Hancock County, Iowa

Hancock County is a county in Iowa, United States, about 21 miles southwest of Mason City in
north-central Iowa. It had a population of 10,795 at the 2020 census, an estimated 10,528 by
2025, and covers 571 square miles (1,480 km2) centred near 43°05′N 93°44′W.

Garner is the county seat; its postal code is 50438. The county holds 9 cities, 4
census-designated places and 2 further unincorporated communities across 16 townships, and it
runs on Central Time.

Towns & Villages in Hancock County

Hancock County has 15 named places on record: 9 incorporated cities and 6 further
communities with no city government of their own. CDP stands for census designated place;
Unincorp. covers crossroads settlements with no formal boundary and no separate population
count.

Forest City straddles a county line: it is the seat of neighboring Winnebago County, and most
of its 4,285 residents live on the Winnebago side, but the city limits reach south into Hancock
County, which is why it appears on this list. An earlier version of this page also listed a
“Hayfield Junction” as a separate place; no Census record or gazetteer entry supports
that as distinct from Hayfield, so it has been dropped.

Townships

Hancock County is organized into 16 civil townships: Amsterdam, Avery, Bingham, Boone,
Britt, Concord, Crystal, Ell, Ellington, Erin, Garfield, Liberty, Madison, Magor, Orthel and
Twin Lake. The Census Bureau does not publish a separate population count for each rural
township in this county, so only the confirmed township-city pairings are shown below.

ZIP Codes

• 50436 — Forest City (shared with Winnebago County)
• 50438 — Garner (also serves Hayfield and Miller)
• 50423 — Britt (also serves Duncan and Hutchins)
• 50447 — Kanawha
• 50449 — Klemme
• 50430 — Corwith
• 50432 — Crystal Lake
• 50484 — Woden
• 50439 — Goodell

Stilson and Denhart have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under the nearest
incorporated city’s code.

Geography

Hancock County sits on the Des Moines Lobe, a belt of flat-to-gently-rolling glacial till
plain across north-central Iowa built up during the last ice age, and most of its land is
cultivated cropland. Of its 571 square miles, 571 square miles are land and 2.0 square miles
are water, about 0.4 percent — nearly all of that is Crystal Lake, on the south shore of
the city that carries its name, plus scattered farm ponds and county drainage ditches. The East
Branch Iowa River runs near Klemme in the county’s southeast, and the Boone River passes
along Corwith in the southwest, both headwater streams rather than navigable rivers.

Winnebago County lies to the north, Cerro Gordo County to the east, Wright County to the
south, and Kossuth County to the west. Winnebago County, Cerro Gordo County, Wright County and Kossuth County all border Hancock
directly.

Demographics

Hancock County had a population of 10,795 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts
the county near 10,528 residents by 2025, a slight decline typical of rural north-central Iowa.
Forest City and Garner are the two largest communities on the list above, together accounting
for well over two-thirds of the county’s residents, though most of Forest City’s
population lives across the line in Winnebago County. Population density works out to 18.9
people per square mile of land, low even by Iowa standards, reflecting the county’s
almost entirely agricultural land use.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing is the county’s largest employment sector, with about 1,118 workers as
of 2024, followed by health care and social assistance at 789 and retail trade at 616. Winnebago
Industries, the recreational-vehicle maker that traces its roots to Forest City, runs its
original plant there with roughly 2,400 workers — since Forest City straddles the
Hancock-Winnebago line, many of those manufacturing jobs draw on Hancock County residents.
Southwest of Klemme, the Hancock County Wind Energy Center’s 148 turbines generate power
across the county’s open farmland, a visible second industry alongside row-crop
agriculture. The county’s median household income was $70,601 in 2024, below
Iowa’s statewide figure of $71,433 (2023 ACS). Britt’s biggest annual event is the
National Hobo Convention, held every year on the second weekend of August, drawing visitors for
contests, craft shows, communal meals and a parade.

History

The Iowa legislature established Hancock County on 15 January 1851, naming it for John
Hancock, a member of the Continental Congress during the American Revolution. Garner was
platted in 1870 along the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad and incorporated as the
county seat in 1881; its namesake, Col. W. W. Garner, was a civil engineer on that same
railroad. The current Hancock County Courthouse, still in use in Garner, was built in 1899.
Before founding their famous automobile company, the Duesenberg brothers ran a bicycle
business in Garner. Britt was platted in 1878 along the same rail line; hobos first gathered
there in 1900, and town leaders revived the tradition as an annual town festival starting in
1934, a run that continues unbroken today.

Getting There

No interstate highway crosses Hancock County. U.S. Highway 18 runs east-west through Garner
and Britt; U.S. Highway 69 runs north-south through Klemme, Kanawha and Corwith; Iowa Highway
17 connects the county’s eastern towns.

• Mason City — about 21 miles northeast
• Clear Lake — about 12 miles east
• Algona — about 32 miles west
• Des Moines — about 104 miles south

Mason City Municipal Airport, in neighboring Cerro Gordo County, is the nearest commercial
airport; United Express operates daily service to Chicago O’Hare from there. No Amtrak
route serves this part of Iowa.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Hancock County located?
It sits in north-central Iowa, about 21 miles southwest of Mason City, bordered by Winnebago,
Cerro Gordo, Wright and Kossuth counties.

What is the population of Hancock County?
10,795 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 10,528.

How big is Hancock County?
571 square miles (1,480 km2), of which 571 square miles are land and 2.0 square miles are
water.

What is the county seat of Hancock County?
Garner, incorporated in 1881, is the county seat.

How many towns and cities are in Hancock County?
Nine incorporated cities — Forest City (shared with Winnebago County), Garner, Britt,
Kanawha, Klemme, Corwith, Crystal Lake, Woden and Goodell — plus four census-designated
places (Duncan, Miller, Hayfield and Hutchins) and two unincorporated communities (Stilson and
Denhart).

What ZIP codes does Hancock County use?
50436 for Forest City, 50438 for Garner, 50423 for Britt, 50447 for Kanawha, 50449 for Klemme,
50430 for Corwith, 50432 for Crystal Lake, 50484 for Woden and 50439 for Goodell.

What is Hancock County known for?
Britt’s National Hobo Convention, held every August since 1934, and the 148-turbine
Hancock County Wind Energy Center near Klemme.

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