Data / Rankings / Housing units / Cities in Iowa

Cities in Iowa by housing units

Des Moines, IA had the highest housing units of 41 cities in 2021, at 94,354. Pleasant Hill, IA had the lowest, at 3,823. The median was 11,019 and the figure for Iowa was 1.41 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest94,354Des Moines, IA
Lowest3,823Pleasant Hill, IA
Median11,01941 cities
Iowa1,407,100History

All cities, 2021

Des Moines, IA: 94,354 countDes Moines, IA94,354Cedar Rapids, IA: 62,517 countCedar Rapids, IA62,517Davenport, IA: 46,602 countDavenport, IA46,602Sioux City, IA: 34,231 countSioux City, IA34,231Iowa City, IA: 33,074 countIowa City, IA33,074West Des Moines, IA: 32,913 countWest Des Moines, IA32,913Waterloo, IA: 32,033 countWaterloo, IA32,033Council Bluffs, IA: 27,262 countCouncil Bluffs, IA27,262Dubuque, IA: 27,078 countDubuque, IA27,078Ames, IA: 26,875 countAmes, IA26,875Ankeny, IA: 26,760 countAnkeny, IA26,760Urbandale, IA: 17,497 countUrbandale, IA17,497Marion, IA: 17,195 countMarion, IA17,195Bettendorf, IA: 16,464 countBettendorf, IA16,464Cedar Falls, IA: 16,309 countCedar Falls, IA16,309Mason City, IA: 13,972 countMason City, IA13,972Burlington, IA: 12,264 countBurlington, IA12,264Clinton, IA: 12,225 countClinton, IA12,225Ottumwa, IA: 11,553 countOttumwa, IA11,553Fort Dodge, IA: 11,217 countFort Dodge, IA11,217Marshalltown, IA: 11,019 countMarshalltown, IA11,019Muscatine, IA: 10,268 countMuscatine, IA10,268Coralville, IA: 9,741 countCoralville, IA9,741Waukee, IA: 9,729 countWaukee, IA9,729Johnston, IA: 9,620 countJohnston, IA9,620North Liberty, IA: 7,805 countNorth Liberty, IA7,805Altoona, IA: 7,549 countAltoona, IA7,549Newton, IA: 7,310 countNewton, IA7,310Clive, IA: 7,282 countClive, IA7,282Indianola, IA: 6,282 countIndianola, IA6,282Grimes, IA: 5,736 countGrimes, IA5,736Spencer, IA: 5,588 countSpencer, IA5,588Boone, IA: 5,569 countBoone, IA5,569Oskaloosa, IA: 5,173 countOskaloosa, IA5,173Norwalk, IA: 4,979 countNorwalk, IA4,979Carroll, IA: 4,830 countCarroll, IA4,830Le Mars, IA: 4,500 countLe Mars, IA4,500Storm Lake, IA: 4,130 countStorm Lake, IA4,130Pella, IA: 3,963 countPella, IA3,963Waverly, IA: 3,953 countWaverly, IA3,953Pleasant Hill, IA: 3,823 countPleasant Hill, IA3,823Des Moines, IA: 94,354 countDes Moines, IA94,354Cedar Rapids, IA: 62,517 countCedar Rapids, IA62,517Davenport, IA: 46,602 countDavenport, IA46,602Sioux City, IA: 34,231 countSioux City, IA34,231Iowa City, IA: 33,074 countIowa City, IA33,074West Des Moines, IA: 32,913 countWest Des Moines, IA32,913Waterloo, IA: 32,033 countWaterloo, IA32,033Council Bluffs, IA: 27,262 countCouncil Bluffs, IA27,262Dubuque, IA: 27,078 countDubuque, IA27,078Ames, IA: 26,875 countAmes, IA26,875Ankeny, IA: 26,760 countAnkeny, IA26,760Urbandale, IA: 17,497 countUrbandale, IA17,497Marion, IA: 17,195 countMarion, IA17,195Bettendorf, IA: 16,464 countBettendorf, IA16,464Cedar Falls, IA: 16,309 countCedar Falls, IA16,309Mason City, IA: 13,972 countMason City, IA13,972Burlington, IA: 12,264 countBurlington, IA12,264Clinton, IA: 12,225 countClinton, IA12,225Ottumwa, IA: 11,553 countOttumwa, IA11,553Fort Dodge, IA: 11,217 countFort Dodge, IA11,217Marshalltown, IA: 11,019 countMarshalltown, IA11,019Muscatine, IA: 10,268 countMuscatine, IA10,268Coralville, IA: 9,741 countCoralville, IA9,741Waukee, IA: 9,729 countWaukee, IA9,729Johnston, IA: 9,620 countJohnston, IA9,620North Liberty, IA: 7,805 countNorth Liberty, IA7,805Altoona, IA: 7,549 countAltoona, IA7,549Newton, IA: 7,310 countNewton, IA7,310Clive, IA: 7,282 countClive, IA7,282Indianola, IA: 6,282 countIndianola, IA6,282Grimes, IA: 5,736 countGrimes, IA5,736Spencer, IA: 5,588 countSpencer, IA5,588Boone, IA: 5,569 countBoone, IA5,569Oskaloosa, IA: 5,173 countOskaloosa, IA5,173Norwalk, IA: 4,979 countNorwalk, IA4,979Carroll, IA: 4,830 countCarroll, IA4,830Le Mars, IA: 4,500 countLe Mars, IA4,500Storm Lake, IA: 4,130 countStorm Lake, IA4,130Pella, IA: 3,963 countPella, IA3,963Waverly, IA: 3,953 countWaverly, IA3,953Pleasant Hill, IA: 3,823 countPleasant Hill, IA3,823
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
count
1Des Moines, IA94,354
2Cedar Rapids, IA62,517
3Davenport, IA46,602
4Sioux City, IA34,231
5Iowa City, IA33,074
6West Des Moines, IA32,913
7Waterloo, IA32,033
8Council Bluffs, IA27,262
9Dubuque, IA27,078
10Ames, IA26,875
11Ankeny, IA26,760
12Urbandale, IA17,497
13Marion, IA17,195
14Bettendorf, IA16,464
15Cedar Falls, IA16,309
16Mason City, IA13,972
17Burlington, IA12,264
18Clinton, IA12,225
19Ottumwa, IA11,553
20Fort Dodge, IA11,217
21Marshalltown, IA11,019
22Muscatine, IA10,268
23Coralville, IA9,741
24Waukee, IA9,729
25Johnston, IA9,620
26North Liberty, IA7,805
27Altoona, IA7,549
28Newton, IA7,310
29Clive, IA7,282
30Indianola, IA6,282
31Grimes, IA5,736
32Spencer, IA5,588
33Boone, IA5,569
34Oskaloosa, IA5,173
35Norwalk, IA4,979
36Carroll, IA4,830
37Le Mars, IA4,500
38Storm Lake, IA4,130
39Pella, IA3,963
40Waverly, IA3,953
41Pleasant Hill, IA3,823

Other periods

About this ranking

All housing units, occupied and vacant: houses, apartments, mobile homes and rooms intended as separate living quarters. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

A survey estimate averaged over five years, not a count on one date.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in Iowa by housing units, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by housing units, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-units/iowa-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in Iowa by housing units, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-units/iowa-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by housing units, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-units/iowa-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_iowa_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by housing units, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-units/iowa-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by housing units, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-units/iowa-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/housing-units/iowa-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25001.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest housing units?

Des Moines, IA, with 94,354 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest housing units?

Pleasant Hill, IA, with 3,823 in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25001: total housing units, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Housing units: other rankings

Cities in Iowa: more rankings