Guthrie County is located in west-central Iowa, a quick 30 minutes west of the Des Moines Metro. The county is home to a beautiful rural landscape that supports a great quality of life for its residents. There are ten incorporated communities in the county, including Adair, Bagley, Bayard, Casey, Guthrie Center, Jamaica, Menlo, Panora, Stuart, and Yale. The county is also home to two private lake developments: Lake Panorama and Diamondhead Lake.
The county was formally organized in 1851. It is one of six counties in central Iowa that comprise the Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The county seat and most county offices are centrally located in Guthrie Center. The most recent census estimates placed the overall county population at 10,954 residents.