Iowa ranks #26 among US states for total patents filed all time, with 74,524 patents from 15,303 inventors across 682 cities. On a per-capita basis that is 23.4 patents per 1,000 residents, a standard benchmark for comparing state-level R&D intensity.
Top Cities in Iowa All Time
| Rank | City | Patents | Inventors |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Cedar Rapids, IA | 8,276 | 1,358 |
| #2 | Ames, IA | 6,181 | 1,427 |
| #3 | Iowa City, IA | 3,297 | 834 |
| #4 | Dubuque, IA | 2,860 | 571 |
| #5 | Des Moines, IA | 2,822 | 657 |
| #6 | Marion, IA | 2,489 | 453 |
| #7 | Ankeny, IA | 2,313 | 408 |
| #8 | Johnston, IA | 2,256 | 247 |
| #9 | Bettendorf, IA | 1,905 | 329 |
| #10 | Cedar Falls, IA | 1,832 | 441 |
| #11 | Marshalltown, IA | 1,467 | 271 |
| #12 | Davenport, IA | 1,389 | 349 |
| #13 | Urbandale, IA | 1,384 | 202 |
| #14 | Waterloo, IA | 1,275 | 348 |
| #15 | Pella, IA | 1,271 | 257 |
| #16 | West Des Moines, IA | 1,220 | 276 |
| #17 | Granger, IA | 1,066 | 26 |
| #18 | Panora, IA | 981 | 16 |
| #19 | Coralville, IA | 919 | 181 |
| #20 | Muscatine, IA | 833 | 197 |
| #21 | Ottumwa, IA | 775 | 143 |
| #22 | Oskaloosa, IA | 659 | 80 |
| #23 | Newton, IA | 654 | 130 |
| #24 | Williamsburg, IA | 611 | 50 |
| #25 | Waukee, IA | 530 | 72 |