Ranked from ACS 2023 5-Year
Cheapest Counties to Own a Home Outright in Iowa
Paying off a mortgage does not end the cost of a house. This ranks counties by what the median home still costs every month with no loan at all: property tax, insurance, electricity, water and maintenance. Nowhere in America is it zero.
Where does yours land?
Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.
Iowa ranked
| # | County | Monthly if paid off | Median home | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pocahontas County | $408 | $93,300 | 1.143% |
| 2 | Ida County | $436 | $108,800 | 1.064% |
| 3 | Wayne County | $446 | $102,300 | 1.346% |
| 4 | Taylor County | $451 | $109,700 | 1.211% |
| 5 | Audubon County | $454 | $110,400 | 1.226% |
| 6 | Emmet County | $467 | $106,200 | 1.478% |
| 7 | Osceola County | $467 | $123,800 | 1.052% |
| 8 | Keokuk County | $468 | $112,200 | 1.329% |
| 9 | Van Buren County | $471 | $118,800 | 1.201% |
| 10 | Calhoun County | $472 | $114,400 | 1.316% |
| 11 | Adams County | $473 | $116,900 | 1.265% |
| 12 | Monona County | $474 | $122,600 | 1.152% |
| 13 | Palo Alto County | $475 | $119,300 | 1.233% |
| 14 | Appanoose County | $478 | $119,800 | 1.253% |
| 15 | Hardin County | $479 | $113,000 | 1.427% |
| 16 | Wright County | $482 | $109,800 | 1.544% |
| 17 | Franklin County | $484 | $118,500 | 1.348% |
| 18 | Kossuth County | $492 | $135,100 | 1.064% |
| 19 | Hancock County | $493 | $129,300 | 1.192% |
| 20 | Lucas County | $494 | $117,000 | 1.480% |
| 21 | Decatur County | $495 | $109,500 | 1.695% |
| 22 | Sac County | $495 | $138,400 | 1.028% |
| 23 | Page County | $497 | $120,000 | 1.434% |
| 24 | Wapello County | $499 | $112,900 | 1.642% |
| 25 | Montgomery County | $504 | $109,900 | 1.791% |
| 26 | Worth County | $509 | $142,300 | 1.075% |
| 27 | Fayette County | $510 | $130,800 | 1.316% |
| 28 | Lee County | $512 | $123,600 | 1.501% |
| 29 | Cherokee County | $515 | $145,100 | 1.076% |
| 30 | Howard County | $516 | $133,900 | 1.302% |
| 31 | Winnebago County | $519 | $132,300 | 1.361% |
| 32 | Greene County | $519 | $140,500 | 1.197% |
| 33 | Hamilton County | $519 | $132,300 | 1.366% |
| 34 | Louisa County | $522 | $137,600 | 1.273% |
| 35 | Crawford County | $524 | $136,300 | 1.320% |
| 36 | Floyd County | $525 | $133,300 | 1.391% |
| 37 | Union County | $526 | $117,800 | 1.789% |
| 38 | Cass County | $529 | $133,300 | 1.428% |
| 39 | O'Brien County | $534 | $158,900 | 0.989% |
| 40 | Adair County | $534 | $140,600 | 1.321% |
| 41 | Buena Vista County | $539 | $146,900 | 1.240% |
| 42 | Marshall County | $540 | $134,100 | 1.514% |
| 43 | Tama County | $541 | $139,900 | 1.390% |
| 44 | Mahaska County | $543 | $140,900 | 1.388% |
| 45 | Humboldt County | $545 | $146,900 | 1.286% |
| 46 | Monroe County | $545 | $135,900 | 1.519% |
| 47 | Webster County | $547 | $138,500 | 1.478% |
| 48 | Fremont County | $548 | $147,500 | 1.300% |
| 49 | Des Moines County | $550 | $137,000 | 1.531% |
| 50 | Ringgold County | $551 | $150,300 | 1.270% |
| 51 | Chickasaw County | $560 | $164,400 | 1.097% |
| 52 | Shelby County | $564 | $156,200 | 1.265% |
| 53 | Mitchell County | $567 | $164,100 | 1.156% |
| 54 | Davis County | $571 | $146,000 | 1.518% |
| 55 | Clayton County | $578 | $155,700 | 1.380% |
| 56 | Carroll County | $578 | $175,700 | 1.052% |
| 57 | Butler County | $579 | $156,500 | 1.379% |
| 58 | Clay County | $588 | $171,500 | 1.183% |
| 59 | Cerro Gordo County | $589 | $154,100 | 1.496% |
| 60 | Henry County | $589 | $148,600 | 1.611% |
| 61 | Guthrie County | $590 | $163,900 | 1.325% |
| 62 | Grundy County | $591 | $180,500 | 1.069% |
| 63 | Jackson County | $594 | $170,000 | 1.252% |
| 64 | Allamakee County | $594 | $171,900 | 1.223% |
| 65 | Clinton County | $595 | $153,800 | 1.549% |
| 66 | Harrison County | $595 | $165,300 | 1.339% |
| 67 | Clarke County | $599 | $160,200 | 1.458% |
| 68 | Delaware County | $604 | $168,700 | 1.343% |
| 69 | Jefferson County | $605 | $161,200 | 1.487% |
| 70 | Buchanan County | $609 | $171,400 | 1.334% |
| 71 | Woodbury County | $631 | $172,000 | 1.478% |
| 72 | Poweshiek County | $631 | $184,200 | 1.282% |
| 73 | Jones County | $632 | $183,400 | 1.298% |
| 74 | Jasper County | $635 | $176,800 | 1.424% |
| 75 | Lyon County | $640 | $215,600 | 0.920% |
| 76 | Muscatine County | $642 | $172,400 | 1.547% |
| 77 | Iowa County | $655 | $189,800 | 1.349% |
| 78 | Cedar County | $657 | $199,700 | 1.218% |
| 79 | Black Hawk County | $665 | $182,400 | 1.530% |
| 80 | Benton County | $672 | $198,400 | 1.324% |
| 81 | Boone County | $672 | $191,200 | 1.434% |
| 82 | Plymouth County | $675 | $218,600 | 1.081% |
| 83 | Washington County | $678 | $199,600 | 1.347% |
| 84 | Pottawattamie County | $681 | $183,600 | 1.613% |
| 85 | Marion County | $696 | $211,100 | 1.292% |
| 86 | Bremer County | $697 | $207,200 | 1.349% |
| 87 | Dickinson County | $725 | $251,600 | 0.977% |
| 88 | Dubuque County | $725 | $226,100 | 1.260% |
| 89 | Sioux County | $727 | $235,600 | 1.155% |
| 90 | Winneshiek County | $736 | $239,000 | 1.165% |
| 91 | Scott County | $739 | $212,500 | 1.516% |
| 92 | Linn County | $743 | $204,400 | 1.661% |
| 93 | Mills County | $769 | $228,700 | 1.458% |
| 94 | Madison County | $808 | $236,900 | 1.554% |
| 95 | Story County | $809 | $243,600 | 1.472% |
| 96 | Warren County | $838 | $252,800 | 1.502% |
| 97 | Polk County | $880 | $248,400 | 1.757% |
| 98 | Johnson County | $955 | $293,100 | 1.565% |
| 99 | Dallas County | $1,028 | $333,400 | 1.454% |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Cheapest Counties to Own a Home Outright across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in Iowa