Prices, pay, taxes, homes and family budgets, county by county, from the same official data the site's calculators use.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures price levels in every state against a national average of 100. Iowa scores 87.8 overall, so a $75,000 salary at average US prices buys what $65,822 buys here. Compare any salary with another state.
| Price level | Iowa (US = 100) | Rank, most expensive first |
|---|---|---|
| Everything | 87.8 | 49th of 51 |
| Rents | 65.3 | 44th of 51 |
| Goods | 93.7 | — |
| Other services | 92.9 | — |
Home electricity averaged 13.40 cents a kilowatt-hour in 2024, against 17.06 across all states. A gallon of regular gas cost $3.93 at the end of August 2026, against $4.12.
Across all 1,559,240 jobs the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts in Iowa, the median pay is $48,540 a year, or $23.34 an hour; that ranks 32nd of the 50 states and DC. One worker in ten earns less than $28,930 and one in ten more than $99,630.
Iowa taxes wages at a flat 3.8%. The brackets in Iowa. A single filer on the median $48,540, with no retirement or health deductions, takes home about $39,337 a year, or $1,513 every two weeks, after $3,645 of federal income tax, $3,713 of Social Security and Medicare and $1,845 of state income tax. Work out your own paycheck in Iowa.
The five occupations employing the most people, with their median annual pay:
| Occupation | Jobs | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Cashiers | 41,450 | $28,970 |
| Retail Salespersons | 41,000 | $31,360 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 40,290 | $28,390 |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 35,040 | $58,070 |
| Registered Nurses | 34,420 | $78,630 |
Of the 20 largest occupations, the best paid are general and operations managers ($87,690), registered nurses ($78,630), sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products ($66,760). See what common jobs pay in every state.
Across the 99 Iowa counties with their own Zillow home value, the median typical home is worth $195,956, and across the 24 with their own rent figure the median typical rent is $1,035 a month. A typical home costs 2.31 years of the county's median family income, at the median county.
With 10% down at 7.03%, the average 30-year rate on September 24, 2026, that home costs about $1,608 a month with tax, insurance and mortgage insurance, which takes $68,932 a year of income under the usual 28% guideline. The median family can afford its own county's typical home in 91.9% of Iowa's counties, against 44.9% of counties nationally. Try it with your own income.
At the median county, home values changed +4.7% over the past year and +30.0% over five years, and rents +2.7% over the past year.
The most expensive Iowa counties are Dickinson County ($392,387), Dallas County ($355,844) and Madison County ($340,284); the least expensive are Pocahontas County ($102,999), Appanoose County ($118,310) and Lee County ($125,077).
The Economic Policy Institute prices what a modest but adequate standard of living costs in every county: housing, food, transport, healthcare, childcare, other necessities and taxes. In the median Iowa county, that comes to $43,186 a year for one adult and $91,264 for two adults and two children, of which $12,478 is childcare. The national averages are $47,367 and $101,771. Median family income in the median county is $87,727.
| Two adults, two children | Per year, median county | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $10,524 | $877 |
| Food | $11,616 | $968 |
| Transportation | $20,490 | $1,708 |
| Healthcare | $15,046 | $1,254 |
| Childcare | $12,478 | $1,040 |
| Other necessities | $7,027 | $586 |
| Taxes | $12,703 | $1,059 |
Each line is its own median across counties, so the lines do not add up exactly to the total.
The Department of Education's College Scorecard lists 75 colleges in Iowa, 19 of them public. The median public college reports a cost of attendance of $17,791 a year, covering tuition, housing, books and other expenses. Ten years after enrolling, the median school's former students earn $42,793. Compare degrees and schools.
| Adair County | $202,176 | +8.5% | — | $95,758 | $94,319 |
| Adams County | $165,575 | +1.0% | — | $86,898 | $93,757 |
| Allamakee County | $266,566 | +7.7% | — | $81,464 | $91,912 |
| Appanoose County | $118,310 | −1.3% | — | $63,158 | $87,040 |
| Audubon County | $162,003 | +7.2% | — | $79,083 | $92,615 |
| Benton County | $287,889 | +9.5% | — | $104,875 | $95,825 |
| Black Hawk County | $189,774 | +1.2% | $1,010 | $86,319 | $93,127 |
| Boone County | $236,366 | +3.8% | $796 | $100,723 | $93,121 |
| Bremer County | $263,117 | +2.6% | — | $99,082 | $96,788 |
| Buchanan County | $228,387 | +6.4% | $856 | $92,016 | $90,610 |
| Buena Vista County | $190,121 | +0.5% | — | $91,125 | $91,298 |
| Butler County | $195,956 | +4.6% | — | $84,815 | $92,424 |
| Calhoun County | $158,868 | +10.2% | — | $80,781 | $88,862 |
| Carroll County | $215,026 | +7.5% | — | $91,492 | $88,101 |
| Cass County | $168,189 | +5.6% | — | $86,596 | $90,168 |
| Cedar County | $257,697 | +4.9% | — | $96,594 | $91,540 |
| Cerro Gordo County | $204,976 | +3.2% | $914 | $87,250 | $89,391 |
| Cherokee County | $161,490 | +2.5% | — | $90,870 | $86,206 |
| Chickasaw County | $221,712 | +6.5% | — | $87,157 | $91,848 |
| Clarke County | $200,165 | +3.0% | $1,066 | $79,155 | $91,946 |
| Clay County | $197,732 | +5.3% | — | $92,188 | $88,498 |
| Clayton County | $280,250 | +13.2% | — | $77,578 | $91,544 |
| Clinton County | $182,557 | +5.8% | $878 | $86,194 | $88,583 |
| Crawford County | $185,072 | +6.2% | — | $82,289 | $87,358 |
| Dallas County | $355,844 | −0.8% | $1,547 | $133,499 | $104,711 |
| Davis County | $235,294 | +3.0% | — | $92,261 | $92,372 |
| Decatur County | $165,564 | +9.4% | — | $68,609 | $91,788 |
| Delaware County | $247,921 | +4.1% | — | $89,671 | $89,768 |
| Des Moines County | $149,830 | +3.1% | $997 | $78,653 | $90,917 |
| Dickinson County | $392,387 | +1.9% | — | $102,237 | $94,965 |
| Dubuque County | $281,609 | +5.0% | $1,088 | $98,842 | $94,417 |
| Emmet County | $158,509 | +12.9% | — | $78,920 | $88,476 |
| Fayette County | $159,631 | +5.4% | $844 | $74,132 | $90,466 |
| Floyd County | $165,473 | +7.3% | — | $90,756 | $89,122 |
| Franklin County | $160,052 | +5.4% | — | $75,447 | $91,913 |
| Fremont County | $188,548 | +9.7% | — | $88,838 | $95,134 |
| Greene County | $178,353 | +4.4% | — | $82,886 | $89,964 |
| Grundy County | $222,284 | +2.4% | — | $98,725 | $92,987 |
| Guthrie County | $277,286 | +6.4% | — | $96,548 | $100,262 |
| Hamilton County | $175,900 | +2.8% | — | $88,568 | $91,008 |
| Hancock County | $189,230 | +3.4% | — | $84,452 | $91,807 |
| Hardin County | $146,430 | +2.1% | — | $83,767 | $88,859 |
| Harrison County | $228,883 | +6.1% | — | $92,535 | $98,219 |
| Henry County | $194,561 | +5.8% | — | $79,621 | $87,359 |
| Howard County | $207,024 | +8.3% | — | $81,131 | $95,470 |
| Humboldt County | $167,861 | +5.3% | — | $80,903 | $89,751 |
| Ida County | $193,295 | +8.5% | — | $83,420 | $86,872 |
| Iowa County | $237,824 | +4.5% | — | $92,695 | $91,551 |
| Jackson County | $243,088 | +6.0% | — | $88,056 | $88,244 |
| Jasper County | $233,447 | +5.3% | $1,032 | $88,171 | $92,105 |
| Jefferson County | $186,319 | +4.6% | — | $78,622 | $89,920 |
| Johnson County | $314,177 | +3.3% | $1,373 | $115,914 | $98,776 |
| Jones County | $245,090 | +8.2% | — | $93,766 | $91,135 |
| Keokuk County | $140,136 | +9.2% | — | $76,524 | $89,682 |
| Kossuth County | $173,612 | +2.3% | — | $86,222 | $89,991 |
| Lee County | $125,077 | +1.7% | $630 | $77,943 | $88,051 |
| Linn County | $242,747 | +3.0% | $1,286 | $97,372 | $95,088 |
| Louisa County | $175,704 | +3.9% | — | $88,974 | $89,081 |
| Lucas County | $181,679 | +2.5% | — | $81,204 | $91,264 |
| Lyon County | $274,083 | +12.8% | — | $88,125 | $93,801 |
| Madison County | $340,284 | +1.0% | — | $111,892 | $99,898 |
| Mahaska County | $205,165 | +8.5% | — | $83,414 | $87,729 |
| Marion County | $278,015 | +2.6% | $1,048 | $97,685 | $91,039 |
| Marshall County | $196,090 | +3.7% | $862 | $87,778 | $88,641 |
| Mills County | $284,695 | +3.9% | — | $106,778 | $97,313 |
| Mitchell County | $219,867 | +4.4% | — | $88,269 | $90,929 |
| Monona County | $163,390 | +2.0% | — | $80,893 | $88,346 |
| Monroe County | $173,084 | +3.6% | — | $84,061 | $88,164 |
| Montgomery County | $140,931 | −2.7% | — | $79,498 | $89,633 |
| Muscatine County | $208,065 | +6.4% | — | $88,225 | $91,561 |
| O'Brien County | $196,169 | +8.6% | — | $93,516 | $90,494 |
| Osceola County | $178,689 | +9.5% | — | $81,518 | $91,765 |
| Page County | $152,496 | +4.8% | — | $76,024 | $89,683 |
| Palo Alto County | $175,483 | +6.2% | — | $94,417 | $88,500 |
| Plymouth County | $296,386 | +4.8% | — | $94,139 | $92,575 |
| Pocahontas County | $102,999 | −6.1% | — | $81,250 | $91,293 |
| Polk County | $283,019 | +0.5% | $1,259 | $103,316 | $98,154 |
| Pottawattamie County | $244,775 | +3.0% | $1,344 | $88,420 | $96,612 |
| Poweshiek County | $226,232 | +8.1% | — | $91,543 | $90,184 |
| Ringgold County | $185,161 | +6.7% | — | $87,628 | $90,579 |
| Sac County | $176,364 | +10.2% | — | $87,244 | $90,280 |
| Scott County | $252,770 | +4.7% | $1,037 | $99,650 | $94,485 |
| Shelby County | $218,755 | +4.7% | — | $90,444 | $92,010 |
| Sioux County | $316,784 | +4.8% | — | $101,452 | $90,061 |
| Story County | $296,730 | +2.8% | $1,186 | $116,208 | $95,875 |
| Tama County | $175,183 | +3.6% | — | $82,571 | $90,494 |
| Taylor County | $144,038 | +12.5% | — | $79,310 | $91,541 |
| Union County | $164,461 | +4.7% | — | $80,000 | $91,916 |
| Van Buren County | $188,873 | +4.8% | — | $75,139 | $89,215 |
| Wapello County | $132,416 | +2.0% | — | $70,621 | $89,452 |
| Warren County | $326,799 | +2.4% | $1,187 | $112,091 | $97,242 |
| Washington County | $238,311 | +5.2% | — | $87,727 | $91,845 |
| Wayne County | $146,440 | +7.1% | — | $77,440 | $89,660 |
| Webster County | $141,320 | +1.8% | $797 | $89,099 | $86,122 |
| Winnebago County | $157,922 | +6.5% | — | $83,987 | $91,189 |
| Winneshiek County | $325,566 | +5.3% | $1,000 | $97,114 | $96,515 |
| Woodbury County | $211,463 | +3.0% | $1,254 | $87,337 | $91,591 |
| Worth County | $192,631 | +4.7% | — | $95,769 | $92,567 |
| Wright County | $136,643 | +1.8% | — | $76,402 | $90,028 |
A dash means the source publishes no figure for that county. Home values and rents are Zillow's own county figures only; counties Zillow does not cover are left blank rather than filled with a state average.
Omaha, NE (typical rent $1,420), Des Moines, IA (typical rent $1,311).
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County figures are medians across Iowa's counties, each counting once, so they describe the spread of places rather than of people. Property tax and insurance vary widely; the calculators let you use your own.