Bolthole Index county-legal census · checked 2026-10-07
4 of Iowa's 99 counties — 4% — allow living in an RV on private land. That is the 16th-largest count of any state. The strongest of them on the Bolthole Index is Jefferson County (77/100). Every entry below cites the county’s own official source.
Rules change, and cities inside these counties set their own — treat this as a verified starting point, not legal advice. All 456 counties nationwide → Iowa: no building codes → Iowa: no zoning → Iowa: no codes, no zoning → Iowa: owner-builder → Iowa: tiny homes → Iowa: no minimum home size → Full Iowa profile →
From the Iowa guide
Iowa RV occupancy answers cover 22 counties: 4 allowed, 6 temporary-only, 10 limited and 2 prohibited; the other 77 counties are unanswered.7 The allowed county-zoning answers are Jefferson County, Lee County, Chickasaw County, Hamilton County; those answers concern unincorporated land and do not settle septic or other approvals.712 Start with the Iowa RV-living list.7
Tiny-home answers also cover 22 counties: 7 allowed, 13 limited and 2 prohibited, leaving 77 unanswered.8 The allowed group starts with Jefferson County, Lee County, Washington County, Chickasaw County, but each county answer has its own scope and conditions.8 Compare the Iowa tiny-home list before choosing a parcel.8
A tiny home proposed as an accessory dwelling has a different route: Iowa requires counties and cities to allow an accessory dwelling on the same lot as a single-family residence in eligible districts, subject to building regulations and statutory conditions.2526 A manufactured or mobile accessory dwelling must be on a permanent foundation and assessed as real property.25
From the Iowa guide, written from the cited official sources and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: confirm with the office before you buy or build.
4 of 99 Iowa counties · sorted by Index score
County land-use regulation of recreational-vehicle occupancy on private land in unincorporated Jefferson County, Iowa. The county's no-zoning statement excludes the City of Fair…
Questions - Jefferson County Iowa Government ↗County land-use zoning regulation of long-term or permanent recreational-vehicle occupancy on private land in unincorporated Lee County, Iowa. Lee County has not adopted a count…
Code of Ordinances of Lee County, Iowa, 2017 ↗Long-term or residential occupancy of recreational vehicles on private land in unincorporated Chickasaw County, Iowa, as a county zoning matter. Chickasaw County has no zoning o…
Land Use Office - Chickasaw County Government - Iowa ↗County land-use zoning treatment of recreational-vehicle occupancy on private land in Hamilton County's unincorporated areas. The county's no-zoning statement does not address s…
hamiltoncounty.iowa.gov ↗Every county here has a full profile — water, land prices, hazard safety, seclusion, and the rest of its building rules. See the Iowa state page for all 99 counties ranked, or go back to the national list.
Off-grid gear
Building on land in one of these Iowa counties? The kit we'd start with:
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General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.
