Iowa has long been the heart of America’s food production and continues to grow its role as a producer for the world, exporting $27 billion worth of goods and services annually. Iowa's exports also benefit many other parts of its economy, with international trade supporting more than 380,000 jobs in the state. As a leading agricultural state, Iowa exports $13.7 billion in agricultural products each year.

• In Iowa, 380,000 jobs were supported by trade, representing 16.7% of all jobs in the state.^1,2
• In 2023, 3,172 companies exported goods from Iowa, of which 81% were small- and medium-sized enterprises. In 2022, 69,300 people were employed by affiliates of companies at least 50% foreign-owned.^3,4

• Iowa exports about $27 billion in goods and services to overseas markets each year. ⁵
  • Canada ($5.8 billion)
  • Mexico ($3.6 billion)
  • China ($3.4 billion)
  • Japan ($1.6 billion)
  • Germany (1.2 billion)
• Agricultural exports are important to Iowa's economy, totaling $13.7 billion annually, according to the USDA.⁶
• Since 2014, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has financed $330 million in exports from 40 companies in Iowa.⁷
• Since 1992, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency has helped facilitate $172 million in exports from Iowa companies.⁹

• From 2024-2025, 8,122 international students were enrolled in Iowa colleges and universities, contributing $267 million to the Iowa economy.¹⁰

• Since 1961, 2,623 Peace Corps volunteers from Iowa have served in dozens of countries overseas.¹¹

1. https://www.uschamber.com/international/trade-agreements/trade-means-growth-for-america?state=
2. https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/edb/edbrel2023.pdf
3. https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2024-11/imne-1124.pdf
4. https://www.uschamber.com/international/trade-agreements/trade-means-growth-for-america
5. https://www.trade.gov/data-visualization/state-trade-and-economy-factsheets
6. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-agricultural-trade-data
7. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-agricultural-trade-data/annual-state-agricultural-exports
8. https://www.exim.gov/customer-map/
9. https://www.mcc.gov/work-with-us/contracts-map
10. https://files.peacecorps.gov/documents/Home_states_of_Peace_Corps_volunteers.pdf
11. https://opendoorsdata.org/fact_sheets/state-fact-sheets/