IA · GEOID 19171

Tama County area

Tama County, Iowa covers 722.1 square miles: 721 square miles of land and 1.1 square miles of water.

Official Census measurements2026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area721 mi²
Water area1.1 mi²
Total area722.1 mi²
National land rank#1240

County outline

Generalized outline of Tama County, Iowa
2025 Census cartographic boundary, fitted to this frame. County maps are not at a common scale. The 2026 area measurements below come from the separate Gazetteer release. Map source and limitations.

Where Tama County is located

Tama County highlighted on a map of all U.S. county equivalents. About the maps

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 99.9% of Tama County’s measured area and water for 0.1%. Its combined area converts to 1,870.2 square kilometers or approximately 462,131 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land721.0111,867.41461,447
Water1.0692.769684.2
Total722.081,870.179462,131.2

How Tama County compares

By original Census land area, Tama County ranks #9 of 99 in Iowa and #1240 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 1.266 times the Iowa county-equivalent median of 569.6 square miles. It accounts for 1.3% of the combined county land area in the state.

See the complete Iowa ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?

What stands out about Tama County?

Tama County has more land than 1,982 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Tama County721 mi²
Iowa median569.6 mi²
National median604.5 mi²

A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.

Does including water change its rank?

Using land plus water places Tama County at #1,353 nationally by total area, 113 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.

Its water share is 0.1%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 1 percentage points lower. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.

Closest positions in the national land ranking

These entries sit immediately beside Tama County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#1239St. Clair County, Michigan721.5Compare
#1240Tama County, Iowa721This county
#1241Hooker County, Nebraska721Compare

Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.

Representative coordinates

The Census internal point is 42.074848, -92.529411. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.

Source and precision

U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,867,410,616 m²; AWATER: 2,769,418 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.

Download the official county source ZIP ↗ · Methodology

Common questions

How many acres of land are in Tama County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 461,447 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 462,131 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.

Why might another source show a different area?

Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.

Can this establish a property boundary?

No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.

Cite this county

Download the complete CSV or JSON dataset