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Iowa's Free Enterprise Report: 2025 Edition

The Free Enterprise Report is a marquis report that provides an objective, non-partisan, fact-based analysis of the Iowa economic landscape and the state’s most pressing issues. The study is a year long undertaking and includes the CSI Economic Performance Index as well as a Free Enterprise Competitiveness Index across eight different policy areas.

Both indices provide an opportunity to look backwards and better understand where Iowa has been and what direction we are moving. We can better understand how we are performing relative to other states and we can equip policy makers, civic and business leaders with the best understanding of how our state is performing, where we are winning, where we are losing and how free enterprise principles can get us back on track.

 

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Taxes & Fees
Keeping Local Tax Dollars Local

Iowa’s local governments held $2.5 billion in public funds with ISJIT and IPAIT

Jobs & Our Economy
Iowa Jobs and Labor Force Update - April 2026

Iowa gained 3,400 nonfarm jobs in April, with government employment growing by 300 and private-sector employment growing by 3,100.

May 22, 2026 Andrzej Wieciorkowski
Banking & Finance
The Economic Impact of Restricting Interchange Fees in Iowa: An Analysis of Iowa’s HSB 324

Iowa’s HSB 324 would reduce a merchant’s interchange fees by about $0.004 on a $100 sale transacted with a debit card. For a credit card, CSI estimates merchants would save roughly $0.12 per $100 in sales.

Free Enterprise Report
Free Enterprise Report: 2026 Edition

The Free Enterprise Report is a marquis report that provides an objective, non-partisan, fact-based analysis of the Iowa economic landscape and the state’s most pressing issues.