IA · wells & permits

Water wells in Iowa

Real drilling records, county depth medians, active contractors, and exactly what it takes to pull a well permit in Iowa.

The permit, in plain language

Paper / PDF filinggeneric

County EH (owner applies)

567 IAC 49

Instrument: permit
Fee: Call to confirm
Who files: Property owner applies
Timeline: Varies

Confirm current fee with authority

Before the rig arrives

Confirm parcel allows a private well (vs required public water connection).
Select a licensed well contractor; obtain owner authorization as required.
File permit with County EH (owner applies) (PDF/email/mail — WellMap prepares the packet; lawful submitter files).
Do not drill until authorization is issued (or notification accepted, per regime).

After drilling: County water sample 10–30d post within 30 days → County EH (owner applies)

WellMap prepares estimate-backed quote packets and dual-party approvals. It does not issue permits and never auto-submits to government systems. The licensed driller (and/or owner where required by law) is the submitter of record. Verified 2026-07-14.

Top drillers on record

No contractor statistics for Iowa yet — several states publish drilling records without contractor names, and a few aren't in bulk form at all. See data & methodology.

Get a depth estimate anywhere in Iowa

County by county

Depth statistics across Iowa

Medians from wells with verified total depth. Click a county for its permit authority, fee and filing channel.

County	Wells	With depth	Median	p10–p90
Linn	2,968	2,827	205 ft	39–400 ft
Johnson	2,904	2,661	235 ft	31–450 ft
Dubuque	2,518	2,484	224 ft	48–520 ft
Winneshiek	2,506	2,404	266 ft	10–529 ft
Clayton	2,023	1,888	275 ft	26–581 ft
Black Hawk	2,008	1,997	150 ft	75–255 ft
Kossuth	2,006	1,989	185 ft	100–315 ft
Clinton	1,976	1,961	195 ft	70–455 ft
Polk	1,934	1,865	170 ft	8–420 ft
Delaware	1,859	1,844	180 ft	95–305 ft
Washington	1,855	1,838	173 ft	45–312 ft
Dallas	1,802	1,718	180 ft	29–1920 ft
Fayette	1,796	1,709	175 ft	78–600 ft
Pottawattamie	1,719	1,593	115 ft	22–268 ft
Allamakee	1,716	1,678	260 ft	20–525 ft
Lee	1,696	1,592	139 ft	35–321 ft
Bremer	1,669	1,653	135 ft	52–260 ft
Jones	1,629	1,580	210 ft	100–330 ft
Scott	1,622	1,587	205 ft	20–430 ft
Louisa	1,547	1,471	145 ft	36–1144 ft
Webster	1,534	1,435	265 ft	60–624 ft
Woodbury	1,491	1,434	147 ft	35–350 ft
Benton	1,428	1,410	285 ft	33–505 ft
Buchanan	1,395	1,336	185 ft	72–303 ft
Howard	1,384	1,328	146 ft	3–315 ft
Jackson	1,359	1,258	220 ft	75–515 ft
Jasper	1,332	1,265	167 ft	7–338 ft
Plymouth	1,330	1,298	200 ft	20–447 ft
Floyd	1,302	1,261	175 ft	50–265 ft
Muscatine	1,253	1,198	130 ft	35–395 ft
Chickasaw	1,238	1,221	158 ft	100–260 ft
Cerro Gordo	1,234	1,213	225 ft	78–376 ft
Palo Alto	1,229	1,214	177 ft	37–364 ft
Butler	1,225	1,213	160 ft	93–247 ft
Story	1,211	1,129	180 ft	56–374 ft
Tama	1,140	1,089	267 ft	42–465 ft
Hardin	1,123	1,094	170 ft	92–324 ft
Cedar	1,098	1,089	185 ft	29–303 ft
Hamilton	1,082	1,057	265 ft	105–480 ft
Sioux	1,012	938	133 ft	23–527 ft
Buena Vista	995	950	232 ft	67–436 ft
Des Moines	988	953	135 ft	20–452 ft
Monona	984	963	100 ft	63–228 ft
Grundy	953	932	230 ft	96–401 ft
Sac	893	864	182 ft	50–451 ft
Mahaska	864	831	175 ft	26–305 ft
Guthrie	863	767	178 ft	24–603 ft
Wright	857	847	160 ft	82–336 ft
Franklin	856	836	145 ft	80–385 ft
Marion	854	837	182 ft	42–308 ft
Mitchell	831	821	160 ft	60–280 ft
Iowa	826	806	190 ft	35–633 ft
Hancock	819	802	152 ft	87–288 ft
Fremont	809	724	88 ft	28–276 ft
Calhoun	801	730	186 ft	103–503 ft
Mills	791	692	135 ft	32–288 ft
Humboldt	761	743	148 ft	75–300 ft
Pocahontas	759	742	205 ft	80–398 ft
Henry	754	722	205 ft	60–320 ft
Greene	742	725	180 ft	95–480 ft