Story County, IA jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Story County’s unemployment rate is 3.1%. No layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 29 open professional jobs are in its cities.

Independent page. Not from or affiliated with the State of Iowa.

Looking for work in Iowa? See where you stand.

Not sure you match what employers here are hiring for? Get a free read on your fit, the jobs open near you and a plan for the weeks ahead.

Show me jobs near me

Story County economy

3.1%
unemployment, Sep 2026
2.7% the month before
57,132
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
98,592
people in Story County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$69,006
median household income
Source: Census ACS
47%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Story County outlook: Cooling

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

Private-sector jobs down 0.5% from 2022 to 2025
Population up 2.7% from 2020 to 2025
Unemployment 3.1%, up 0.4 points from a year ago
Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+562 jobs)

Local job-market news

Recent headlines about layoffs, AI and jobs in Story County. Each link goes to the publisher.

Wells Fargo Cuts 86 Jobs at West Des Moines Campus, Its Biggest Layoff in YearsHoodline · Oct 30, 2026
Wells Fargo announces single largest mass layoff in at least 5 yearsWHO13 on MSN · Oct 30, 2026
Wells Fargo announces largest layoff in 5 years at West Des Moines officeThe Quad-City Times · Oct 29, 2026
Overnight closures on westbound I-80 in West Des MoinesThe Dispatch–Argus · Oct 29, 2026
Iowa WARN notice says 229 employees will be laid off from UnityPoint HealthWe Are Iowa · Oct 28, 2026
Wells Fargo adds to Jordan Creek layoffsQuad-City Times · Oct 3, 2026

Learn and get funded in Story County

Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.

Story County layoffs

No layoff notices naming Story County in the last 12 months are on file. The WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Story County

Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.

Iowa State University7 open roles
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service3 open roles
Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology2 open roles
Chipotle Mexican Grill1 open role
CPS1 open role
Danfoss1 open role
Ducks Unlimited1 open role
GPAC1 open role
Growmark1 open role
Grx Holdings1 open role

Largest employers headquartered in Story County

Workiva1,001–5,000 employees

Employee counts with a year are published figures (Wikidata). Other sizes are estimates from our company directory, not payroll counts.

Colleges in Story County

Colleges in Story County
College	City	Type	Students
Iowa State University	Ames	Public 4-year	20,000+

Conferences in Story County

Industry conferences and trade shows held in Story County. No dates announced yet for the next edition.

INA Annual Conference
Usually October (next dates not announced) · Ames, IA
Paid ticket. Separate pricing page, not read

All conferences

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Story County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in Iowa? How to file for unemployment in Iowa (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

Central Iowa LWDA
Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Polk, Story, Warren

Cities in Story County

Other Iowa counties

All of Iowa

Laid off or looking for work in Story County?

See what to do first and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from Iowa’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Iowa unemployment benefits and severance rules.

Applying and hearing nothing back?

Find out where you stand: your odds, the jobs that fit you and a plan for the week ahead. Free. No résumé needed.

Already a member? Log in

Get my Market Reality Assessment

Job seekers in Story County looking to you for help, or openings you cannot fill?

Leave your work email. We'll send how organizations use NextChapter to reach job seekers in Story County.

See how organizations use it