How deep are wells in Iowa? Depth by county from 15,039 state well logs

Deepest and shallowest counties by median depth

Among the 72 counties with 30 or more logs that give a depth. The logs column is the count behind each median.

Every Iowa county with 30 or more logs

Depth is the total depth the driller reported. "Middle 80%" is the 10th to 90th percentile: one log in ten is shallower than the first number and one in ten deeper than the second. The public file has no water level column. Years: the span of the middle 90% of dated logs. Download the table (CSV).

Fewer than 30 logs with a depth, so no figures: Adair (15), Adams (6), Appanoose (4), Boone (2), Clarke (1), Davis (12), Decatur (5), Des Moines (12), Dickinson (10), Jasper (22), Jefferson (2), Lucas (5), Madison (12), Marion (14), Marshall (3), Monroe (5), Osceola (10), Page (13), Ringgold (2), Tama (22), Taylor (4), Union (3), Van Buren (2), Wapello (10), Warren (25).

Method

• Source: the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Private Well Tracking System (Private Well Facilities layer). We downloaded it on October 10, 2026 from the state's own server.
• Rows counted: private wells with a construction log on file. Field filter as run: opStatus = Active Logged; depth = WellDepth; no water level in the public layer.
• Each log is placed in the county the state file gives, matched to Census county names. 15,039 logs matched a Iowa county.
• A depth outside 1 to 5,000 feet is treated as a typing error and left out. A water level counts only when it is above zero and shallower than the well's depth. Medians and percentiles use the standard linear method.
• A county shows figures only with 30 or more logs that give a depth (water level: 30 or more levels). Nothing is estimated or filled in.

Limits

• Well logs cover drilled wells that a driller reported to the state. They are not a count of every well: older wells, hand-dug wells and wells from before reporting began are often missing.
• Depths and water levels are as each driller wrote them on the day the well was finished. Water levels move with season, drought and nearby pumping, so an old reading is not today's level.
• Dates vary by county. The years column shows when most of the logs were drilled; a county with mostly older logs describes older wells.
• A county figure says nothing certain about one lot. Depth can change a lot across a county, from hilltop to valley. A local driller's logs for nearby wells are the better guide for a single property.

Data: Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Private Well Tracking System (Private Well Facilities layer), read October 10, 2026. CSV of this table. Built by WellsNear from the state file; the code is the same for every state.

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