How much do households in spend on rent?

Refreshed annually
About $981, or 26.8% of their income, in 2024. This is measured by comparing median, or average, rent and median monthly income for renting households.

$981

median monthly rent in Iowa (2024)

26.8%

average share of income spent on rent in Iowa (2024)
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability. Dividing rent by income provides what is called a rent-to-income ratio. A higher ratio of rent-to-income indicates rent is less affordable while a lower ratio indicates it’s more affordable.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households with a rent-to-income ratio of more than 30%, that is, households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing, to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings. When median monthly rent is more than 30% of average monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.

Iowa’s rent-to-income ratio was lower than the US overall in 2024.

Ratio of median gross rent to median renter household income

The national rent-to-income ratio reached a high of 33.8% in 2011 following the Great Recession. In Iowa, the rent-to-income ratio reached 29.8% that year. Most recently, in 2024, Iowa’s rent-to-income ratio was 26.8%, 6 percentage points lower than the national rate.

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Which Iowa metros have the most and least affordable rent?

Across metro areas, the average rent-to-income ratio was 31.2% in 2020–2024.

Highlighting metro areas where at least one primary county is in Iowa

In 2020–2024, the average rent-to-income ratio across metro areas was 31.2%. Metro areas are made up of economically interconnected counties that include at least one urban area. A single metro area can include multiple cities and cross state lines. The metro areas with the highest and lowest ratios were the Ponce, PR area at 51.8% (highest) and the Jefferson City, MO area, at 22.3% (lowest). In Iowa, the highest and lowest were the Iowa City, IA area at 32.7% and the Sioux City, IA area at 26.2%.
During that period, the Omaha, NE area had the highest median rent at $1,192 per month and second highest median monthly income at $4,191 out of nine Iowa metro areas. It’s rent-to-income ratio was third highest in Iowa.

Renter income and rent, Iowa metro areas (2020–2024)

Metro areas where at least one of the primary counties is within Iowa

Renter income and rent, Iowa metro areas (2020–2024)

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

Page sources

USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.