What salary do you need to live in Iowa City, IA?

What housing costs in Iowa City

Renters in Iowa City pay a median $1,084 a month for two bedrooms. Size matters: one bedroom is $902, three bedrooms $1,535, so going from the smallest to the largest of the three adds $7,596 a year.

Homeowners in Iowa City report a median home value of $293,600. With median household income at $75,088, a typical home costs 3.9× a typical income, close to the middle of the range across US metros.

The Regional Price Parity, BEA's index of local prices with the US at 100, is 91.5 here. Below 100 means a paycheck stretches further: $100,000 in Iowa City has the buying power of roughly $109,279 at national average prices.

Iowa City: the pre-tax income for each grade

The salary lines for a two-bedroom household land at $32,000 for Tight, $64,000 for Okay and $129,000 for Comfortable. The gap between the Okay and Comfortable lines alone is $65,000, which says how much extra income it takes to make housing feel roomy here rather than merely workable.

Reaching Royal takes $328,000 — 2.5× the Comfortable line — because the last points come slowly once rent is already a small share.

These lines come straight from the calculator's formula: the income is raised until the two-bedroom score crosses each cutoff, then rounded up to the next $1,000.

Scores at $50K, $75K, $100K and $150K in Iowa City

Home size shifts the grade at $75,000: Okay for one bedroom, Okay for two and Tight for three, as the rent share climbs from 14% to 25%.

The two-bedroom column turns Comfortable at the $150,000 row. One row up, $100,000 scores 58.

Iowa City on the national list

On price level Iowa City is 258th of 387 (1 = most expensive); on two-bedroom rent it is 231st, and on median home value 159th. The two rankings agree, both falling near the middle.

Its nearest neighbors on the rent list are Tulsa, OK ($1,085) and Jacksonville, NC ($1,082).

Iowa City next to Iowa and similar metros

How Iowa City stacks up against its state: $1,084 for a two-bedroom against Iowa's $989, $293,600 for the median home against $208,000, and a price level of 91.5 against 87.8.

Scored the same way, the statewide figures turn Comfortable at $96,000, so Iowa City needs $33,000 more than Iowa overall.

The nearest matches in Iowa, judged on rent and price parity together, are Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA, Sioux City, IA-NE-SD, and Cedar Rapids, IA.

Where the typical Iowa City household lands

The median household in the metro earns $75,088 (ACS 2020-2024). Run through the calculator with two bedrooms, that scores 50, Okay. The Comfortable line is 72% above what the median household makes. Statewide, the Iowa median household ($75,059) grades Okay on the state's own medians. Since a household can have two or more earners, compare it with a combined income rather than one paycheck.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.