What is the #1 most expensive cities in iowa?

#	City	Population	COL Index
1	Polk City	5,833	183.0
2	Kent Estates	1,863	178.0
3	Asbury	5,949	166.7
4	Bondurant	8,061	160.4
5	Walford	1,318	160.3
6	Huxley	4,440	159.2
7	Treynor	1,228	157.2
8	Robins	3,349	156.7
9	Clive	18,776	156.4
10	Sergeant Bluff	5,090	155.2
11	Van Meter	1,469	153.6
12	Johnston	24,196	153.0
13	Fairfax	2,865	152.9
14	Tiffin	5,271	151.3
15	University Heights	1,232	151.2
16	Peosta	1,922	150.3
17	North Liberty	20,782	144.8
18	Urbandale	46,026	144.1
19	Granger	1,919	143.7
20	Waukee	26,974	143.1
21	Ankeny	70,542	143.1
22	Bettendorf	39,297	142.0
23	Solon	3,092	141.6
24	Gilbert	1,300	139.7
25	Le Claire	4,718	139.0
26	Palo	1,173	138.5
27	Saylorville	3,559	137.2
28	Atkins	2,347	136.7
29	Ely	2,033	136.7
30	Park View	2,861	136.2
31	Hudson	2,614	135.8
32	Windsor Heights	5,171	135.5
33	Grimes	15,810	135.4
34	Eldridge	6,743	134.8
35	Urbana	1,628	134.0
36	Mount Vernon	4,551	132.9
37	Pleasant Hill	10,796	132.7
38	Adel	6,259	131.4
39	Swisher	1,064	131.2
40	West Des Moines	69,893	130.7
41	Norwalk	13,610	129.4
42	Fruitland	1,107	127.6
43	Altoona	20,592	126.4
44	Farley	1,809	125.7
45	Carlisle	4,187	125.5
46	Center Point	2,575	125.4
47	Dallas Center	2,058	125.0
48	Remsen	1,897	124.2
49	Earlham	1,406	123.9
50	Springville	1,210	123.5
51	Sioux Center	8,335	123.0
52	Blue Grass	1,867	122.9
53	West Branch	2,526	120.3
54	Slater	1,498	119.9
55	Jesup	2,596	119.2
56	Madrid	2,803	119.1
57	DeWitt	5,535	118.5
58	Denver	2,216	117.0
59	Marion	41,690	117.0
60	Moville	1,840	116.9
61	Dike	1,258	116.6
62	Fairbank	1,509	115.8
63	Indianola	15,918	115.5
64	Pella	10,624	114.6
65	Orange City	6,312	114.5
66	Roland	1,458	114.1
67	Cedar Falls	40,662	113.8
68	Waverly	10,446	112.8
69	Lisbon	1,782	112.7
70	Alton	1,350	112.3
71	Coralville	22,846	112.3
72	Carter Lake	3,773	110.7
73	Durant	1,904	110.1
74	Lone Tree	1,285	109.9
75	Riverside	1,040	109.8
76	Sully	1,092	109.8
77	Janesville	1,012	109.5
78	Bellevue	2,256	109.5
79	Epworth	1,991	109.3
80	Story City	3,363	109.1
81	Malvern	1,415	109.0
82	Rock Valley	4,061	109.0
83	Colfax	2,089	108.8
84	Traer	1,464	108.5
85	Iowa City	75,264	107.8
86	Mitchellville	2,557	107.5
87	Monroe	2,074	107.4
88	Spirit Lake	5,469	107.1
89	Hull	2,248	107.0
90	Reinbeck	1,805	106.9
91	Dyersville	4,357	106.6
92	Preston	1,057	106.5
93	Kalona	2,679	106.5
94	Nevada	6,952	106.4
95	Prairie City	1,649	106.2
96	Central City	1,266	106.1
97	Logan	1,362	105.6
98	Winterset	5,384	105.4
99	Lake Park	1,191	105.1
100	Ames	66,112	104.8
101	Des Moines	212,464	104.6
102	Hiawatha	7,178	104.5
103	Clear Lake	7,603	104.5
104	Walcott	1,895	104.4
105	St. Ansgar	1,156	104.1
106	Mediapolis	1,930	103.9
107	Conrad	1,170	103.9
108	Glenwood	5,118	103.8
109	Neola	1,098	103.8
110	Parkersburg	1,747	102.9
111	Grundy Center	2,794	102.6
112	Tripoli	1,256	102.3
113	Le Mars	10,597	102.1
114	Wilton	2,943	101.9
115	Avoca	1,369	101.7
116	Dubuque	59,271	101.7
117	Monona	1,618	101.2
118	Cascade	2,565	100.7
119	Larchwood	1,076	100.6
120	Panora	1,520	100.5
121	Camanche	4,562	100.5
122	Jewell Junction	1,225	100.4
123	Independence	6,149	100.4
124	Cedar Rapids	136,859	100.1
125	Decorah	7,597	100.0
126	Buffalo	1,090	99.8
127	Sioux City	85,651	99.8
128	Oakland	1,500	99.6
129	Davenport	101,083	99.5
130	Shell Rock	1,634	99.0
131	Knoxville	7,493	98.9
132	Council Bluffs	62,564	98.9
133	Kingsley	1,427	98.8
134	Pleasantville	1,883	98.7
135	West Liberty	3,795	98.6
136	Winthrop	1,081	98.6
137	Ogden	1,902	98.6
138	Humboldt	4,761	98.3
139	Hawarden	2,674	98.3
140	State Center	1,548	98.0
141	Marcus	1,236	97.9
142	Williamsburg	3,347	97.7
143	Garner	3,062	97.6
144	Boone	12,445	97.3
145	Brooklyn	1,565	97.2
146	Vinton	4,948	97.1
147	Tipton	3,111	96.8
148	Marshalltown	27,491	96.7
149	Sheldon	5,386	96.7
150	Nora Springs	1,394	96.2
151	Eldora	2,622	95.9
152	Grinnell	9,527	95.9
153	Rock Rapids	2,653	95.7
154	Albia	3,688	95.5
155	Melcher-Dallas	1,228	95.4
156	Belle Plaine	2,412	95.2
157	Britt	1,919	95.0
158	Alta	2,344	95.0
159	Milford	3,315	95.0
160	Monticello	4,055	94.6
161	Wapello	1,935	94.6
162	Montezuma	1,257	94.5
163	Mount Ayr	1,739	94.5
164	Perry	7,928	94.4
165	Guthrie Center	1,603	94.4
166	Bloomfield	2,723	94.2
167	Newhall	1,012	94.2
168	Webster City	7,769	94.1
169	Osceola	5,495	94.0
170	Stuart	1,642	94.0
171	Muscatine	23,567	94.0
172	Missouri Valley	2,685	93.6
173	Aplington	1,012	93.5
174	Columbus Junction	2,129	93.5
175	La Porte City	2,170	93.5
176	New Hampton	3,462	93.3
177	Glidden	1,153	93.3
178	Oskaloosa	11,492	93.2
179	Anamosa	5,553	93.1
180	Elkader	1,249	93.0
181	Denison	8,247	92.9
182	Manson	1,653	92.9
183	Fredericksburg	1,040	92.9
184	Woodward	1,002	92.8
185	New London	2,402	92.4
186	Dysart	1,575	92.1
187	Lake Mills	2,054	92.0
188	Waterloo	66,947	91.8
189	Evansdale	4,530	91.7
190	Walnut	1,339	91.6
191	Spencer	11,393	91.5
192	Toledo	2,079	91.4
193	Carroll	10,261	91.4
194	Washington	7,314	91.3
195	Lake View	1,021	91.2
196	Forest City	4,280	91.1
197	Newton	15,696	90.9
198	Wayland	1,140	90.9
199	Coon Rapids	1,403	90.9
200	Nashua	1,634	90.9
201	Baxter	1,251	90.8
202	Mount Pleasant	9,093	90.7
203	Fort Dodge	24,788	90.6
204	Clarence	1,223	90.6
205	Eagle Grove	3,588	90.4
206	Osage	3,578	90.4
207	Onawa	2,862	90.3
208	Mason City	27,135	90.2
209	Griswold	1,020	90.1
210	Sanborn	1,510	89.9
211	Manly	1,288	89.8
212	Eddyville	1,085	89.5
213	Lake City	1,652	89.3
214	Anita	1,060	89.2
215	Cresco	3,901	88.9
216	Harlan	4,896	88.8
217	Greene	1,390	88.3
218	Wellman	1,539	88.3
219	Storm Lake	11,275	88.3
220	Akron	1,660	88.1
221	Atlantic	6,773	88.1
222	Sheffield	1,204	88.0
223	Dunlap	1,318	88.0
224	Belmond	2,678	87.8
225	Burlington	23,800	87.7
226	Guttenberg	1,675	87.7
227	Allison	1,028	87.6
228	Woodbine	1,418	87.5
229	Tama	3,079	87.5
230	Holstein	1,552	87.4
231	Manchester	5,144	87.4
232	Ottumwa	25,352	87.3
233	Rockwell City	2,449	87.0
234	Graettinger	1,038	86.8
235	Manning	1,474	86.6
236	Northwood	2,170	86.6
237	West Union	2,393	86.4
238	George	1,049	86.4
239	Lenox	1,474	86.2
240	Fairfield	9,438	86.2
241	Clinton	24,425	86.1
242	Algona	5,414	86.1
243	Clarion	2,775	85.9
244	Waukon	3,796	85.6
245	Corning	1,573	85.4
246	Ackley	1,554	85.4
247	Ida Grove	1,904	85.4
248	Marengo	2,823	85.2
249	Sigourney	1,866	85.0
250	Maquoketa	6,105	84.9
251	Jefferson	4,164	84.8
252	Sibley	2,821	84.3
253	Clarksville	1,248	84.2
254	Strawberry Point	1,415	84.1
255	Hamburg	1,034	84.1
256	New Sharon	1,147	83.9
257	Iowa Falls	5,062	83.7
258	Estherville	5,865	82.8
259	Villisca	1,004	82.7
260	Charles City	7,321	82.5
261	Shenandoah	4,913	82.0
262	Pocahontas	1,536	81.8
263	Red Oak	5,542	81.8
264	Sac City	1,782	81.7
265	Postville	2,787	81.5
266	Bedford	1,389	81.3
267	Emmetsburg	3,651	81.3
268	Laurens	1,234	81.1
269	West Burlington	3,184	80.9
270	Lamoni	2,121	80.5
271	Keokuk	9,748	80.0
272	Fort Madison	10,221	79.9
273	Sumner	2,159	79.9
274	Greenfield	1,826	79.6
275	Chariton	4,235	79.2
276	Oelwein	5,878	79.1
277	Fayette	1,242	79.0
278	Lansing	1,111	79.0
279	Hartley	1,588	78.8
280	Cherokee	5,157	78.6
281	Clarinda	5,366	77.9
282	Creston	7,466	77.6
283	Corydon	1,566	77.3
284	Leon	1,795	76.4
285	Hampton	4,311	75.4
286	Keosauqua	1,014	73.4
287	Centerville	5,377	73.0
288	Winfield	1,065	72.7
289	Audubon	2,069	72.0

Methodology

Cities in Iowa are ranked by col index. Only cities with populations above 1,000 are included. Data sourced from BLS / C2ER. Last updated 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the #1 most expensive cities in iowa?: Polk City ranks #1 with 183.0 (col index).
What are the top 5 most expensive cities in iowa?: 1. Polk City (183.0), 2. Kent Estates (178.0), 3. Asbury (166.7), 4. Bondurant (160.4), 5. Walford (160.3)
How many cities in Iowa are ranked?: This ranking includes 289 cities in Iowa with available data.

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