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Rent Affordability for A Chef in Iowa

A typical chef in Iowa earns about $59,018 a year, which supports approximately $1,475 a month in rent under the 30% rule. Below, every tracked Iowa city is ranked by how local rent compares against that affordability ceiling.

As of May 2026. 30 of 35 cities tracked stay within the 30% rule; 5 are rent-burdened on this salary.

City↕Median rent↕% of income↑Affordability
Boone, IA$770/mo15.7%very comfortable
Clinton, IA$775/mo15.8%very comfortable
Fort Dodge, IA$820/mo16.7%very comfortable
Waterloo, IA$948/mo19.3%very comfortable
Knoxville, IA$950/mo19.3%very comfortable
Davenport, IA$960/mo19.5%very comfortable
Marshalltown, IA$978/mo19.9%very comfortable
Burlington, IA$991/mo20.1%affordable
Newton, IA$992/mo20.2%affordable
Dubuque, IA$1,094/mo22.2%affordable
Adel, IA$1,094/mo22.2%affordable
Des Moines, IA$1,131/mo23%affordable
Pella, IA$1,135/mo23.1%affordable
Ames, IA$1,153/mo23.4%affordable
Urbandale, IA$1,203/mo24.5%affordable
Coralville, IA$1,235/mo25.1%affordable
Norwalk, IA$1,237/mo25.2%affordable
Cedar Falls, IA$1,251/mo25.4%affordable
Sioux City, IA$1,254/mo25.5%affordable
Iowa City, IA$1,271/mo25.8%affordable
Indianola, IA$1,282/mo26.1%affordable
Cedar Rapids, IA$1,307/mo26.6%affordable
Marion, IA$1,315/mo26.7%affordable
Pleasant Hill, IA$1,325/mo26.9%affordable
Council Bluffs, IA$1,342/mo27.3%affordable
West Des Moines, IA$1,353/mo27.5%affordable
Grimes, IA$1,367/mo27.8%affordable
Bettendorf, IA$1,386/mo28.2%affordable
Johnston, IA$1,432/mo29.1%affordable
Altoona, IA$1,475/mo30%affordable
Ankeny, IA$1,533/mo31.2%stretched
Waukee, IA$1,601/mo32.6%stretched
North Liberty, IA$1,692/mo34.4%stretched
Tiffin, IA$1,864/mo37.9%stretched
Le Claire, IA$2,900/mo59%severely rent-burdened
Methodology: Salary is the BLS-derived state estimate for Iowa. Rent is the latest ZORI monthly value for each city. Affordability uses the 30% rule (rent ≤ 30% of gross income).