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County · code 19065

Fayette CountyIowa

Fayette County is a county in northeastern Iowa with its county seat in West Union. The county was created in 1837 from Dubuque County and named after the Marquis de Lafayette.

  • Founded1837
  • County seatWest Union
  • Named forGilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
  • Land area731 sq mi + 0.5 sq mi water
  • Population19,509 2020 Census
  • Parcels mapped16,631 checked 15 October 2026
Open the free map Click any parcel in Fayette County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated

BuchananClayton West Union Census outline · seat marked

Where it is

Fayette 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 CountyDelaware CountyDes Moines CountyDickinson CountyDubuque CountyEmmet 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 CountyFayette County Fayette
Counties of Iowa · Fayette highlighted

History

Formed in 1837 from Dubuque County and Clayton County

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

Created by Wisconsin Territory on December 21, 1837, from Dubuque County and initially attached to Clayton County for temporary purposes, Fayette County initially included territory in present Iowa, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota. Fayette became a county in Iowa Territory on July 3, 1838, when Iowa Territory was created from Wisconsin Territory. The county lost territory to a non-county area in 1843 and was eliminated from present Minnesota in 1846 when the state of Iowa was created from Iowa Territory. Fayette County was fully organized and detached from Clayton County on August 26, 1850.

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

  1. 1837
    Fayette County created Fayette created by Wisconsin Territory from Dubuque; Fayette included territory in present Iowa, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota. Fayette not fully organized, attached to Clayton "for temporary purposes."
    from Dubuquefrom Clayton
    · Wis. Terr. Laws 1837, no. 6, sec. 2/p. 133
  2. 1838
    Became part of Iowa Fayette 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. 1843
    Lost territory Fayette lost to creation of Non-County Area 6; Fayette included territory in present Iowa and Minnesota and remained attached to Clayton.
    to Clayton
    · Iowa Terr. Rev. Stat. 1843, ch. 34, sec. 11/p. 134
  4. 1846
    Lost territory Fayette lost to unorganized federal territory when the state of Iowa was created from Iowa Territory; Fayette was eliminated from present Minnesota and remained attached to Clayton.
    to Clayton
    · U.S. Stat., vol. 9, ch. 1[1847]/p. 117
  5. 1847
    Lost territory Fayette lost to Clayton and to creation of Non-County Area 10; Fayette remained attached to Clayton.
    to Clayton
    · Iowa Acts 1846-1847, ch. 23, secs. 1-2/pp. 39-40
Show all 8 changes (3 more)
  1. 1837
    Fayette County created Fayette created by Wisconsin Territory from Dubuque; Fayette included territory in present Iowa, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota. Fayette not fully organized, attached to Clayton "for temporary purposes."
    from Dubuquefrom Clayton
    · Wis. Terr. Laws 1837, no. 6, sec. 2/p. 133
  2. 1838
    Became part of Iowa Fayette 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. 1843
    Lost territory Fayette lost to creation of Non-County Area 6; Fayette included territory in present Iowa and Minnesota and remained attached to Clayton.
    to Clayton
    · Iowa Terr. Rev. Stat. 1843, ch. 34, sec. 11/p. 134
  4. 1846
    Lost territory Fayette lost to unorganized federal territory when the state of Iowa was created from Iowa Territory; Fayette was eliminated from present Minnesota and remained attached to Clayton.
    to Clayton
    · U.S. Stat., vol. 9, ch. 1[1847]/p. 117
  5. 1847
    Lost territory Fayette lost to Clayton and to creation of Non-County Area 10; Fayette remained attached to Clayton.
    to Clayton
    · Iowa Acts 1846-1847, ch. 23, secs. 1-2/pp. 39-40
  6. 1850
    Changed Fayette fully organized, detached from Clayton.
    Clayton
    · Swisher, "Organization of Counties," 575
  7. 1853
    Changed Chickasaw attached to Fayette "for election, revenue, and judicial purposes" (Floyd, Franklin, Howard, Mitchell, and Worth indirectly attached to Fayette, through Chickasaw, until 12 September 1853).
    ChickasawFloydFranklinHowardMitchellWorth
    · Iowa Acts 1852-1853, ch. 12, sec. 8/p. 29
  8. 1853
    Changed Chickasaw fully organized, detached from Fayette.
    Chickasaw
    · Swisher, "Organization of Counties," 574

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Fayette

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

Fayette by the Census

Population
19,509 2020 Census count
Housing units
9,298 2020 Census count
Land area
731 square miles
Water area
0.5 square miles
People per sq mi
27 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

Open Fayette County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

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Questions

Common questions about Fayette County

When was Fayette County founded?
Fayette County was founded in 1837, formed from Dubuque County and Clayton County, and named after Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette.
What is the county seat of Fayette County?
The county seat of Fayette County is West Union.
Is there an online parcel map for Fayette County?
Yes. Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (statewide parcels, mirrored by the University of Iowa) publishes a parcel map of 16,631 parcels, rated fallback here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Fayette County's boundary or name changed?
Fayette County was created in 1837 from Dubuque County and Clayton County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 7 later changes, chiefly involving Clayton County, Chickasaw County and Floyd County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Fayette 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