Ranked from official statistics; every city opens its own guide.
Ranking CITY (59 largest of Iowa) Official statistics Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024
Among the 59 largest places in Iowa, Creston Carroll and Denison . Click any column to sort; click a city for its guide.
What the ranking shows Across the 59 places in Iowa that we cover, the median is $945 and the average $978; the figure runs from $703 (Creston ) to $1,383 (Waukee ). That is a spread of 2.0 times between the two ends. The state figure is $972; 24 of the 59 places are above it and 35 at or below.
How to use it The first five are Creston , Carroll , Denison , Charles City , Fort Dodge . A high or low position is not good or bad on its own: low rent can reflect a smaller job market or older housing stock, so look at income and commute too. Use the Compare tab on each city page to see how two places differ across income, rent, commute and education, and check the county page for the local job market.
Sort: # City County Median rent a month Population Median household income A–Z / Smallest first ▲ Z–A / Largest first ▼
# ⇅ City ⇅ County ⇅ Median rent a month ⇅ Population ⇅ Median household income ⇅ 1 Creston Union County $703 7,435 $52,633 2 Carroll Carroll County $722 10,208 $69,706 3 Denison Crawford County $731 8,260 $65,684 4 Charles City Floyd County $735 7,232 $59,180 5 Fort Dodge Webster County $785 24,827 $60,649 6 Clinton Clinton County $791 24,322 $60,230 7 Knoxville Marion County $801 7,473 $61,599 8 Spencer Clay County $805 11,400 $59,667 9 Clear Lake Cerro Gordo County $808 7,607 $79,415 10 Newton Jasper County $819 15,700 $57,771 11 Fort Madison Lee County $826 10,133 $50,705 12 Mount Pleasant Henry County $826 8,951 $61,042 13 Boone Boone County $831 12,424 $69,222 14 Oskaloosa Mahaska County $831 11,504 $64,004 15 Norwalk Warren County $838 14,183 $102,722 16 Decorah Winneshiek County $853 7,535 $64,366 17 Hiawatha Linn County $855 7,206 $66,270 18 Fairfield Jefferson County $870 9,456 $51,311 19 Keokuk Lee County $871 9,662 $52,711 20 Mason City Cerro Gordo County $882 27,050 $64,804 21 Marshalltown Marshall County $891 27,626 $69,068 22 Grinnell Poweshiek County $895 9,505 $65,320 23 Storm Lake Buena Vista County $898 11,428 $62,765 24 Webster City Hamilton County $907 7,769 $63,430 25 Ottumwa Wapello County $921 25,430 $61,103 26 Waterloo Black Hawk County $923 67,008 $57,480 27 Burlington Des Moines County $924 23,728 $59,000 28 Le Mars Plymouth County $929 10,640 $74,701 29 Perry Dallas County $931 7,985 $68,910 30 Eldridge Scott County $945 6,818 $106,316 31 Dubuque Dubuque County $948 59,174 $65,845 32 Nevada Story County $953 6,983 $75,094 33 Marion Linn County $961 41,896 $86,743 34 Cedar Rapids Linn County $967 137,264 $70,424 35 Washington Washington County $968 7,290 $55,373 36 Muscatine Muscatine County $974 23,489 $58,117 37 Sioux City Woodbury County $976 86,101 $68,906 38 Davenport Scott County $978 100,913 $66,200 39 Indianola Warren County $986 16,044 $75,453 40 Ames Story County $1,023 67,669 $60,991 41 Council Bluffs Pottawattamie County $1,030 62,586 $64,578 42 Pella Marion County $1,046 10,720 $84,111 43 Coralville Johnson County $1,057 23,234 $69,144 44 Waverly Bremer County $1,057 10,494 $80,284 45 Clive Polk County $1,073 19,012 $132,121 46 Des Moines Polk County $1,090 212,421 $65,932 47 Iowa City Johnson County $1,094 75,752 $58,546 48 Bettendorf Scott County $1,187 39,647 $100,495 49 Cedar Falls Black Hawk County $1,203 40,888 $76,987 50 Urbandale Polk County $1,211 46,595 $112,795 51 Pleasant Hill Polk County $1,215 11,136 $90,508 52 Altoona Polk County $1,235 21,495 $86,114 53 West Des Moines Polk County $1,237 71,083 $86,594 54 North Liberty Johnson County $1,246 21,125 $102,102 55 Grimes Polk County $1,251 16,366 $120,037 56 Ankeny Polk County $1,319 72,615 $108,198 57 Bondurant Polk County $1,337 8,560 $135,674 58 Johnston Polk County $1,338 24,384 $106,551 59 Waukee Dallas County $1,383 29,236 $101,029
Other rankings for Iowa Largest Cities · Cities With the Highest Household Income · Cities Where Rent Takes the Smallest Share of Income · Cities With the Lowest Unemployment · Cities in the Highest-Paying Counties · Most College-Educated Cities · Cities With the Most Homeowners · Cities With the Most Remote Work · Cities With the Shortest Commutes
Unincorporated places are census-designated places: they have no city government but are counted as communities. Figures describe the city itself.