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EV charging stations in Iowa

307 charging locations and 921 ports across 24 cities and towns, 275 of them DC fast.

Charging in Iowa

Iowa's charging is spread thin but fairly evenly, following the cities strung along the interstates rather than piling into one metro. Des Moines has the most in absolute terms among the big cities, but Iowa City is the standout: a compact university town with more charging locations than the capital, and Ames is not far behind for a town its size. Davenport and Cedar Rapids anchor the east.

Most of what you'll find is Level 2, the workplace, hotel and municipal lot kind, with roughly three in ten ports rated DC fast. ChargePoint runs the largest share of locations, with Tesla, Blink Charging, EV Connect and Chargelab filling in behind it.

On the road

I-80 is the main east-west run, linking Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Iowa City and Davenport, and it is the route to plan a cross-state drive around. I-35 crosses it north to south through Ames and Des Moines, and I-380 ties Cedar Rapids into that network. I-29 runs up the western edge past Sioux City. Off those routes, the gaps between towns get long.

Plugs and payment

Level 2 posts here use J1772, which every non-Tesla car takes directly and Teslas take with an adapter. DC fast sites are mostly CCS1, with NACS connectors appearing on newer builds alongside Tesla's own. A few CHAdeMO cables survive for older Leafs. Level 2 cables are attached; tap-to-pay is hit and miss, so keep the network apps loaded.

Three things to know

  • Iowa winters cut range hard; precondition the battery on the move and expect slower DC sessions below freezing.
  • University towns like Iowa City and Ames punch above their size for charging, useful waypoints on cross-state runs.
  • Rural county roads have almost nothing; top up in the interstate towns before turning off onto them.

Cities in Iowa

Towns smaller than 20,000 residents are not listed here, but the live map covers every public charger in Iowa: search for the town or allow location access.

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