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Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and Iowa does this very well. Families love the Hawkeye State's beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.
But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state -- and that's how we're going to help you.
These are the places in Iowa that cost a pretty penny -- the most expensive cities in the state.
After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in Iowa for 2021.
So where is the most expensive place to live in Iowa? That would be Iowa City.
the 2015-2019 American Community Survey for the 80 places in Iowa with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Iowa for 2021:
What's the most expensive place to live in Iowa? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Iowa City is the most expensive place to live in Iowa.
So hopefully Denison (the cheapest place to live in Iowa) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.
And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about Iowa and the most expensive cities in the country:
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Iowa For 2021
/10
Population: 74,950
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.4x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 50.7x (most expensive)
More on Iowa City: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Iowa City comes in at $49,075 and the median home value is $215,100 for 2021.
/10
Population: 66,023
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.3x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 51.7x (2nd most expensive)
More on Ames: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Ames comes in at $48,105 and the median home value is $205,900 for 2021.
/10
Population: 21,103
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.8x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 67.3x (28th most expensive)
More on Coralville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Coralville comes in at $60,321 and the median home value is $227,700 for 2021.
/10
Population: 7,333
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.0x (9th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 62.3x (13th most expensive)
More on Hiawatha: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Hiawatha comes in at $48,191 and the median home value is $143,500 for 2021.
/10
Population: 5,069
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.9x (11th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 64.0x (20th most expensive)
More on Spirit Lake: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Spirit Lake comes in at $54,293 and the median home value is $156,300 for 2021.
/10
Population: 40,983
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.1x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 70.2x (33rd most expensive)
More on Cedar Falls: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Cedar Falls comes in at $61,420 and the median home value is $189,100 for 2021.
/10
Population: 9,031
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.9x (10th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 63.3x (17th most expensive)
More on Grinnell: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Grinnell comes in at $46,750 and the median home value is $137,500 for 2021.
/10
Population: 65,606
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.9x (13th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 75.1x (45th most expensive)
More on West Des Moines: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in West Des Moines comes in at $76,368 and the median home value is $218,500 for 2021.
/10
Population: 5,260
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.0x (8th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 71.4x (36th most expensive)
More on Winterset: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Winterset comes in at $52,835 and the median home value is $158,300 for 2021.
/10
Population: 10,290
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.8x (15th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 60.1x (7th most expensive)
More on Fairfield: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Fairfield comes in at $40,920 and the median home value is $114,200 for 2021.
How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Hawkeye State For 2021
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2015-2019 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Iowa to figure out which is the most expensive.
What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 80 places in Iowa that have more than 5,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in Iowa according to the data is Iowa City. You can download the data here.
Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Iowa For 2021
Well there you have it, the places in Iowa that have the highest cost of living, with Iowa City ranking as the most expensive city in the Hawkeye State.
Here's a look at the most affordable cities in Iowa according to the data:
- Denison
- Webster City
- Clarinda
For more Iowa reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Iowa
- Cheapest Places To Live In Iowa
- Most Dangerous Cities In Iowa
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Iowa
- Safest Places In Iowa
- Worst Places To Live In Iowa
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Iowa
| Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa City | 5.33 |
| 2 | Ames | 6.67 |
| 3 | Coralville | 12.67 |
| 4 | Hiawatha | 18.5 |
| 5 | Spirit Lake | 20.0 |
| 6 | Cedar Falls | 20.0 |
| 7 | Grinnell | 21.67 |
| 8 | West Des Moines | 23.33 |
| 9 | Winterset | 24.0 |
| 10 | Fairfield | 25.17 |
| 11 | Johnston | 26.33 |
| 12 | Eldridge | 26.67 |
| 13 | Carroll | 27.5 |
| 14 | North Liberty | 27.67 |
| 15 | Grimes | 28.67 |
| 16 | Dubuque | 29.5 |
| 17 | Des Moines | 29.67 |
| 18 | Spencer | 30.0 |
| 19 | Vinton | 30.0 |
| 20 | Bettendorf | 31.0 |
| 21 | Davenport | 31.33 |
| 22 | Atlantic | 32.0 |
| 23 | Sioux Center | 32.33 |
| 24 | Waterloo | 32.33 |
| 25 | Ankeny | 33.0 |
| 26 | Pella | 33.0 |
| 27 | Decorah | 33.33 |
| 28 | Waukee | 33.33 |
| 29 | Indianola | 33.67 |
| 30 | Pleasant Hill | 33.67 |
| 31 | Urbandale | 34.67 |
| 32 | Altoona | 37.0 |
| 33 | Algona | 38.0 |
| 34 | Clive | 38.0 |
| 35 | Waverly | 38.0 |
| 36 | Asbury | 38.67 |
| 37 | Independence | 38.67 |
| 38 | Council Bluffs | 39.0 |
| 39 | Clear Lake | 40.33 |
| 40 | Newton | 40.83 |
| 41 | Muscatine | 42.0 |
| 42 | Anamosa | 42.0 |
| 43 | Cedar Rapids | 42.33 |
| 44 | Storm Lake | 42.67 |
| 45 | Washington | 43.0 |
| 46 | Fort Dodge | 43.67 |
| 47 | Mason City | 44.67 |
| 48 | Norwalk | 44.67 |
| 49 | Clinton | 44.67 |
| 50 | Perry | 46.33 |
| 51 | Glenwood | 46.5 |
| 52 | Sioux City | 47.67 |
| 53 | Burlington | 47.67 |
| 54 | Le Mars | 48.0 |
| 55 | Mount Pleasant | 48.67 |
| 56 | Marion | 49.33 |
| 57 | Bondurant | 49.33 |
| 58 | Centerville | 49.67 |
| 59 | Nevada | 49.67 |
| 60 | Orange City | 50.0 |
| 61 | Osceola | 50.33 |
| 62 | Iowa Falls | 51.0 |
| 63 | Sheldon | 51.0 |
| 64 | Fort Madison | 52.67 |
| 65 | Ottumwa | 53.33 |
| 66 | Oskaloosa | 54.33 |
| 67 | Knoxville | 54.33 |
| 68 | Oelwein | 55.0 |
| 69 | Keokuk | 55.33 |
| 70 | Estherville | 55.67 |
| 71 | Charles City | 56.33 |
| 72 | Creston | 57.33 |
| 73 | Red Oak | 58.0 |
| 74 | Maquoketa | 59.0 |
| 75 | Boone | 59.0 |
| 76 | Manchester | 60.0 |
| 77 | Marshalltown | 62.67 |
| 78 | Clarinda | 64.0 |
| 79 | Webster City | 64.67 |
| 80 | Denison | 68.0 |
