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Rent Affordability for An Elementary School Teacher in Iowa

A typical elementary school teacher in Iowa earns about $61,714 a year, which supports approximately $1,543 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. 31 of 35 cities tracked stay within the 30% rule; 4 are rent-burdened on this salary.

City↕Median rent↕% of income↑Affordability
Boone, IA$770/mo15%very comfortable
Clinton, IA$775/mo15.1%very comfortable
Fort Dodge, IA$820/mo15.9%very comfortable
Waterloo, IA$948/mo18.4%very comfortable
Knoxville, IA$950/mo18.5%very comfortable
Davenport, IA$960/mo18.7%very comfortable
Marshalltown, IA$978/mo19%very comfortable
Burlington, IA$991/mo19.3%very comfortable
Newton, IA$992/mo19.3%very comfortable
Dubuque, IA$1,094/mo21.3%affordable
Adel, IA$1,094/mo21.3%affordable
Des Moines, IA$1,131/mo22%affordable
Pella, IA$1,135/mo22.1%affordable
Ames, IA$1,153/mo22.4%affordable
Urbandale, IA$1,203/mo23.4%affordable
Coralville, IA$1,235/mo24%affordable
Norwalk, IA$1,237/mo24.1%affordable
Cedar Falls, IA$1,251/mo24.3%affordable
Sioux City, IA$1,254/mo24.4%affordable
Iowa City, IA$1,271/mo24.7%affordable
Indianola, IA$1,282/mo24.9%affordable
Cedar Rapids, IA$1,307/mo25.4%affordable
Marion, IA$1,315/mo25.6%affordable
Pleasant Hill, IA$1,325/mo25.8%affordable
Council Bluffs, IA$1,342/mo26.1%affordable
West Des Moines, IA$1,353/mo26.3%affordable
Grimes, IA$1,367/mo26.6%affordable
Bettendorf, IA$1,386/mo27%affordable
Johnston, IA$1,432/mo27.8%affordable
Altoona, IA$1,475/mo28.7%affordable
Ankeny, IA$1,533/mo29.8%affordable
Waukee, IA$1,601/mo31.1%stretched
North Liberty, IA$1,692/mo32.9%stretched
Tiffin, IA$1,864/mo36.2%stretched
Le Claire, IA$2,900/mo56.4%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).