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Rent Affordability for A Firefighter in Iowa

A typical firefighter in Iowa earns about $57,785 a year, which supports approximately $1,445 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. 29 of 35 cities tracked stay within the 30% rule; 6 are rent-burdened on this salary.

City↕Median rent↕% of income↑Affordability
Boone, IA$770/mo16%very comfortable
Clinton, IA$775/mo16.1%very comfortable
Fort Dodge, IA$820/mo17%very comfortable
Waterloo, IA$948/mo19.7%very comfortable
Knoxville, IA$950/mo19.7%very comfortable
Davenport, IA$960/mo19.9%very comfortable
Marshalltown, IA$978/mo20.3%affordable
Burlington, IA$991/mo20.6%affordable
Newton, IA$992/mo20.6%affordable
Dubuque, IA$1,094/mo22.7%affordable
Adel, IA$1,094/mo22.7%affordable
Des Moines, IA$1,131/mo23.5%affordable
Pella, IA$1,135/mo23.6%affordable
Ames, IA$1,153/mo23.9%affordable
Urbandale, IA$1,203/mo25%affordable
Coralville, IA$1,235/mo25.6%affordable
Norwalk, IA$1,237/mo25.7%affordable
Sioux City, IA$1,254/mo26%affordable
Cedar Falls, IA$1,251/mo26%affordable
Iowa City, IA$1,271/mo26.4%affordable
Indianola, IA$1,282/mo26.6%affordable
Cedar Rapids, IA$1,307/mo27.1%affordable
Marion, IA$1,315/mo27.3%affordable
Pleasant Hill, IA$1,325/mo27.5%affordable
Council Bluffs, IA$1,342/mo27.9%affordable
West Des Moines, IA$1,353/mo28.1%affordable
Grimes, IA$1,367/mo28.4%affordable
Bettendorf, IA$1,386/mo28.8%affordable
Johnston, IA$1,432/mo29.7%affordable
Altoona, IA$1,475/mo30.6%stretched
Ankeny, IA$1,533/mo31.8%stretched
Waukee, IA$1,601/mo33.2%stretched
North Liberty, IA$1,692/mo35.1%stretched
Tiffin, IA$1,864/mo38.7%stretched
Le Claire, IA$2,900/mo60.2%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).