Ranked from ACS 2023 5-Year
Lowest Price-to-Rent Ratios in Iowa
Price-to-rent is the median home value divided by a year of median gross rent, so a ratio of 12 means the house costs about twelve years of rent. Low ratios are where buying is cheapest against the local alternative. It is the one comparison on this site that assumes nothing about mortgage rates, down payment or how long you stay, which is why it travels well between counties. Both figures are Census five-year estimates for the same period, and rent here includes the utilities a tenant pays.
Where does yours land?
Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.
Iowa ranked
| # | County | Price-to-rent | Median home | Median rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wapello County | 9.9 yrs | $112,900 | $950 |
| 2 | Pocahontas County | 10.5 yrs | $93,300 | $743 |
| 3 | Adams County | 10.7 yrs | $116,900 | $909 |
| 4 | Keokuk County | 11.4 yrs | $112,200 | $822 |
| 5 | Hardin County | 11.6 yrs | $113,000 | $814 |
| 6 | Wright County | 11.6 yrs | $109,800 | $788 |
| 7 | Montgomery County | 11.7 yrs | $109,900 | $782 |
| 8 | Emmet County | 12.1 yrs | $106,200 | $731 |
| 9 | Des Moines County | 12.6 yrs | $137,000 | $908 |
| 10 | Lee County | 12.7 yrs | $123,600 | $814 |
| 11 | Appanoose County | 12.8 yrs | $119,800 | $779 |
| 12 | Monona County | 12.9 yrs | $122,600 | $795 |
| 13 | Wayne County | 12.9 yrs | $102,300 | $660 |
| 14 | Hamilton County | 12.9 yrs | $132,300 | $853 |
| 15 | Taylor County | 12.9 yrs | $109,700 | $707 |
| 16 | Osceola County | 13.0 yrs | $123,800 | $796 |
| 17 | Marshall County | 13.0 yrs | $134,100 | $860 |
| 18 | Audubon County | 13.0 yrs | $110,400 | $707 |
| 19 | Kossuth County | 13.1 yrs | $135,100 | $859 |
| 20 | Lucas County | 13.2 yrs | $117,000 | $738 |
| 21 | Fayette County | 13.4 yrs | $130,800 | $813 |
| 22 | Tama County | 13.5 yrs | $139,900 | $865 |
| 23 | Ida County | 13.6 yrs | $108,800 | $669 |
| 24 | Page County | 13.7 yrs | $120,000 | $731 |
| 25 | Hancock County | 13.7 yrs | $129,300 | $784 |
| 26 | Decatur County | 13.8 yrs | $109,500 | $663 |
| 27 | Calhoun County | 13.8 yrs | $114,400 | $690 |
| 28 | Davis County | 13.9 yrs | $146,000 | $878 |
| 29 | Mahaska County | 14.3 yrs | $140,900 | $821 |
| 30 | Union County | 14.4 yrs | $117,800 | $683 |
| 31 | Louisa County | 14.4 yrs | $137,600 | $797 |
| 32 | Monroe County | 14.4 yrs | $135,900 | $787 |
| 33 | Van Buren County | 14.4 yrs | $118,800 | $686 |
| 34 | Cass County | 14.4 yrs | $133,300 | $769 |
| 35 | Buena Vista County | 14.7 yrs | $146,900 | $835 |
| 36 | Muscatine County | 14.9 yrs | $172,400 | $966 |
| 37 | Greene County | 15.1 yrs | $140,500 | $774 |
| 38 | Webster County | 15.1 yrs | $138,500 | $762 |
| 39 | Woodbury County | 15.2 yrs | $172,000 | $946 |
| 40 | Franklin County | 15.2 yrs | $118,500 | $649 |
| 41 | Jefferson County | 15.2 yrs | $161,200 | $881 |
| 42 | Cerro Gordo County | 15.3 yrs | $154,100 | $840 |
| 43 | Winnebago County | 15.5 yrs | $132,300 | $712 |
| 44 | Clinton County | 15.5 yrs | $153,800 | $825 |
| 45 | Crawford County | 15.6 yrs | $136,300 | $727 |
| 46 | Pottawattamie County | 15.8 yrs | $183,600 | $970 |
| 47 | Black Hawk County | 15.8 yrs | $182,400 | $962 |
| 48 | Howard County | 16.0 yrs | $133,900 | $699 |
| 49 | Clarke County | 16.0 yrs | $160,200 | $836 |
| 50 | Adair County | 16.1 yrs | $140,600 | $730 |
| 51 | Shelby County | 16.1 yrs | $156,200 | $810 |
| 52 | Henry County | 16.1 yrs | $148,600 | $770 |
| 53 | Harrison County | 16.1 yrs | $165,300 | $854 |
| 54 | Fremont County | 16.3 yrs | $147,500 | $753 |
| 55 | Floyd County | 16.5 yrs | $133,300 | $672 |
| 56 | Guthrie County | 16.6 yrs | $163,900 | $823 |
| 57 | Palo Alto County | 16.6 yrs | $119,300 | $599 |
| 58 | Butler County | 16.7 yrs | $156,500 | $780 |
| 59 | Humboldt County | 16.7 yrs | $146,900 | $731 |
| 60 | Ringgold County | 16.8 yrs | $150,300 | $745 |
| 61 | Worth County | 16.9 yrs | $142,300 | $703 |
| 62 | Clayton County | 17.0 yrs | $155,700 | $764 |
| 63 | Cherokee County | 17.0 yrs | $145,100 | $711 |
| 64 | O'Brien County | 17.2 yrs | $158,900 | $770 |
| 65 | Chickasaw County | 17.6 yrs | $164,400 | $779 |
| 66 | Jackson County | 17.7 yrs | $170,000 | $800 |
| 67 | Poweshiek County | 17.8 yrs | $184,200 | $864 |
| 68 | Buchanan County | 17.8 yrs | $171,400 | $802 |
| 69 | Clay County | 17.9 yrs | $171,500 | $798 |
| 70 | Jasper County | 17.9 yrs | $176,800 | $822 |
| 71 | Sac County | 17.9 yrs | $138,400 | $643 |
| 72 | Scott County | 18.5 yrs | $212,500 | $958 |
| 73 | Mitchell County | 18.5 yrs | $164,100 | $739 |
| 74 | Polk County | 18.6 yrs | $248,400 | $1,113 |
| 75 | Linn County | 18.6 yrs | $204,400 | $915 |
| 76 | Delaware County | 18.9 yrs | $168,700 | $743 |
| 77 | Boone County | 19.3 yrs | $191,200 | $826 |
| 78 | Washington County | 19.3 yrs | $199,600 | $862 |
| 79 | Cedar County | 19.4 yrs | $199,700 | $860 |
| 80 | Grundy County | 19.4 yrs | $180,500 | $777 |
| 81 | Story County | 19.9 yrs | $243,600 | $1,019 |
| 82 | Dubuque County | 20.0 yrs | $226,100 | $944 |
| 83 | Allamakee County | 20.0 yrs | $171,900 | $717 |
| 84 | Marion County | 20.0 yrs | $211,100 | $880 |
| 85 | Jones County | 20.1 yrs | $183,400 | $759 |
| 86 | Carroll County | 20.3 yrs | $175,700 | $722 |
| 87 | Benton County | 20.3 yrs | $198,400 | $815 |
| 88 | Bremer County | 20.5 yrs | $207,200 | $844 |
| 89 | Madison County | 21.0 yrs | $236,900 | $938 |
| 90 | Plymouth County | 21.1 yrs | $218,600 | $865 |
| 91 | Mills County | 21.5 yrs | $228,700 | $888 |
| 92 | Warren County | 21.6 yrs | $252,800 | $975 |
| 93 | Iowa County | 21.9 yrs | $189,800 | $722 |
| 94 | Sioux County | 22.1 yrs | $235,600 | $888 |
| 95 | Johnson County | 22.1 yrs | $293,100 | $1,104 |
| 96 | Lyon County | 22.4 yrs | $215,600 | $802 |
| 97 | Dallas County | 22.4 yrs | $333,400 | $1,239 |
| 98 | Dickinson County | 22.5 yrs | $251,600 | $930 |
| 99 | Winneshiek County | 24.9 yrs | $239,000 | $800 |
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
Lowest Price-to-Rent Ratios across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in Iowa