Facts & Figures

Iowa has always been the heart of America’s food production, but Iowa continues to grow its role as producer to the world. Iowa trails only California as the top agricultural exporter in the nation with over $8 billion in revenue in 2008. However, exports benefit many other parts of Iowa’s economy—over ten percent of all jobs in Iowa are based on exportled manufacturing.

Job Creation

Trade supported over 400,000 jobs in Iowa in 2008, or 20.3% of total jobs, up from 10.7% in 1992. ¹
More than one-fifth (22%) of all manufacturing workers in Iowa depended on exports for their jobs. ²
In 2008, 48,000 people in Iowa were employed by U.S. affiliates of companies that are at least 50% foreign-owned. ³

Exports and Growth

Iowa exported $10.9 billion in merchandise to foreign markets in 2010. Iowa’s largest market in 2010 was Canada ($3.4 billion), followed by Mexico ($1.8 billion), Japan ($854 million), China ($627 million), and Germany ($479 million). In 2008, about 2,600 companies exported goods from Iowa. Of these, 82% were small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees. ⁴
Agricultural exports are important to Iowa’s economy, totaling nearly $6.5 billion and supporting about 90,000 jobs in 2009.⁵
Since 2007, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has financed over $107 million in exports from 42 companies in 26 communities in Iowa.(() https://webappsprod01.exim.gov/apps/usmap/usmap.nsf))
Since 1971, Overseas Private Investment Corporation has invested over $1.3 billion in companies throughout Iowa. ⁶

Education and Research

In 2008–2009, close to 4,800 Iowa students studied abroad.⁷
During 2009–2010, more than 9,500 international students were enrolled in Iowa colleges and universities, up 7% from last year, and contributed $245 million to the Iowa economy.⁸

Global Engagement

Since 1961, around 2,000 Peace Corps volunteers from Iowa have served in dozens of countries overseas.⁹

http://businessroundtable.org/uploads/studies-reports/downloads/Trade_and_American_Jobs.pdf
http://www.trade.gov/mas/ian/statereports/
http://www.bea.gov/scb/pdf/2010/11%20November/1110_us_ops.pdf
http://www.trade.gov/mas/ian/statereports/
http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/WTO/states.html
http://www.opic.gov/sites/default/files/docs/OPIC_local_impact.pdf
http://www.iie.org/en/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data/Fact-Sheets-by-US-State
http://www.nafsa.org/publicpolicy/default.aspx?id=23158
http://multimedia.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/stats/homestates.pdf