Cost to Own
United States › Rankings › Iowa Counties ranked 99 Data vintage ACS 2023 5-Year

Ranked from ACS 2023 5-Year

Highest Costs Beyond the Mortgage in Iowa

Tax, insurance, electricity, water and maintenance as a share of the total monthly cost of owning: everything the mortgage payment is not. Ranking the dollars would just reproduce a list of expensive counties, because all of those costs scale with the price of the house. The share does not: at one rate and one down payment the mortgage is the same fraction of price everywhere, so what moves this list is counties whose carrying costs are heavy for what the house is worth. The share depends on the rate and the 20% down payment this site models, and would shift if either changed.

Where does yours land? Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.

Iowa ranked

#County Share beyond mortgageMonthly beyond mortgageMonthly to own
1 Montgomery County 46.2%$504$1,091
2 Decatur County 45.8%$495$1,079
3 Union County 45.5%$526$1,155
4 Wapello County 45.3%$499$1,101
5 Emmet County 45.1%$467$1,033
6 Wright County 45.1%$482$1,068
7 Pocahontas County 45.0%$408$906
8 Wayne County 44.9%$446$992
9 Hardin County 44.2%$479$1,082
10 Lucas County 44.1%$494$1,118
11 Keokuk County 43.8%$468$1,067
12 Lee County 43.7%$512$1,172
13 Page County 43.7%$497$1,137
14 Calhoun County 43.6%$472$1,082
15 Audubon County 43.5%$454$1,043
16 Taylor County 43.5%$451$1,037
17 Franklin County 43.4%$484$1,117
18 Adams County 43.1%$473$1,097
19 Marshall County 43.0%$540$1,256
20 Monroe County 42.9%$545$1,271
21 Des Moines County 42.9%$550$1,281
22 Ida County 42.9%$436$1,016
23 Appanoose County 42.8%$478$1,118
24 Palo Alto County 42.7%$475$1,112
25 Cass County 42.6%$529$1,240
26 Henry County 42.6%$589$1,382
27 Van Buren County 42.6%$471$1,105
28 Webster County 42.5%$547$1,287
29 Floyd County 42.4%$525$1,236
30 Hamilton County 42.4%$519$1,226
31 Winnebago County 42.4%$519$1,225
32 Davis County 42.3%$571$1,350
33 Fayette County 42.2%$510$1,209
34 Monona County 42.0%$474$1,129
35 Clinton County 42.0%$595$1,416
36 Tama County 42.0%$541$1,287
37 Howard County 41.9%$516$1,231
38 Mahaska County 41.9%$543$1,295
39 Crawford County 41.9%$524$1,251
40 Cerro Gordo County 41.7%$589$1,411
41 Hancock County 41.7%$493$1,184
42 Adair County 41.6%$534$1,285
43 Louisa County 41.5%$522$1,256
44 Osceola County 41.4%$467$1,128
45 Jefferson County 41.3%$605$1,466
46 Clarke County 41.2%$599$1,454
47 Muscatine County 41.1%$642$1,562
48 Fremont County 41.0%$548$1,335
49 Clayton County 41.0%$578$1,409
50 Humboldt County 41.0%$545$1,329
51 Pottawattamie County 41.0%$681$1,661
52 Butler County 40.9%$579$1,415
53 Greene County 40.9%$519$1,269
54 Buena Vista County 40.7%$539$1,323
55 Woodbury County 40.7%$631$1,549
56 Ringgold County 40.7%$551$1,353
57 Black Hawk County 40.6%$665$1,639
58 Kossuth County 40.6%$492$1,213
59 Linn County 40.5%$743$1,834
60 Shelby County 40.3%$564$1,398
61 Harrison County 40.3%$595$1,478
62 Guthrie County 40.3%$590$1,465
63 Jasper County 40.2%$635$1,579
64 Delaware County 40.1%$604$1,504
65 Sac County 40.1%$495$1,234
66 Worth County 40.1%$509$1,269
67 Buchanan County 40.0%$609$1,524
68 Cherokee County 39.9%$515$1,290
69 Polk County 39.9%$880$2,206
70 Boone County 39.7%$672$1,693
71 Jackson County 39.6%$594$1,502
72 Scott County 39.4%$739$1,873
73 Allamakee County 39.3%$594$1,512
74 Mitchell County 39.3%$567$1,443
75 Iowa County 39.3%$655$1,668
76 Jones County 39.2%$632$1,611
77 Poweshiek County 39.1%$631$1,615
78 Clay County 39.1%$588$1,503
79 Madison County 39.0%$808$2,073
80 Chickasaw County 38.9%$560$1,437
81 Washington County 38.9%$678$1,744
82 Benton County 38.8%$672$1,731
83 Bremer County 38.6%$697$1,803
84 Mills County 38.6%$769$1,990
85 O'Brien County 38.6%$534$1,382
86 Story County 38.3%$809$2,109
87 Warren County 38.3%$838$2,188
88 Marion County 38.2%$696$1,823
89 Cedar County 38.1%$657$1,723
90 Carroll County 38.1%$578$1,516
91 Grundy County 38.0%$591$1,554
92 Johnson County 37.9%$955$2,520
93 Dubuque County 37.5%$725$1,932
94 Plymouth County 36.7%$675$1,842
95 Sioux County 36.6%$727$1,984
96 Dallas County 36.6%$1,028$2,808
97 Winneshiek County 36.6%$736$2,012
98 Lyon County 35.7%$640$1,791
99 Dickinson County 35.1%$725$2,068

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

Highest Costs Beyond the Mortgage across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in Iowa

Other rankings

All 31 rankings