Clinton County, Iowa

Clinton County is a county in Iowa, United States, in the state’s east-central corner along
the Mississippi River, about 40 miles northeast of Davenport. It had a population of 46,460 at
the 2020 census, an estimated 46,268 by 2024, and covers 710 square miles (1,800 km2) centred
near 41°54′N 90°32′W.

Clinton is the county seat and by far its largest city; its postal code is 52732. The county
holds 14 incorporated cities and 10 unincorporated communities across 18 townships, and it runs
on Central Time. Its FIPS code is 19023.

Towns & Villages in Clinton County

Clinton County has 24 named places on record: 14 incorporated cities and 10 unincorporated
communities with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census designated place;
Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no formal boundary.

One place on this list straddles a county line. Big Rock sits mostly across the line in Scott
County, with only its northern edge reaching into Clinton County, so its handful of residents
are overwhelmingly Scott County ones, not Clinton County ones.

ZIP Codes

• 52732 — Clinton (main post office)
• 52733, 52734, 52736, 52771 — Clinton (secondary ZIPs, including PO box ranges)
• 52742 — DeWitt
• 52730 — Camanche
• 52777 — Wheatland (also serves Toronto)
• 52751 — Grand Mound
• 52037 — Delmar
• 52254 — Lost Nation
• 52731 — Charlotte
• 52729 — Calamus
• 52757 — Low Moor
• 52750 — Goose Lake
• 52774 — Welton
• 52701 — Andover

Almont, Big Rock, Bryant, Buena Vista, Elvira, Elwood, Folletts, Malone, Petersville and Teeds
Grove have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest incorporated
city’s code.

Geography

Clinton County occupies the eastern edge of Iowa, where the Mississippi River forms its entire
border with Illinois. Of its 710 square miles, 695 are land and 15 are water, about 2.1 percent
— nearly all of that water is the Mississippi itself and the sloughs along its floodplain.
The river also carries Iowa’s easternmost point, a stretch of shoreline in Elk River
Township in the county’s northeast corner.

Jackson County lies to the north, Scott County to the south, and Cedar County to the southwest,
with Jones County along the northwest edge. Across the Mississippi to the east lie three Illinois
counties: Carroll, Whiteside and Rock Island, running northeast to southeast along the river.
Jackson County, Scott County, Cedar County, Jones County, Carroll County, Illinois and Rock Island County, Illinois all
border Clinton directly; Whiteside County, Illinois, has no live page on this site to link to.

Demographics

Clinton County had a population of 46,460 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 46,268 residents, a slight decline rather than growth. Clinton and DeWitt are the two
largest communities, together holding well over half the county’s population. Median
household income runs $66,981 (2024 estimate), below Iowa’s 2023 statewide figure of
$71,433. Population density works out to roughly 67 people per square mile of land, typical for a
river county this far from a metro core.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 4,245 people, followed by retail
trade at 2,959 and health care and social assistance at 2,894. Archer Daniels Midland, Nestle
Purina, Big River Packaging, Atlas Roofing Corporation, LyondellBasell and the Timken Company all
run plants in Clinton, giving the city an industrial base built around river and rail access.
Clinton Community College, part of Eastern Iowa Community Colleges, serves the county from its
Clinton campus. The Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, a non-profit summer stock company performing
on a permanent showboat moored on the Mississippi riverfront, runs its season each summer and is
the county’s best-known cultural draw; the Bickelhaupt Arboretum nearby adds a second
riverfront attraction. Camanche runs its own elementary, middle and high schools under the
Camanche Community School District, and DeWitt’s Central DeWitt Community School District
serves several of the county’s smaller towns, including Welton.

History

The Iowa territorial legislature authorized Clinton County on 21 December 1837, one of the
early counties carved out along the Mississippi as settlement pushed west. It was named for
DeWitt Clinton, the seventh governor of New York and the chief promoter of the Erie Canal; both
the city of Clinton and the town of DeWitt honor him directly. Organized settlement began around
1836, and the county’s current Romanesque-style courthouse opened in 1897.

Camanche was the site of one of Iowa’s deadliest natural disasters. On 3 June 1860, an F4
tornado tore through the town, killing at least 41 people there among a total of 92 deaths along
its path — still among the highest tornado death tolls in state history.

Getting There

No interstate highway crosses Clinton County. U.S. Route 30, the historic Lincoln Highway, and
U.S. Route 61 both pass through DeWitt, and U.S. Route 67, the Great River Road, follows the
Mississippi through Clinton and Camanche. Iowa Highway 136 links DeWitt to the smaller towns in
the county’s interior.

• Davenport — about 40 miles southwest of Clinton
• Cedar Rapids — about 80 miles west
• Dubuque — about 90 miles northwest
• Chicago — about 140 miles east

Quad Cities International Airport, roughly 35 miles southwest of Clinton in Moline, Illinois,
is the nearest commercial airport. The county has no passenger rail station of its own; the
nearest Amtrak service runs out of the Chicago area to the east.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Clinton County located?
It sits on Iowa’s eastern border along the Mississippi River, about 40 miles northeast of
Davenport, bordered by Jackson, Scott, Cedar and Jones counties and three Illinois counties
across the river.

What is the population of Clinton County?
46,460 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 46,268.

How big is Clinton County?
710 square miles (1,800 km2), of which 695 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Clinton County?
Clinton is the county seat and largest city, with a population of 24,469.

How many towns and cities are in Clinton County?
Fourteen incorporated cities — Clinton, DeWitt, Camanche, Wheatland, Grand Mound, Delmar,
Lost Nation, Charlotte, Calamus, Low Moor, Goose Lake, Welton, Andover and Toronto — plus
ten unincorporated communities: Almont, Big Rock, Bryant, Buena Vista, Elvira, Elwood, Folletts,
Malone, Petersville and Teeds Grove.

What ZIP codes does Clinton County use?
52732, 52733, 52734, 52736 and 52771 for Clinton; 52742 for DeWitt; 52730 for Camanche; and
separate codes for each of the county’s smaller cities, listed above.

What is Clinton County known for?
DeWitt Clinton’s namesake city and river industry — ADM, Nestle Purina and the Timken
Company all operate plants in Clinton — and the 1860 F4 tornado that devastated Camanche,
one of the deadliest in Iowa history.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Iowa.