Iron is undoubtedly one of the most important resources in Minecraft. It is part of several recipes, mechanics, and progression features that are important in any Minecraft world. An iron farm is the best source of iron in the later stages, but you're more likely to simply go mining in the early game. In this guide, we will share what the best level to find and mine iron in Minecraft is and how you should go about it. So, let's get started!

Iron ores are unique compared to other ores. If you look at the ore distribution chart, you can see that there are three different iron ore generating levels in the world. The first is only found in the high terrain, so in the mountain Minecraft biome. It generates iron ore from Y level = 80 to Y level = 256. Most of the iron ore that the game will generate appears around Y level = 232 for this batch.

The second batch spawns iron ores underground from Y level = -24 to Y level = 56. Most of the ores you find in this area are around the Y coordinate of 16. The iron ores generated in the deepslate layers replace deepslate and tuff blocks ( Java edition only) and become deep shale iron ores. The third batch simply generates iron ore evenly from Y level = -64 to Y level = 72.

So, to sum it up, you will most often find iron ore at Y level = 16 and Y level = 232. Of these two Y levels, the 232 level is better, as it creates more iron ores. In addition, they are usually even exposed, so you can easily spot them.