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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Iowa is a genuine bargain: 2 of the 2 cities in this ranking come in below the national cost-of-living average. Cedar Rapids leads at an index of 68 — for better or worse — with rent at just $1,158/month — 39% less than the $1,895 national median. Here are the numbers, sourced from federal data upd…
#1 Ranked: Cedar Rapids — cost index 68, rent $1,158/mo, income $67,859
Cedar Rapids rent up 8% over the past year
2 of 2 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cedar Rapids | 68 | $1,158 | Details |
| 2 | Des Moines | 67 | $1,141 | Details |
Iowa is a genuine bargain: 2 of the 2 cities in this ranking come in below the national cost-of-living average. Cedar Rapids leads at an index of 68 — for better or worse — with rent at just $1,158/month — 39% less than the $1,895 national median. Here are the numbers, sourced from federal data updated in 2026.
In plain English: Cedar Rapids is one of the cheaper options here. Rent is $1,158/month, which is lower than most cities in this ranking. The cost index is 68. Income sits at $67,859. It's fine. Not great, not bad.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
135,958 residents · Iowa
Look, Here's Cedar Rapids by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 68. Rent: $1,158/month. Income: $67,859/year. That tracks. Home price: $204,214. Population: 135,958. The strongest category is Housing at 68; the most expensive is Healthcare at 94. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $8,844 per year vs. the national median. That ratio is hard to beat anywhere else. Hard to argue with that.
210,381 residents · Iowa
Here's Des Moines by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 67. Rent: $1,141/month. Income: $63,966/year. Home price: $204,843. Population: 210,381. The strongest category is Housing at 67; the most expensive is Healthcare at 93. That tracks. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $9,048 per year vs. the national median. On a teacher's salary, this difference is the line between paycheck-to-paycheck and comfortable.
Cities with the highest rents in Iowa are ranked from most expensive to least. High rent doesn't always mean unaffordable — we pair rent data with income to show the full picture. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Cedar Rapids ranks #1 in Iowa for this analysis with a cost index of 68 and median income of $67,859.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Cedar Rapids (ranked #1) has a cost index of 68 and rent of $1,158/mo, while Des Moines (ranked #2) has a cost index of 67 and rent of $1,141/mo — a 1-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Cedar Rapids is $1,158/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $737 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Cedar Rapids is $204,214, which is 3.0× the local median income. That's within the standard 3.5× affordability rule for most local earners. The national median home price is $467,370.
Iowa has a 5.7% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 6.94%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.43%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.