Iowa has long been the heart of America’s food production, and continues to grow its role as a producer for the world, exporting $18.4 billion worth of goods in 2023. Iowa’s exports also benefit many other parts of its economy as well, with international trade supporting more than 379,000 jobs in the state.

• In Iowa, 379,400 jobs were supported by international trade in 2019, representing 18.1% of all jobs in the state.^1,2
• In 2020, 3,369 companies exported goods from Iowa of which 83% were small- and medium-sized enterprises. In 2018, 66,700 people were employed by affiliates of companies at least 50% foreign-owned.^3,4

• Iowa exported $18.4 billion in goods to foreign markets in 2023, a 2% increase compared to 2022. Iowa’s largest markets were:⁵
  • Canada ($5.5 billion)
  • Mexico ($3.3 billion)
  • China ($1.1 billion)
  • Brazil ($1.1 billion)
  • Japan ($985 million)
• Agricultural exports are important to Iowa's' economy, totaling $16.5 billion in 2020, according to the USDA.⁶
• Since 2014, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has financed $284 million in exports from 36 companies in Iowa.⁷
• Since 1992, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency has helped facilitate $172 million in exports from Iowa companies.⁹

• During 2020, 8,261 international students were enrolled in Iowa colleges and universities and contributed $251 million to the Iowa economy.¹⁰

• Since 1961, 2,496 Peace Corps volunteers from Iowa have served in dozens of countries overseas.¹¹

1. https://tradepartnership.com/reports/trade-and-american-jobs-the-impact-of-trade-on-u-s-and-state-level-employment-update-2020/
2. https://www.businessroundtable.org/policy-perspectives/trade-international/benefits-of-trade-data
3. https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/edb/2019/index.html
4. https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-11/imne1120.pdf
5. https://www.trade.gov/data-visualization/state-economy-and-trade-factsheets
6. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets.aspx#.U2ERwbQzqX8
7. https://www.exim.gov/customer-map/
8. https://www.opic.gov/sites/default/files/docs/OPIC_local_impact.pdf
9. https://ustda.gov/ustda-success-by-state/
10. https://opendoorsdata.org/fact_sheets/
11. https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-announces-top-volunteer-producing-states-2018/