Iowa ZIP Codes: Ranges, Prefixes and Major Cities
From 50001 to 52809, the ZIP codes of Iowa follow a clear pattern once you know what the first three digits mean. Below you will find the ranges, prefixes and city-by-city codes for the Hawkeye State.
ZIP code range and prefixes
Every Iowa ZIP code starts with one of 26 three-digit prefixes. Each prefix points to a sectional center facility, the processing plant that sorts mail for a group of nearby post offices.
- 500
- 501
- 502
- 503
- 504
- 505
- 506
- 507
- 508
- 509
- 510
- 511
- 512
- 513
- 514
- 515
- 516
- 520
- 521
- 522
- 523
- 524
- 525
- 526
- 527
- 528
Types of ZIP codes in Iowa
| Type | Count | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 899 | Street delivery areas |
| PO Box | 112 | Post office boxes only |
| Unique | 44 | A single high-volume organization |
ZIP codes for major Iowa cities
| City | County | Standard ZIPs | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines | Polk County | 15 | 50307–50395 |
| Sioux City | Woodbury County | 8 | 51101–51111 |
| Cedar Rapids | Linn County | 6 | 52401–52411 |
| Davenport | Scott County | 6 | 52801–52807 |
| Iowa City | Johnson County | 4 | 52240–52246 |
| Dubuque | Dubuque County | 3 | 52001–52003 |
| Waterloo | Black Hawk County | 3 | 50701–50703 |
| Ames | Story County | 2 | 50010–50014 |
| Ankeny | Polk County | 2 | 50021–50023 |
| Boone | Boone County | 2 | 50036–50950 |
| Council Bluffs | Pottawattamie County | 2 | 51501–51503 |
| Urbandale | Polk County | 2 | 50322–50323 |
| West Des Moines | Polk County | 2 | 50265–50266 |
| Ackley | Hardin County | 1 | 50601–50601 |
| Ackworth | Warren County | 1 | 50001–50001 |
Des Moines is the state capital. Larger cities have many ZIP codes because each code follows mail delivery routes, not city limits.
Sample addresses
Anthony Thompson
9708 Jefferson Blvd
Ames, IA 50010
Thomas Martin
1065 Walnut Ln
Ankeny, IA 50023
Wei Patel
1335 Prospect Pl
Ames, IA 50014
These examples use real city and ZIP pairs with invented street lines, so they are safe for testing and documentation.
Tips for working with these ZIP codes
- Store ZIP codes as text, not numbers, so the format stays consistent across states with leading zeros.
- All of Iowa is in the Central time zone, which keeps scheduling logic simple.
- A quick sanity check: a valid IA ZIP code begins with one of the prefixes listed above.
- City names in addresses are post office names. A suburb may share a ZIP code and city name with a nearby larger town.
Create realistic Iowa addresses for testing, with real cities, counties and ZIP codes.
Generate Iowa addresses