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County · code 19055

Delaware CountyIowa

Delaware County is in Iowa, with its seat in Manchester. It was created December 21, 1837, from Dubuque County.

  • Founded1837
  • County seatManchester
  • Named forDelaware
  • Land area578 sq mi + 1.2 sq mi water
  • Population17,488 2020 Census
  • Parcels mapped18,227 checked 15 October 2026
Open the free map Click any parcel in Delaware County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated

ClaytonBuchananDubuque Manchester Census outline · seat marked

Where it is

Delaware on the map of Iowa

Iowa has 99 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.

Adair CountyAdams CountyAllamakee CountyAppanoose CountyAudubon CountyBenton CountyBlack Hawk CountyBoone CountyBremer CountyBuchanan CountyBuena Vista CountyButler CountyCalhoun CountyCarroll CountyCass CountyCedar CountyCerro Gordo CountyCherokee CountyChickasaw CountyClarke CountyClay CountyClayton CountyClinton CountyCrawford CountyDallas CountyDavis CountyDecatur CountyDes Moines CountyDickinson CountyDubuque CountyEmmet CountyFayette CountyFloyd CountyFranklin CountyFremont CountyGreene CountyGrundy CountyGuthrie CountyHamilton CountyHancock CountyHardin CountyHarrison CountyHenry CountyHoward CountyHumboldt CountyIda CountyIowa CountyJackson CountyJasper CountyJefferson CountyJohnson CountyJones CountyKeokuk CountyKossuth CountyLee CountyLinn CountyLouisa CountyLucas CountyLyon CountyMadison CountyMahaska CountyMarion CountyMarshall CountyMills CountyMitchell CountyMonona CountyMonroe CountyMontgomery CountyMuscatine CountyO'Brien CountyOsceola CountyPage CountyPalo Alto CountyPlymouth CountyPocahontas CountyPolk CountyPottawattamie CountyPoweshiek CountyRinggold CountySac CountyScott CountyShelby CountySioux CountyStory CountyTama CountyTaylor CountyUnion CountyVan Buren CountyWapello CountyWarren CountyWashington CountyWayne CountyWebster CountyWinnebago CountyWinneshiek CountyWoodbury CountyWorth CountyWright CountyDelaware County Delaware
Counties of Iowa · Delaware highlighted

History

Formed in 1837 from Dubuque County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Delaware County was created by Wisconsin Territory from Dubuque County on December 21, 1837, initially unorganized and attached to Dubuque for temporary purposes. It became a county in Iowa Territory on July 3, 1838, when Iowa Territory was created from Wisconsin Territory. Delaware County was fully organized and detached from Dubuque on February 8, 1844. In 1851, the county lost all attached unorganized territory to the creation of eleven new counties.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

  1. 1837
    Delaware County created Delaware created by Wisconsin Territory from Dubuque; Delaware not fully organized, attached to Dubuque "for temporary purposes."
    from Dubuque
    · Wis. Terr. Laws 1837, no. 6, secs. 4, 6/pp. 133-134
  2. 1838
    Became part of Iowa Delaware became an Iowa Territory county when Iowa Territory was created from Wisconsin Territory. · U.S. Stat., vol. 5, ch. 96[1838]/pp. 235-241
  3. 1846
    Gained territory Non-County Area 6 attached to Delaware gained part of Non-County Area 7 and lost to creation of Non-County Area 9. Non-County Area 6 included territory in present Iowa and Minnesota. · Iowa Terr. Laws 1845-1846, ch. 96, secs. 1, 11, 18/pp. 86-88; ch. 101, secs. 1, 11-12/pp. 92-95
  4. 1846
    Lost territory Delaware lost part of attached Non-County Area 6 to unorganized federal territory when the state of Iowa was created from Iowa Territory. · U.S. Stat., vol. 9, ch. 1[1847]/p. 117
  5. 1851
    Lost territory Delaware lost all of attached Non-County Area 6 to creation of Bremer, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Floyd, Franklin, Grundy, Hardin, Howard, Mitchell, and Worth; Non-County Area 6 eliminated.
    to Bremerto Butlerto Cerro Gordoto Chickasawto Floydto Franklinto Grundyto Hardinto Howardto Mitchellto Worth
    · Iowa Acts 1850-1851, ch. 9, secs. 8-12/pp. 29-30, secs. 33-35/p.35, secs. 43-44/p. 37
Show all 10 changes (5 more)
  1. 1837
    Delaware County created Delaware created by Wisconsin Territory from Dubuque; Delaware not fully organized, attached to Dubuque "for temporary purposes."
    from Dubuque
    · Wis. Terr. Laws 1837, no. 6, secs. 4, 6/pp. 133-134
  2. 1838
    Became part of Iowa Delaware became an Iowa Territory county when Iowa Territory was created from Wisconsin Territory. · U.S. Stat., vol. 5, ch. 96[1838]/pp. 235-241
  3. 1839
    Changed Delaware fully organized, detached from Dubuque.
    Dubuque
    · Iowa Terr. Laws 1839-1840, ch. 7, secs. 1, 5/pp. 10-12
  4. 1843
    Changed Delaware reattached to Dubuque "for judicial purposes."
    Dubuque
    · Iowa Terr. Laws 1842-1843, ch. 57, sec. 1/p. 54
  5. 1843
    Changed Non-County Area 6 attached to Delaware "for judicial, revenue, and election purposes." · Iowa Terr. Rev. Stat. 1843, ch. 34, sec. 11/p. 134
  6. 1844
    Changed Delaware fully organized, detached from Dubuque; Black Hawk attached to Delaware for administrative and judicial purposes; Buchanan detached from Dubuque, attached to Delaware for administrative and judicial purposes.
    DubuqueBlack HawkBuchanan
    · Iowa Terr. Laws 1843-1844, ch. 87, sec. 2/p. 105
  7. 1846
    Gained territory Non-County Area 6 attached to Delaware gained part of Non-County Area 7 and lost to creation of Non-County Area 9. Non-County Area 6 included territory in present Iowa and Minnesota. · Iowa Terr. Laws 1845-1846, ch. 96, secs. 1, 11, 18/pp. 86-88; ch. 101, secs. 1, 11-12/pp. 92-95
  8. 1846
    Lost territory Delaware lost part of attached Non-County Area 6 to unorganized federal territory when the state of Iowa was created from Iowa Territory. · U.S. Stat., vol. 9, ch. 1[1847]/p. 117
  9. 1847
    Changed Buchanan fully organized, detached from Delaware.
    Buchanan
    · Swisher, "Organization of Counties," 574
  10. 1851
    Lost territory Delaware lost all of attached Non-County Area 6 to creation of Bremer, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Floyd, Franklin, Grundy, Hardin, Howard, Mitchell, and Worth; Non-County Area 6 eliminated.
    to Bremerto Butlerto Cerro Gordoto Chickasawto Floydto Franklinto Grundyto Hardinto Howardto Mitchellto Worth
    · Iowa Acts 1850-1851, ch. 9, secs. 8-12/pp. 29-30, secs. 33-35/p.35, secs. 43-44/p. 37

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Delaware

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Official
from the office that keeps the record
Good enough
a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback
a guide only; check the official record
Missing
nothing public found yet

People and land

Delaware by the Census

Population
17,488 2020 Census count
Housing units
8,100 2020 Census count
Land area
578 square miles
Water area
1.2 square miles
People per sq mi
30 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Who to ask before you build, dig or sell

Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.

Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.

Zoning and code

County government

See your own lot on these maps

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Questions

Common questions about Delaware County

When was Delaware County founded?
Delaware County was founded in 1837, formed from Dubuque County, and named after Delaware.
What is the county seat of Delaware County?
The county seat of Delaware County is Manchester.
Is there an online parcel map for Delaware County?
Yes. Delaware County publishes a parcel map of 18,227 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Delaware County's boundary or name changed?
Delaware County was created in 1837 from Dubuque County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 9 later changes, chiefly involving Dubuque County, Buchanan County and Black Hawk County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Delaware County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby

Counties next door