Iowa Housing Market: Home Prices, Rent and Affordability
The typical Iowa home is worth $239,547, up 3.5% over the past year and up 26.1% over five years, 35.0% below the national $368,697 (Zillow, latest release). That ranks #44 of 50 on price. A 20%-down mortgage runs $1,232 a month and takes about $70,437 of income; the median Iowa household earns $72,429, enough to clear that bar.
In Des Moines, the state's largest metro, typical rent is $1,297 a month against a $1,514 principal-and-interest payment on the typical home, so renting is $217 a month cheaper before taxes, insurance and maintenance. The market is warm: 25.6% of listings cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 50 days (national 53), and for-sale inventory is up 3.5% from a year ago.
All figures are Zillow Research's published numbers for August; median household income is from the Census Bureau. How the data works → · Home prices in all 50 states →
Iowa Housing by the Numbers
How much does a house cost in Iowa? The typical home is worth $239,547, the median sale price is $245,167 and the median list price $259,573. The six figures below describe the market this month, each with the national comparison.
How Have Iowa Home Prices Changed?
The typical Iowa home value every month since 2000, with the national typical home as a dashed line. Values rose 3.5% over the past year, are up 26.1% over five years, up 66.1% over ten, and up 158% since January 2000.
Is It Cheaper to Rent or Buy in Iowa?
Two direct answers from the Zillow data. Rent versus buy sets typical asking rent in Des Moines, the state's largest metro, against the mortgage payment on the typical home there, since Zillow publishes rents by metro rather than by state. The affordability gap is the income needed to buy the typical Iowa home minus what the median household actually earns.
Rent vs. buy · Des Moines, IA
The payment excludes property tax (1.49% of value in Iowa), insurance and maintenance, all of which push the cost of owning higher; renting builds no equity. If values kept rising at the past five years' pace (26.1%), equity would narrow that gap over a long stay.
Affordability gap · #2 of 50
A $1,232 monthly payment takes 20.4% of the median Iowa household's income before property tax and insurance; lenders generally cap total housing costs near 28–31%. Full budget for your household →
Is Iowa a Buyer's or a Seller's Market?
Market temperature is our label from three Zillow signals compared with the national market: the share of listings with a price cut, days from listing to pending (days on market), and whether homes for sale are up from a year ago. Iowa is warm: it slightly favors sellers: one of the three market signals points cooler than the national market.
Median sale price $245,167 against a median list price of $259,573, so the typical home closes 5.5% below asking.
Where the Iowa market is heading
Compared with a year ago, all three signals point looser, in buyers' favor: the share of listings with a price cut is up 0.2 points from a year ago to 25.6%, homes take 3 days longer to go pending than a year ago (50 now), and the number of homes for sale is up 3.5%. The typical home value rose 3.5% over the same period and is at an all-time high. We publish no forecasts: these are Zillow's current-month readings, not a prediction of where Iowa home prices go next.
Home Values and Rents in Iowa Cities
Zillow publishes a city-level home value or rent for 20 of the Iowa cities we track. The most expensive is Urbandale ($351,515) and the cheapest Ottumwa ($125,640). Click a city for its full profile.
| City | Population | Home value | 1 yr | 5 yr | Rent | Rent 1 yr | Value ÷ income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines | 210,363 | $210,572 | -0.2% | ||||
| Cedar Rapids | 135,960 | $212,086 | +2.3% | ||||
| Davenport | 100,361 | $196,283 | +3.6% | ||||
| Sioux City | 85,172 | $202,482 | +2.7% | ||||
| Iowa City | 75,671 | $303,890 | +3.4% | ||||
| Ankeny | 74,455 | $338,606 | +0.8% | ||||
| West Des Moines | 72,161 | $322,185 | +0.5% | ||||
| Waterloo | 66,604 | $147,780 | +0.2% | ||||
| Ames | 65,676 | $303,902 | +2.8% | ||||
| Council Bluffs | 62,564 | $229,838 | +2.5% | ||||
| Dubuque | 59,271 | $250,358 | +4.5% | ||||
| Urbandale | 46,026 | $351,515 | +0.3% | ||||
| Marion | 41,690 | $279,823 | +4.0% | ||||
| Cedar Falls | 40,662 | $269,111 | +2.2% | ||||
| Bettendorf | 39,297 | $339,608 | +6.1% | ||||
| Marshalltown | 27,491 | $180,076 | +2.8% | ||||
| Mason City | 27,135 | $160,992 | +1.8% | ||||
| Waukee | 26,974 | $346,182 | -1.8% | ||||
| Ottumwa | 25,352 | $125,640 | +2.1% | ||||
| Fort Dodge | 24,788 | $132,254 | +1.0% |
Home value and rent are Zillow's city-level indexes; population and median household income are Census ACS. Cities without a Zillow index are omitted. All Iowa cities ranked →
How Iowa Compares With Nearby States
The Midwest states closest to Iowa on price. Each card links to that state's housing page; the compare link puts the two states side by side on every category.
More on Iowa
Iowa dashboard
→Overall rank and grade, every category score, taxes, utilities, safety, schools and all tracked cities.
What you'd keep in Iowa
→Take-home after housing, taxes, childcare, utilities and groceries for your household and income.
Who is moving to Iowa
→IRS migration data: where new residents come from, where leavers go, and what both groups earn.
Iowa Housing Market FAQ
What is the average house price in Iowa?
$239,547 is the typical Iowa home value according to the latest Zillow Research release of the Zillow Home Value Index, which tracks homes in the middle third of the market. The median sale price was $245,167 and the median list price $259,573. That makes Iowa the #44 most expensive state; the national typical home is worth $368,697.
Are home prices dropping in Iowa?
No. The typical Iowa home value rose 3.5% over the past year and is at an all-time high. Over five years it is up 26.1% and over ten years up 66.1%. Nationally, values rose 1.2% over the year.
How have Iowa home prices changed over the past 1, 5 and 10 years?
+3.5% over one year, +26.1% over five years and +66.1% over ten years for the typical Iowa home value, per the latest Zillow Research release; the national figures are +1.2%, +20.3% and +77.9%. Since January 2000 the typical Iowa home is up 158%. The monthly chart above shows the full series against the national line.
Will the Iowa housing market crash?
We publish no forecasts, so this page cannot answer that; it can show the current readings and the historical worst case. Right now the typical Iowa home value is at an all-time high after it rose 3.5% over the past year; 25.6% of listings have cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 50 days (national 53), and inventory is up 3.5% from a year ago, per Zillow Research. The largest decline in Zillow's monthly series for Iowa was 4.6% from February 2008 to October 2011, and values took 17 months to regain that peak.
Is it a good time to buy a house in Iowa?
The Iowa market is warm right now, which means it slightly favors sellers: one of the three market signals points cooler than the national market. 25.6% of listings cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 50 days (national 53), and for-sale inventory is up 3.5% from a year ago. Affordability is better than most states: the $70,437 of income needed to buy the typical home is below the median household income of $72,429. Whether the timing is right also depends on mortgage rates and how long you plan to stay.
Is Iowa a buyer's or seller's market?
Iowa leans toward sellers. Fewer listings are cutting prices than the national average (25.6% vs. 26.4%), homes take 50 days to go pending (national 53), and the number of homes for sale is up 3.5% from a year ago at 14K listings. One of those three signals points toward buyers.
What is the average rent in Iowa?
In Des Moines, Iowa's largest metro, the typical asking rent is $1,297 a month, up 1.8% over the past year and up 17.6% over five years, per the Zillow Observed Rent Index. The national typical rent is $1,948. Among Iowa cities we track, rents range from $835 to $1,594 a month.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Iowa?
Renting is cheaper month to month in Des Moines, Iowa's largest metro. Typical rent is $1,297 and the principal-and-interest payment on the typical home with 20% down is $1,514, a difference of $217 a month in favor of renting. The payment excludes property tax (1.49% of value in Iowa), insurance and maintenance, and renting builds no equity, so the full answer depends on how long you stay.
How much income do you need to buy a house in Iowa?
About $70,437 a year, using Zillow's assumptions of 20% down at current mortgage rates and a payment of no more than 30% of income. The median Iowa household earns $72,429, so the typical household clears the bar with $1,992 to spare. That is the #2 smallest affordability gap of the 50 states. The monthly payment of $1,232 equals 20.4% of the median household's income.
Where are homes cheapest and most expensive in Iowa?
Among the Iowa cities we track with Zillow data, the most expensive typical home is in Urbandale ($351,515) and the cheapest in Ottumwa ($125,640). Also at the top: Waukee ($346,182), Bettendorf ($339,608), and Ankeny ($338,606). The city table above lists every tracked Iowa city with its value, one-year change and rent.
How does Iowa compare with nearby states?
In the Midwest, the closest comparisons on price are Ohio ($248,803, up 3.4% in a year), Kansas ($249,603, up 3.8% in a year), and Indiana ($260,095, up 3.0% in a year). Iowa's typical home is $239,547, up 3.5%. On affordability, Iowa ranks #2 of 50 versus Ohio at #12, Kansas at #5, and Indiana at #6.
How current is the Iowa housing data?
Every figure on this page comes from Zillow Research, which publishes state, metro and city data free each month for the prior month; the latest month shown is August. Median household income is from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. We rebuild the page from the newest Zillow files as they are released.
Home values, rents, mortgage payments, income needed, inventory, price cuts, days to pending and sale and list prices are published by Zillow Research and shown as released, with attribution. Median household income and city populations are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Home prices and housing markets in all 50 states →