Data / Rankings / Median gross rent (monthly) / Cities in Iowa

Cities in Iowa by median gross rent (monthly)

North Liberty, IA had the highest median gross rent (monthly) of 41 cities in 2021, at $1,208. Carroll, IA had the lowest, at $639. The median was $859 and the figure for Iowa was $845. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,208North Liberty, IA
Lowest639Carroll, IA
Median85941 cities
Iowa845History

All cities, 2021

North Liberty, IA: 1,208 USDNorth Liberty, IA1,208Johnston, IA: 1,163 USDJohnston, IA1,163Ankeny, IA: 1,153 USDAnkeny, IA1,153Waukee, IA: 1,117 USDWaukee, IA1,117Altoona, IA: 1,072 USDAltoona, IA1,072West Des Moines, IA: 1,062 USDWest Des Moines, IA1,062Iowa City, IA: 1,030 USDIowa City, IA1,030Pleasant Hill, IA: 1,027 USDPleasant Hill, IA1,027Clive, IA: 1,007 USDClive, IA1,007Cedar Falls, IA: 991 USDCedar Falls, IA991Urbandale, IA: 987 USDUrbandale, IA987Bettendorf, IA: 977 USDBettendorf, IA977Ames, IA: 972 USDAmes, IA972Coralville, IA: 944 USDCoralville, IA944Grimes, IA: 934 USDGrimes, IA934Des Moines, IA: 916 USDDes Moines, IA916Norwalk, IA: 907 USDNorwalk, IA907Pella, IA: 888 USDPella, IA888Muscatine, IA: 887 USDMuscatine, IA887Council Bluffs, IA: 884 USDCouncil Bluffs, IA884Waverly, IA: 859 USDWaverly, IA859Burlington, IA: 856 USDBurlington, IA856Dubuque, IA: 841 USDDubuque, IA841Ottumwa, IA: 840 USDOttumwa, IA840Cedar Rapids, IA: 836 USDCedar Rapids, IA836Sioux City, IA: 836 USDSioux City, IA836Indianola, IA: 832 USDIndianola, IA832Davenport, IA: 815 USDDavenport, IA815Marion, IA: 811 USDMarion, IA811Waterloo, IA: 803 USDWaterloo, IA803Le Mars, IA: 792 USDLe Mars, IA792Mason City, IA: 782 USDMason City, IA782Boone, IA: 780 USDBoone, IA780Marshalltown, IA: 778 USDMarshalltown, IA778Newton, IA: 741 USDNewton, IA741Storm Lake, IA: 733 USDStorm Lake, IA733Oskaloosa, IA: 728 USDOskaloosa, IA728Spencer, IA: 709 USDSpencer, IA709Fort Dodge, IA: 695 USDFort Dodge, IA695Clinton, IA: 688 USDClinton, IA688Carroll, IA: 639 USDCarroll, IA639North Liberty, IA: 1,208 USDNorth Liberty, IA1,208Johnston, IA: 1,163 USDJohnston, IA1,163Ankeny, IA: 1,153 USDAnkeny, IA1,153Waukee, IA: 1,117 USDWaukee, IA1,117Altoona, IA: 1,072 USDAltoona, IA1,072West Des Moines, IA: 1,062 USDWest Des Moines, IA1,062Iowa City, IA: 1,030 USDIowa City, IA1,030Pleasant Hill, IA: 1,027 USDPleasant Hill, IA1,027Clive, IA: 1,007 USDClive, IA1,007Cedar Falls, IA: 991 USDCedar Falls, IA991Urbandale, IA: 987 USDUrbandale, IA987Bettendorf, IA: 977 USDBettendorf, IA977Ames, IA: 972 USDAmes, IA972Coralville, IA: 944 USDCoralville, IA944Grimes, IA: 934 USDGrimes, IA934Des Moines, IA: 916 USDDes Moines, IA916Norwalk, IA: 907 USDNorwalk, IA907Pella, IA: 888 USDPella, IA888Muscatine, IA: 887 USDMuscatine, IA887Council Bluffs, IA: 884 USDCouncil Bluffs, IA884Waverly, IA: 859 USDWaverly, IA859Burlington, IA: 856 USDBurlington, IA856Dubuque, IA: 841 USDDubuque, IA841Ottumwa, IA: 840 USDOttumwa, IA840Cedar Rapids, IA: 836 USDCedar Rapids, IA836Sioux City, IA: 836 USDSioux City, IA836Indianola, IA: 832 USDIndianola, IA832Davenport, IA: 815 USDDavenport, IA815Marion, IA: 811 USDMarion, IA811Waterloo, IA: 803 USDWaterloo, IA803Le Mars, IA: 792 USDLe Mars, IA792Mason City, IA: 782 USDMason City, IA782Boone, IA: 780 USDBoone, IA780Marshalltown, IA: 778 USDMarshalltown, IA778Newton, IA: 741 USDNewton, IA741Storm Lake, IA: 733 USDStorm Lake, IA733Oskaloosa, IA: 728 USDOskaloosa, IA728Spencer, IA: 709 USDSpencer, IA709Fort Dodge, IA: 695 USDFort Dodge, IA695Clinton, IA: 688 USDClinton, IA688Carroll, IA: 639 USDCarroll, IA639
USD. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
USD
1North Liberty, IA1,208
2Johnston, IA1,163
3Ankeny, IA1,153
4Waukee, IA1,117
5Altoona, IA1,072
6West Des Moines, IA1,062
7Iowa City, IA1,030
8Pleasant Hill, IA1,027
9Clive, IA1,007
10Cedar Falls, IA991
11Urbandale, IA987
12Bettendorf, IA977
13Ames, IA972
14Coralville, IA944
15Grimes, IA934
16Des Moines, IA916
17Norwalk, IA907
18Pella, IA888
19Muscatine, IA887
20Council Bluffs, IA884
21Waverly, IA859
22Burlington, IA856
23Dubuque, IA841
24Ottumwa, IA840
25Cedar Rapids, IA836
25Sioux City, IA836
27Indianola, IA832
28Davenport, IA815
29Marion, IA811
30Waterloo, IA803
31Le Mars, IA792
32Mason City, IA782
33Boone, IA780
34Marshalltown, IA778
35Newton, IA741
36Storm Lake, IA733
37Oskaloosa, IA728
38Spencer, IA709
39Fort Dodge, IA695
40Clinton, IA688
41Carroll, IA639

Other periods

About this ranking

Monthly gross rent of renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, at the middle of the distribution, in US dollars of the last year of the period.

More on how it is measured
  • Gross rent is the contract rent plus the estimated cost of utilities and fuels paid by the renter.
  • United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

A median, not an average, of what all renters pay, including long-standing leases, so it is lower than asking rents for new listings.

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 B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, 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-b25064.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 B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in Iowa by median gross rent (monthly), 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25064.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by median gross rent (monthly), 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25064.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-gross-rent/iowa-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in Iowa by median gross rent (monthly), 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25064.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-gross-rent/iowa-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by median gross rent (monthly), 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25064.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-gross-rent/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 B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by median gross rent (monthly), 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b25064.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-gross-rent/iowa-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, 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-b25064.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by median gross rent (monthly), 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-b25064.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-gross-rent/iowa-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-gross-rent/iowa-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, 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-b25064.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in Iowa by median gross rent (monthly) using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest median gross rent (monthly)?

North Liberty, IA, with $1,208 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest median gross rent (monthly)?

Carroll, IA, with $639 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 B25064: median gross rent (dollars), renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Median gross rent (monthly): other rankings

Cities in Iowa: more rankings