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Welcome to Howard County ...

Time Zone: Howard County lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time.

The community of Cresco is the Seat for Howard County.

Howard County was founded January 15, 1851 and was created by taking area from Chickasaw County.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, <1> Howard had a population of 9,158 people. This is a decrease of 4.29% since the last Census (which gave a population of 9,568 people in 2010).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Howard represented 0.31% of the total population of Iowa.

Below are some of the communities located in Howard County:

  • Chester
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Cresco
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cresco
    • Cresco is located in Howard County (IA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,744 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cresco <2>
  • Elma
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elma
    • Elma is located in Howard County (IA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 529 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elma <2>
  • Lime Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Protivin
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Riceville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riceville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceville
    • Riceville is located in Howard County (IA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 762 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riceville <2>

Websites of Interest ...

Footnotes ...

<1>On a yearly basis, the US Census Bureau creates an estimate of the county's population. Keep in mind that this is an estimate and not an actual count. The last physical count was the 2010 Census and the next count will be for the 2020 Census.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
 

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This page was last modified/updated: 13 Jul 2025