Counties most concerned about climate change in Iowa

Nationally, 72% of Americans believe global warming is happening. But when public opinion researchers zoom in on Americans, they find that attitudes and opinions about climate change can vary drastically from county to county—even when those counties are next door. Public opinion factors into how policy-makers respond to climate change, including taking steps to reduce CO2 levels and mitigate harmful impacts already being experienced. Stacker compiled a list of counties most concerned about climate change in Iowa using data from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Counties are ranked by the percent of residents that are worried about global warming.

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1 / 50

#50. Cass County

- Worried about global warming: 57.0%
--- 4.1% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 56.6%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 38.8%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.2%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 53.9%
- Total population: 10,185 people

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#49. Audubon County

- Worried about global warming: 57.2%
--- 3.9% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 57.0%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 38.6%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.1%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 54.7%
- Total population: 4,429 people

3 / 50

#48. Taylor County

- Worried about global warming: 57.2%
--- 3.9% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 56.4%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 39.2%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 32.1%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 54.4%
- Total population: 4,731 people

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#47. Emmet County

- Worried about global warming: 57.2%
--- 3.9% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 58.2%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 40.0%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 32.4%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 54.8%
- Total population: 7,481 people

5 / 50

#46. Grundy County

- Worried about global warming: 57.3%
--- 3.8% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 57.5%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 37.8%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.4%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 54.7%
- Total population: 9,465 people

6 / 50

#45. Allamakee County

- Worried about global warming: 57.4%
--- 3.7% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 56.0%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 39.6%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.7%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 54.0%
- Total population: 10,618 people

7 / 50

#44. Iowa County

- Worried about global warming: 57.4%
--- 3.7% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 58.5%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 39.0%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.8%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 54.5%
- Total population: 12,474 people

8 / 50

#43. Boone County

- Worried about global warming: 57.5%
--- 3.6% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.4%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 38.6%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.2%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 55.0%
- Total population: 20,649 people

9 / 50

#42. Jackson County

- Worried about global warming: 57.5%
--- 3.6% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 57.5%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 37.9%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 30.1%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 55.2%
- Total population: 15,090 people

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#41. Mitchell County

- Worried about global warming: 57.6%
--- 3.5% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.1%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 39.6%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 32.2%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 56.2%
- Total population: 8,125 people

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#40. Clayton County

- Worried about global warming: 57.7%
--- 3.4% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 58.2%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 39.3%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.5%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 55.2%
- Total population: 13,865 people

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#39. Muscatine County

- Worried about global warming: 57.7%
--- 3.4% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 57.3%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 40.4%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 27.7%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 54.0%
- Total population: 32,189 people

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#38. Marion County

- Worried about global warming: 57.8%
--- 3.3% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.3%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 39.6%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 33.1%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 55.8%
- Total population: 25,430 people

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#37. Chickasaw County

- Worried about global warming: 57.8%
--- 3.3% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 58.2%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 38.6%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.1%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 55.4%
- Total population: 9,282 people

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#36. Delaware County

- Worried about global warming: 58.0%
--- 3.1% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 56.8%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 38.1%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 30.6%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 56.1%
- Total population: 13,063 people

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#35. Buchanan County

- Worried about global warming: 58.1%
--- 3.0% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.7%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 39.8%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 32.0%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 56.0%
- Total population: 15,470 people

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#34. Adams County

- Worried about global warming: 58.2%
--- 2.9% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 57.2%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 38.9%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 33.6%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 55.4%
- Total population: 2,904 people

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#33. Clinton County

- Worried about global warming: 58.3%
--- 2.8% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 58.5%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 37.9%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 29.5%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 54.8%
- Total population: 36,218 people

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#32. Webster County

- Worried about global warming: 58.3%
--- 2.8% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.0%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 39.7%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.0%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 55.5%
- Total population: 28,778 people

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#31. Crawford County

- Worried about global warming: 58.4%
--- 2.7% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 57.5%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 41.2%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 27.8%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 54.3%
- Total population: 12,802 people

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#30. Howard County

- Worried about global warming: 58.4%
--- 2.7% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.2%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 40.6%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 33.6%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 56.0%
- Total population: 6,887 people

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#29. Benton County

- Worried about global warming: 58.5%
--- 2.7% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 57.9%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 38.0%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 30.0%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 55.1%
- Total population: 19,583 people

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#28. Jones County

- Worried about global warming: 58.6%
--- 2.5% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 60.0%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 41.0%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 32.8%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 56.7%
- Total population: 16,166 people

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#27. Winnebago County

- Worried about global warming: 58.6%
--- 2.5% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.5%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 40.1%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 32.2%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 56.5%
- Total population: 8,249 people

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#26. Fayette County

- Worried about global warming: 58.7%
--- 2.4% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.8%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 40.3%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.6%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 56.8%
- Total population: 15,653 people

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26 / 50

#25. Jasper County

- Worried about global warming: 58.8%
--- 2.3% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 60.2%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 39.8%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.6%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 56.2%
- Total population: 28,698 people

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#24. Warren County

- Worried about global warming: 58.8%
--- 2.3% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.3%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 38.1%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.3%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 57.6%
- Total population: 37,653 people

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#23. Bremer County

- Worried about global warming: 58.8%
--- 2.3% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 60.6%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 39.2%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 33.2%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 56.1%
- Total population: 19,326 people

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#22. Palo Alto County

- Worried about global warming: 58.9%
--- 2.2% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.6%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 40.0%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 33.8%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 56.7%
- Total population: 6,878 people

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#21. Des Moines County

- Worried about global warming: 59.4%
--- 1.7% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.0%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 40.1%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 29.8%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 56.4%
- Total population: 30,453 people

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31 / 50

#20. Floyd County

- Worried about global warming: 59.8%
--- 1.3% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 60.3%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 41.7%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 33.3%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 56.8%
- Total population: 12,224 people

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#19. Union County

- Worried about global warming: 59.9%
--- 1.3% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.0%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 39.8%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 32.6%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 56.7%
- Total population: 9,581 people

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#18. Tama County

- Worried about global warming: 59.9%
--- 1.2% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.8%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 41.3%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 30.4%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 55.8%
- Total population: 12,937 people

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#17. Decatur County

- Worried about global warming: 60.3%
--- 0.8% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.9%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 42.7%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 36.4%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 57.5%
- Total population: 6,243 people

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#16. Dubuque County

- Worried about global warming: 60.4%
--- 0.7% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 61.9%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 40.4%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.3%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 58.9%
- Total population: 74,777 people

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36 / 50

#15. Washington County

- Worried about global warming: 60.6%
--- 0.5% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 61.0%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 41.3%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 33.2%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 58.4%
- Total population: 16,635 people

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#14. Cerro Gordo County

- Worried about global warming: 60.6%
--- 0.5% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 60.4%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 40.7%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.9%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 57.0%
- Total population: 34,021 people

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#13. Woodbury County

- Worried about global warming: 60.6%
--- 0.5% lower than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 57.7%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 40.5%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 29.5%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 55.8%
- Total population: 75,745 people

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#12. Scott County

- Worried about global warming: 61.2%
--- 0.1% higher than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 60.6%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 40.8%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 29.5%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 55.7%
- Total population: 131,298 people

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#11. Dallas County

- Worried about global warming: 62.5%
--- 1.4% higher than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 65.4%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 41.5%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 32.6%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 61.5%
- Total population: 62,764 people

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#10. Linn County

- Worried about global warming: 62.9%
--- 1.8% higher than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 65.9%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 42.1%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.1%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 57.1%
- Total population: 171,249 people

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#9. Marshall County

- Worried about global warming: 63.6%
--- 2.5% higher than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 62.4%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 44.9%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.5%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 57.4%
- Total population: 29,900 people

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#8. Winneshiek County

- Worried about global warming: 64.1%
--- 3.0% higher than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 65.6%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 45.4%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 38.9%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 61.2%
- Total population: 16,510 people

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#7. Polk County

- Worried about global warming: 64.4%
--- 3.3% higher than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 64.3%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 42.9%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.8%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 62.1%
- Total population: 359,784 people

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#6. Buena Vista County

- Worried about global warming: 64.8%
--- 3.7% higher than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 62.0%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 46.8%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 33.0%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 60.0%
- Total population: 14,864 people

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46 / 50

#5. Poweshiek County

- Worried about global warming: 64.9%
--- 3.8% higher than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 64.6%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 43.4%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 35.8%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 62.1%
- Total population: 14,792 people

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#4. Black Hawk County

- Worried about global warming: 65.3%
--- 4.2% higher than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 64.4%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 45.1%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.5%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 60.5%
- Total population: 103,706 people

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#3. Story County

- Worried about global warming: 67.0%
--- 5.9% higher than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 68.7%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 45.7%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 39.1%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 64.4%
- Total population: 80,838 people

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#2. Jefferson County

- Worried about global warming: 67.4%
--- 6.3% higher than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 67.5%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 48.2%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 38.1%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 64.1%
- Total population: 15,283 people

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#1. Johnson County

- Worried about global warming: 74.4%
--- 13.3% higher than Iowa average
- Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 72.8%
- Think global warming will harm them personally: 49.9%
- Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 41.0%
- Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 68.1%
- Total population: 118,760 people

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