Overall
91.5
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Iowa City, IA
Cost-of-living indicators for Iowa City, IA, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 91.5
- Overall RPP
- #258
- of 387 metros
- 84.0
- Rents RPP
- $109K
- $100K national buys
Iowa City ranks #258 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 4.2 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Evansville
The verdict
Iowa City costs less than 67% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 91.5, 8.5% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 83.7.
- bottom 33%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 93.7
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 83.7
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $109,279 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $91,509.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$91,509
in Iowa City, IA purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$45,755
$75,000 nationally
$68,632
$125,000 nationally
$114,386
$150,000 nationally
$137,264
$200,000 nationally
$183,018
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
43/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
43rd percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Service-cost relief profile
How Iowa City's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Iowa City: their index is 83.7, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 91.5 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA, Waco, TX, Corpus Christi, TX. They resemble Iowa City across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Iowa City's overall index has fallen by 4.2 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Iowa City vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
92 Bottom 33% higher than 33% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Iowa City cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
84 RPP
- Services
Services
83.7 RPP
- Overall
Overall
91.5 RPP
- Goods
Goods
93.7 RPP
What this shows Iowa City's strongest departure is services at 83.7; rents follows at 84.0. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Iowa City's cost comes from
Metros near Iowa City's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Iowa City (Iowa City, this metro): goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 84
- Evansville: goods RPP 94.3, rents RPP 66.7
- Chattanooga: goods RPP 96, rents RPP 76.6
- Toledo: goods RPP 93.6, rents RPP 67.3
- Lincoln: goods RPP 94.1, rents RPP 84.2
- Fond du Lac: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 67.3
- Birmingham: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 71.9
Price Index Summary
Goods
93.7
Below avg
Services
83.7
Cheap
Rents
84.0
Cheap
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Iowa City's overall RPP fell -0.4 points, from 91.9 in 2023 to 91.5 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 88.0 to 83.7. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending downward, decreasing by 4.2 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2021, when the index dropped 2.6 points from the year before.
Iowa City overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.7 |
| 2009 | 95.0 |
| 2010 | 97.2 |
| 2011 | 96.2 |
| 2012 | 96.5 |
| 2013 | 97.1 |
| 2014 | 97.6 |
| 2015 | 95.0 |
| 2016 | 95.4 |
| 2017 | 94.7 |
| 2018 | 94.8 |
| 2019 | 95.7 |
| 2020 | 95.6 |
| 2021 | 93.0 |
| 2022 | 91.3 |
| 2023 | 91.9 |
| 2024 | 91.5 |
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Iowa City, IA's index of 91.5.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
IA-relative analysis
Goods prices places Iowa City, IA near the bottom of IA's metros
Among the 8 IA metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Iowa City, IA ranks #3 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Iowa City, IA only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#3 of 8
0th percentile in IA
Services prices
#4 of 8
50th percentile in IA
Rent prices
#2 of 8
75th percentile in IA
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within IA only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Iowa City, IA: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (91.5 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (84.0 here).
Other IA Metros
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 91.7 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 89.1 Cedar Rapids, IA 89.0 Ames, IA 88.8 Dubuque, IA 87.3 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 87.1
View all IA metros → Cheapest in IA → Most expensive in IA →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Iowa City's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
Goods 93.7 · Services 84.6 · Rents 84.7 Waco, TX
Goods 93.8 · Services 81.0 · Rents 83.5 Corpus Christi, TX
Goods 93.8 · Services 81.0 · Rents 84.9 San Angelo, TX
Goods 93.8 · Services 81.6 · Rents 81.4 Bloomington, IN
Goods 94.3 · Services 86.5 · Rents 85.6 Grand Junction, CO
Goods 96.1 · Services 83.3 · Rents 86.4
Compare to Other Metros
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
What this means for Iowa City
How to read Iowa City's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $109,279 in Iowa City. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 83.7, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Iowa City head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Iowa City, IA?
Iowa City, IA has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 91.5, meaning it is 8.5% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 93.7, services at 83.7, and rents at 84.0. It ranks #258 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Iowa City, IA to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $91,509 in Iowa City, IA. Conversely, $100K earned in Iowa City, IA has the purchasing power of $109,279 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Iowa City, IA?
Rents in Iowa City, IA are indexed at 84.0, which is 16.0% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Iowa City, IA getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Iowa City, IA's overall cost index changed by -4.2 points (from 95.7 to 91.5). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Iowa City, IA?
The priciest category in Iowa City, IA is goods at 93.7, 6.3% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 83.7, 16.3% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Iowa City, IA?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Evansville, Chattanooga, Toledo. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Iowa City, IA's 91.5.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.