The 10 Best Places To Buy A House In Iowa For 2022


Using science and data, we can tell you which places in Iowa have seen home prices rising and people flocking over the past year.

Editor’s note: This is not investment advice and we are not financial advisers. Article updated for 2022.

There's a the age old question everyone thinks about when they decide to move to a city in Iowa:

Should I buy a place or rent? Well, we aren't here today to solve that problem for you exactly. We are just assuming you'll do the right thing and a buy a place. And while we are happy to tell you the best place to live in Iowa, this analysis is going to tackle the question of the best place to buy a house as an investor. That is we are going to try and determine the up and coming cities in the Hawkeye State.

To do that we are going to look at places in Iowa that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average. In every day terms, the "deals". The best deal in Iowa at the moment? That would be Manchester according to our analysis.

Here's a look at the top ten places to buy a home in Iowa for 2022.

The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In Iowa For 2022

  1. Manchester
  2. Iowa Falls
  3. Vinton
  4. Spirit Lake
  5. Osceola
  6. Sheldon
  7. Winterset
  8. Red Oak
  9. Glenwood
  10. Clarinda

What's the best place to buy a home in Iowa for 2022? According to our analysis, would the the ideal place to buy a home looking into the future.

The methodology that wen't into this can be a bit complicated, so we'll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below. If you're not worried about finding a deal on good places to live, check out the most expensive places to live in Iowa and, for those of you on a budget, the cheapest places to live in Iowa.

For more Iowa reading, check out:

The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Iowa For 2022

1. Manchester

Manchester, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Kevin Schuchmann | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,011
Median Home Price: $113,300
Population Change: -0.2%
Home Price Change: 2.6%
More on Manchester: Homes For Sale | Data

2. Iowa Falls

Iowa Falls, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Billwhittaker at English | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 5,067
Median Home Price: $93,400
Population Change: -1.1%
Home Price Change: 5.9%
More on Iowa Falls: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

3. Vinton

Vinton, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Torindkflt. | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,075
Median Home Price: $130,100
Population Change: -0.5%
Home Price Change: -5.5%
More on Vinton: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

4. Spirit Lake

Spirit Lake, IA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 5,130
Median Home Price: $163,600
Population Change: 1.2%
Home Price Change: 4.7%
More on Spirit Lake: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

5. Osceola

Osceola, IA

Source: Wikipedia User en:User:Cburnett | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,160
Median Home Price: $90,600
Population Change: 1.1%
Home Price Change: -5.3%
More on Osceola: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

6. Sheldon

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,178
Median Home Price: $142,500
Population Change: 1.0%
Home Price Change: 9.2%
More on Sheldon: Homes For Sale | Data

7. Winterset

Winterset, IA

Source: Wikipedia User en:User:Cburnett | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,309
Median Home Price: $159,800
Population Change: 0.9%
Home Price Change: 0.9%
More on Winterset: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

8. Red Oak

Red Oak, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Jared Winkler | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,323
Median Home Price: $77,400
Population Change: -0.7%
Home Price Change: -6.1%
More on Red Oak: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

9. Glenwood

Glenwood, IA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,325
Median Home Price: $158,700
Population Change: -0.0%
Home Price Change: 6.9%
More on Glenwood: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

10. Clarinda

Clarinda, IA

Source: Wikipedia User Jared Winkler | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,371
Median Home Price: $93,000
Population Change: -0.3%
Home Price Change: -0.3%
More on Clarinda: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Iowa for 2022?

We were in real estate for almost five years and have been working on this site for another three. Suffice is to say, we've put a lot of thought into what goes into finding a good place to buy a home.

So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we'd approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Iowa. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Iowa with undervalued homes relative to pent up demand.

Richest Cities In Iowa

To do that we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2016-2020 and compared it to the previous vintage (2012-2016). Specifically, we used the following criteria:

  • Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
  • Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
  • Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It's still kinda cheap)

We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still "cheap" for Iowa with the following caveats:

So of the 0 cities and towns in Iowa, only 80 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.

We then ranked each place from 1 to 80 for the criteria mentioned above with 1 being the best for that criteria. We averaged the rankings to create a "best place to buy" index with the place having the lowest index being the best. You can download the data here.

Turns out that Manchester is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Hawkeye State.

Read on for more on these places.

Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Iowa for 2022

There's our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Iowa. And, to be clear, we aren't necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.

In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.

So if we'd could rent or buy in these cities, we'd definitely buy.

For more Iowa reading, check out:

Home Prices By City In Iowa

City Rank Median Home Price Population Change Home Price Increase
Manchester 1 $113,300 -0.2% 2.6%
Iowa Falls 2 $93,400 -1.1% 5.9%
Vinton 3 $130,100 -0.5% -5.5%
Spirit Lake 4 $163,600 1.2% 4.7%
Osceola 5 $90,600 1.1% -5.3%
Sheldon 6 $142,500 1.0% 9.2%
Winterset 7 $159,800 0.9% 0.9%
Red Oak 8 $77,400 -0.7% -6.1%
Glenwood 9 $158,700 -0.0% 6.9%
Clarinda 10 $93,000 -0.3% -0.3%
Algona 11 $134,400 -0.6% 2.2%
Centerville 12 $73,000 -0.5% 6.7%
Anamosa 13 $124,100 0.1% 20.0%
Estherville 14 $87,000 -1.2% 2.8%
Oelwein 15 $87,800 -1.4% 6.8%
Asbury 16 $263,800 6.7% 3.2%
Maquoketa 17 $91,100 -0.3% 0.4%
Independence 18 $129,900 0.5% -2.4%
Orange City 19 $183,700 0.5% 7.2%
Bondurant 20 $222,600 6.1% 2.3%
Atlantic 21 $124,800 -1.0% 9.0%
Eldridge 22 $268,900 2.3% 5.7%
Nevada 23 $148,000 -0.3% 6.7%
Knoxville 24 $97,300 -0.5% 2.3%
Washington 25 $121,600 0.1% 4.0%
Charles City 26 $93,200 -0.6% -0.4%
Hiawatha 27 $153,100 0.8% 6.7%
Sioux Center 28 $223,700 0.8% 7.1%
Clear Lake 29 $178,000 -0.0% 14.1%
Decorah 30 $192,700 -1.1% 1.6%
Perry 31 $84,800 0.8% -5.7%
Webster City 32 $92,600 -0.4% -4.5%
Creston 33 $101,700 -0.4% 12.3%
Denison 34 $99,500 -0.2% 6.3%
Mount Pleasant 35 $123,200 -0.1% 5.8%
Grinnell 36 $150,700 0.4% 9.6%
Carroll 37 $146,300 -0.8% -1.5%
Pleasant Hill 38 $215,200 0.9% 6.8%
Le Mars 39 $167,000 0.7% 5.1%
Waverly 40 $175,600 0.8% 1.1%
Keokuk 41 $75,400 -1.0% 5.9%
Pella 42 $210,600 0.5% 12.4%
Fairfield 43 $111,800 0.4% -2.1%
Fort Madison 44 $81,200 -1.0% -0.5%
Storm Lake 45 $142,000 -0.5% 17.1%
Spencer 46 $136,400 -0.1% 5.9%
Norwalk 47 $205,000 4.5% 1.0%
Oskaloosa 48 $93,000 1.9% -3.4%
Boone 49 $114,600 -0.1% 2.1%
Grimes 50 $219,700 7.1% -2.7%
Newton 51 $123,200 -0.0% 7.9%
Indianola 52 $167,600 0.8% 2.6%
Clive 53 $284,800 0.5% 7.8%
Altoona 54 $199,600 2.5% 1.5%
North Liberty 55 $232,000 1.8% 5.1%
Coralville 56 $240,700 2.5% 5.7%
Johnston 57 $272,500 3.1% 1.6%
Waukee 58 $248,400 8.7% 4.0%
Muscatine 59 $112,500 -0.5% 1.5%
Fort Dodge 60 $99,200 -0.5% 6.0%
Ottumwa 61 $75,800 -0.2% 2.3%
Burlington 62 $94,000 -0.5% 0.9%
Clinton 63 $100,800 -0.5% 1.3%
Marshalltown 64 $93,300 -0.4% -1.1%
Mason City 65 $112,500 -0.5% -2.1%
Bettendorf 66 $232,600 0.8% 3.2%
Marion 67 $177,200 1.5% 5.0%
Cedar Falls 68 $204,300 -0.6% 8.0%
Urbandale 69 $242,500 1.0% 2.1%
Dubuque 70 $147,900 -0.2% 3.1%
Council Bluffs 71 $122,400 0.0% 1.9%
Ankeny 72 $239,300 4.5% 8.7%
Ames 73 $213,500 0.5% 3.7%
West Des Moines 74 $228,300 1.7% 4.5%
Waterloo 75 $117,000 -0.4% -0.3%
Iowa City 76 $223,900 1.2% 4.1%
Sioux City 77 $123,100 0.0% 5.6%
Davenport 78 $135,200 0.0% 2.7%
Cedar Rapids 79 $144,500 0.6% 1.9%
Des Moines 80 $141,300 -0.1% 6.1%
Download The Entire Iowa Ranking Data

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About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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