Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Iowa City's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Iowa City?
Your $100,000 in Iowa City has the same purchasing power as $112,714 in the average US city. You'd need $12,714 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Iowa City's cost index of 89, sorted by closest match.
So why do people move to Iowa City? The honest answer involves a few specific things the data backs up — most clearly cheaper than the national average, with no fine print and lower-than-average crime numbers, plus 4 more things worth knowing. The detail on each one is below.
The composite cost-of-living index lands at 89, a comfortable 11% under the US norm. It shows up most clearly in housing, which is where the gap to coastal metros usually opens up. Median rent in town runs about $1,077/mo against a typical household income of $54,879, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
Reported crime in Iowa City comes in around 2,078 per 100,000 — under the national baseline of about 3,500. Worth digging into specific neighborhoods before settling on one, but the city-level picture is on the safer side.
With a Walk Score of 91/100, Iowa City is in the category where car ownership becomes a real choice rather than the default. Errands work on foot, the city's built dense enough that things are actually close together, and the parking-and-gas budget can quietly disappear. Transit Score comes in at 50/100 too, so even the trips that are too far to walk are usually doable on a bus or train.
Bike Score of 80/100 in Iowa City. That puts it in the small group of US cities where you can do groceries, commute, and run errands on a bike without it being a feat of urban survival.
Average commute time in Iowa City runs around 18 minutes one-way — short enough that it doesn't restructure your day. Compared to the 45-plus-minute commutes that are normal in major metros, the difference adds up to a real lifestyle gap.
Iowa City has a college-educated share of about 60% among adults 25+, which is higher than the national norm. It shows up in the local job mix, in the school district's reputation, and in the kind of conversations you have at the coffee shop.
Reasons are pulled from Iowa City's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Snow is just part of the winter in Iowa City. Average temperatures around 17°F mean the ground stays covered from December well into March, and a snowblower is less optional than aspirational.
Properly cold. Iowa City's winter sits around 17°F on average — and that's the average, meaning plenty of nights drop well below zero. People here own gear.
Reliably warm. Iowa City's summer averages around 84°F, the kind of heat where you remember to leave the house before noon for outdoor things and accept that the back of your shirt will be wet by lunchtime.
Approximately USDA Hardiness Zone 7. That's the band gardeners use to pick plants — anything rated for Zone 7 or colder should survive a typical winter in Iowa City. (The estimate is derived from our winter-temperature data; the official USDA map uses station-level annual minimums and may differ by half a zone.)
Roughly 666 feet (203 m). That's modest elevation — comparable to most inland-Midwest and Southern cities.
Middle of the pack. Iowa City comes in around 2,078 per 100,000, basically the national average. The interesting question is usually which neighborhood, not which city — that's where the real variation lives.
Iowa City is a genuinely affordable city by US standards. The composite index sits at 89 versus the 100 national baseline — about 11% cheaper overall, with housing doing most of the heavy lifting.
Yes, by US standards it's extraordinary. Iowa City scores 91/100, one of the highest in the country. Transit Score is 50 out of 100. Living here without a car isn't just possible; for many residents it's the default.
As a rule of thumb, plan on about $62,104 to live in Iowa City the way a $70,000 earner lives in a typical US city. The math gets less forgiving the lower you go below that. Median rent in Iowa City runs about $1,077/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.