 83,160
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
- #72 most common country of origin

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Yasonya // Shutterstock

#49. Netherlands

Iowa
- Number of residents: 401
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
National
- Number of residents: 83,275
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
- #71 most common country of origin

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aleksander hunta // Shutterstock

#48. Cambodia

Iowa
- Number of residents: 403
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
National
- Number of residents: 149,486
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
- #47 most common country of origin

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Subodh Agnihotri // Shutterstock

#47. Croatia

Iowa
- Number of residents: 432
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
National
- Number of residents: 37,645
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #99 most common country of origin

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Canva

#46. Ghana

Iowa
- Number of residents: 442
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
National
- Number of residents: 180,675
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
- #43 most common country of origin

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#45. Venezuela

Iowa
- Number of residents: 449
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
National
- Number of residents: 394,365
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.9%
- #22 most common country of origin

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Denys Yelmanov // Shutterstock

#44. Bangladesh

Iowa
- Number of residents: 512
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
National
- Number of residents: 240,365
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%
- #36 most common country of origin

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Christian Vinces // Shutterstock

#43. Peru

Iowa
- Number of residents: 544
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
National
- Number of residents: 451,666
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.0%
- #18 most common country of origin

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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#42. Eritrea

Iowa
- Number of residents: 557
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
National
- Number of residents: 49,710
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #89 most common country of origin

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HandmadePictures // Shutterstock

#41. South Africa

Iowa
- Number of residents: 569
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
National
- Number of residents: 108,650
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
- #58 most common country of origin

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Prin Adulyatham // Shutterstock

#40. Egypt

Iowa
- Number of residents: 579
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
National
- Number of residents: 202,049
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%
- #40 most common country of origin

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#39. Haiti

Iowa
- Number of residents: 596
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
National
- Number of residents: 667,432
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.5%
- #14 most common country of origin

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Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock

#38. Spain

Iowa
- Number of residents: 601
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
National
- Number of residents: 118,177
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
- #56 most common country of origin

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MDOGAN // Shutterstock

#37. Somalia

Iowa
- Number of residents: 602
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
National
- Number of residents: 96,898
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
- #63 most common country of origin

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maloff // Shutterstock

#36. Micronesia

Iowa
- Number of residents: 622
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
National
- Number of residents: 30,841
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #110 most common country of origin

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#35. Taiwan

Iowa
- Number of residents: 632
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
National
- Number of residents: 378,942
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.9%
- #25 most common country of origin

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#34. Kenya

Iowa
- Number of residents: 702
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
National
- Number of residents: 145,272
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
- #49 most common country of origin

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Ruslan Lytvyn // Shutterstock

#33. Ukraine

Iowa
- Number of residents: 738
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
National
- Number of residents: 358,823
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%
- #27 most common country of origin

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#32. Cuba

Iowa
- Number of residents: 763
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
National
- Number of residents: 1,314,570
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.0%
- #7 most common country of origin

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diplomedia // Shutterstock

#31. Lebanon

Iowa
- Number of residents: 765
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
National
- Number of residents: 127,239
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
- #52 most common country of origin

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Fitria Ramli // Shutterstock

#30. Saudi Arabia

Iowa
- Number of residents: 797
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%
National
- Number of residents: 76,837
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
- #74 most common country of origin

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#29. Nigeria

Iowa
- Number of residents: 861
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%
National
- Number of residents: 366,534
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%
- #26 most common country of origin

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Patrick Foto // Shutterstock

#28. Malaysia

Iowa
- Number of residents: 873
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%
National
- Number of residents: 78,179
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
- #73 most common country of origin

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#27. Japan

Iowa
- Number of residents: 1,029
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%
National
- Number of residents: 346,149
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%
- #28 most common country of origin

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Focus and Blur // Shutterstock

#26. Iraq

Iowa
- Number of residents: 1,107
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%
National
- Number of residents: 229,309
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.5%
- #39 most common country of origin

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Saqib Rizvi // Shutterstock

#25. Pakistan

Iowa
- Number of residents: 1,156
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.7%
National
- Number of residents: 385,873
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.9%
- #24 most common country of origin

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Alexander Canas Arango // Shutterstock

#24. Colombia

Iowa
- Number of residents: 1,159
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.7%
National
- Number of residents: 792,579
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.8%
- #12 most common country of origin

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Artush // Shutterstock

#23. Ethiopia

Iowa
- Number of residents: 1,248
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.7%
National
- Number of residents: 260,577
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%
- #33 most common country of origin

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Viacheslav Lopatin // Shutterstock

#22. Russia

Iowa
- Number of residents: 1,289
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%
National
- Number of residents: 397,214
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.9%
- #21 most common country of origin

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Marian Galovic // Shutterstock

#21. Republic of the Congo

Iowa
- Number of residents: 1,317
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%
National
- Number of residents: 31,671
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #109 most common country of origin

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Catarina Belova // Shutterstock

#20. Brazil

Iowa
- Number of residents: 1,359
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.8%
National
- Number of residents: 474,723
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.1%
- #17 most common country of origin

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Vixit // Shutterstock

#19. Nepal

Iowa
- Number of residents: 1,697
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.0%
National
- Number of residents: 142,749
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
- #50 most common country of origin

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Marek Poplawski // Shutterstock

#18. Honduras

Iowa
- Number of residents: 2,017
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.2%
National
- Number of residents: 649,209
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.5%
- #15 most common country of origin

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#17. Germany

Iowa
- Number of residents: 2,400
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.4%
National
- Number of residents: 549,073
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.2%
- #16 most common country of origin

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Fabian Plock // Shutterstock

#16. Liberia

Iowa
- Number of residents: 2,749
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.6%
National
- Number of residents: 92,283
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
- #68 most common country of origin

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#15. Canada

Iowa
- Number of residents: 2,793
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.6%
National
- Number of residents: 817,885
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.9%
- #11 most common country of origin

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Jack Bkk // Shutterstock

#14. Thailand

Iowa
- Number of residents: 3,168
- Percent of foreign born residents: 1.9%
National
- Number of residents: 256,436
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.6%
- #34 most common country of origin

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Nathapon Triratanachat // Shutterstock

#13. Laos

Iowa
- Number of residents: 3,353
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.0%
National
- Number of residents: 179,004
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.4%
- #44 most common country of origin

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Issa Kashala // Shutterstock

#12. Democratic Republic of the Congo

Iowa
- Number of residents: 3,607
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.1%
National
- Number of residents: 50,221
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #88 most common country of origin

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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#11. Sudan

Iowa
- Number of residents: 3,951
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.3%
National
- Number of residents: 52,433
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.1%
- #86 most common country of origin

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#10. El Salvador

Iowa
- Number of residents: 4,114
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.4%
National
- Number of residents: 1,370,579
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.1%
- #5 most common country of origin

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#9. Burma

Iowa
- Number of residents: 4,306
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.5%
National
- Number of residents: 147,834
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.3%
- #48 most common country of origin

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Joseph Oropel // Shutterstock

#8. Philippines

Iowa
- Number of residents: 4,762
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.8%
National
- Number of residents: 1,967,140
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.5%
- #4 most common country of origin

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Kobby Dagan // Shutterstock

#7. Guatemala

Iowa
- Number of residents: 4,935
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.9%
National
- Number of residents: 964,528
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.2%
- #10 most common country of origin

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Kampon // Shutterstock

#6. South Korea

Iowa
- Number of residents: 5,433
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.2%
National
- Number of residents: 1,048,588
- Percent of foreign born residents: 2.4%
- #9 most common country of origin

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Lucertolone // Shutterstock

#5. Bosnia and Herzegovina

Iowa
- Number of residents: 5,547
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.3%
National
- Number of residents: 102,942
- Percent of foreign born residents: 0.2%
- #59 most common country of origin

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#4. Vietnam

Iowa
- Number of residents: 7,889
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.6%
National
- Number of residents: 1,354,391
- Percent of foreign born residents: 3.1%
- #6 most common country of origin

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Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#3. China

Iowa
- Number of residents: 9,933
- Percent of foreign born residents: 5.8%
National
- Number of residents: 2,184,189
- Percent of foreign born residents: 4.9%
- #3 most common country of origin

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Kriangkrai Thitimakorn // Shutterstock

#2. India

Iowa
- Number of residents: 10,615
- Percent of foreign born residents: 6.2%
National
- Number of residents: 2,618,558
- Percent of foreign born residents: 5.9%
- #2 most common country of origin

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Aleksandar Todorovic // Shutterstock

#1. Mexico

Iowa
- Number of residents: 41,522
- Percent of foreign born residents: 24.4%
National
- Number of residents: 10,924,662
- Percent of foreign born residents: 24.8%
- #1 most common country of origin