Iowa ranks #28 among US states for total patents filed in 2023, with 2,987 patents from 1,656 inventors across 251 cities. On a per-capita basis that is 0.9 patents per 1,000 residents, a standard benchmark for comparing state-level R&D intensity.
Top Cities in Iowa 2023
| Rank | City | Patents | Inventors |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Ames, IA | 303 | 205 |
| #2 | Cedar Rapids, IA | 229 | 123 |
| #3 | Des Moines, IA | 166 | 70 |
| #4 | Dubuque, IA | 157 | 90 |
| #5 | Johnston, IA | 149 | 48 |
| #6 | Iowa City, IA | 121 | 90 |
| #7 | Ankeny, IA | 110 | 57 |
| #8 | Granger, IA | 109 | 3 |
| #9 | Bettendorf, IA | 105 | 42 |
| #10 | Cedar Falls, IA | 91 | 59 |
| #11 | Marion, IA | 89 | 55 |
| #12 | Pella, IA | 58 | 33 |
| #13 | Marshalltown, IA | 58 | 44 |
| #14 | Davenport, IA | 55 | 36 |
| #15 | Urbandale, IA | 40 | 30 |
| #16 | Waterloo, IA | 38 | 25 |
| #17 | Carlisle, IA | 37 | 4 |
| #18 | West Des Moines, IA | 35 | 30 |
| #19 | Coralville, IA | 29 | 24 |
| #20 | Adel, IA | 27 | 3 |
| #21 | Algona, IA | 26 | 5 |
| #22 | Panora, IA | 25 | 1 |
| #23 | Grimes, IA | 23 | 13 |
| #24 | Stuart, IA | 23 | 1 |
| #25 | Ottumwa, IA | 23 | 12 |