countyscore

Cost of Living · Iowa

Most Affordable Counties in Iowa 2026

Ranked by housing affordability including median rent and home values.

Top 10 — Cost of Living in Iowa

Score reflects cost of living only — not overall county quality.

1Van Buren County, IA
86.3
2Ida County, IA
81.8
3Franklin County, IA
80.5
4Palo Alto County, IA
79.9
5Calhoun County, IA
78.9
6Sac County, IA
77.8
7Wayne County, IA
77.1
8Decatur County, IA
76
9Page County, IA
73.6
10Howard County, IA
73.3

All Iowa Counties — Cost of Living Rankings

99 counties ranked by cost of living score. Overall Score shown for context.

#CountyCost of Living ScoreOverall Score
1Van Buren County, IA
86.3
61.5
2Ida County, IA
81.8
69.7
3Franklin County, IA
80.5
63.9
4Palo Alto County, IA
79.9
62.7
5Calhoun County, IA
78.9
64.6
6Sac County, IA
77.8
62.1
7Wayne County, IA
77.1
62.5
8Decatur County, IA
76
60.8
9Page County, IA
73.6
53
10Howard County, IA
73.3
68.2
11Audubon County, IA
72.3
57.6
12Winnebago County, IA
71.7
69.2
13Pocahontas County, IA
70.3
63
14Humboldt County, IA
69.2
63.7
15Emmet County, IA
69
59.9
16Cherokee County, IA
68.8
67.1
17Chickasaw County, IA
68
68.7
18Carroll County, IA
66.7
61.3
19Mitchell County, IA
66
67.3
20Lucas County, IA
65.9
55.8
21Union County, IA
65.9
52.4
22Floyd County, IA
65.8
56.2
23Wright County, IA
65.8
59.7
24Worth County, IA
65.5
69.2
25Hancock County, IA
65.3
62.2
26Taylor County, IA
64.8
62.1
27Osceola County, IA
64.7
64.3
28Cass County, IA
63.3
42.6
29Crawford County, IA
63.1
55.2
30Louisa County, IA
62.4
63.1
31Clayton County, IA
61.9
60.5
32Fremont County, IA
61.9
59.5
33Hardin County, IA
61.8
48.6
34Montgomery County, IA
61.5
52.7
35Webster County, IA
61
41.6
36Appanoose County, IA
60.5
47.7
37Monona County, IA
59.5
59.5
38Iowa County, IA
58.5
57.2
39Greene County, IA
58.3
58.7
40Keokuk County, IA
58.1
59.5
41Mahaska County, IA
57.2
52.6
42Shelby County, IA
56.2
68
43Kossuth County, IA
55.8
66.9
44Ringgold County, IA
55.6
61.2
45Lee County, IA
55
43.6
46Adams County, IA
54.9
61.9
47Delaware County, IA
54.9
59.6
48Allamakee County, IA
54.6
57.7
49Butler County, IA
54.4
62.2
50Jackson County, IA
54.4
55.5
51Adair County, IA
53.3
61.3
52Monroe County, IA
53
59.1
53Henry County, IA
52.8
52
54Clay County, IA
52.2
59.7
55Jones County, IA
51.8
59.7
56O'Brien County, IA
51.4
59.3
57Grundy County, IA
49.9
68.1
58Fayette County, IA
49.2
56.2
59Buchanan County, IA
48
61.1
60Tama County, IA
47.6
56.9
61Cerro Gordo County, IA
47.4
42.5
62Guthrie County, IA
46.8
60.5
63Wapello County, IA
46.1
34.3
64Hamilton County, IA
45.9
57.1
65Harrison County, IA
45.8
59.1
66Des Moines County, IA
45.5
36
67Jefferson County, IA
45.5
49.7
68Jasper County, IA
45.3
54
69Buena Vista County, IA
45
46.2
70Clinton County, IA
44.8
38.7
71Lyon County, IA
43.7
64.5
72Marshall County, IA
42.8
42
73Plymouth County, IA
42.5
47.1
74Benton County, IA
42.4
56.3
75Davis County, IA
40.8
56.7
76Winneshiek County, IA
40.2
67.2
77Marion County, IA
38.5
59.9
78Boone County, IA
38.3
57.7
79Washington County, IA
37.5
51.4
80Poweshiek County, IA
37
46.9
81Sioux County, IA
36.6
59.5
82Cedar County, IA
36.3
57.6
83Bremer County, IA
34.9
57.7
84Dickinson County, IA
34.9
59.6
85Clarke County, IA
34.4
42
86Muscatine County, IA
33.2
41.5
87Woodbury County, IA
32.6
51.1
88Black Hawk County, IA
30.6
40.7
89Dubuque County, IA
29.5
45.5
90Linn County, IA
27.9
40.4
91Mills County, IA
26.9
45.7
92Pottawattamie County, IA
26.5
36
93Scott County, IA
25.4
36.9
94Story County, IA
23.5
47.3
95Warren County, IA
23.1
52.2
96Madison County, IA
21.9
58.3
97Johnson County, IA
16
41.1
98Polk County, IA
15.8
36.7
99Dallas County, IA
10
42

Explore More

Best overall counties in IowaFull Cost of Living data on CostByCounty