What is the #1 cheapest places to live in iowa?

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

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 cheapest places to live in iowa?: Audubon ranks #1 with 72.0 (col index).
What are the top 5 cheapest places to live in iowa?: 1. Audubon (72.0), 2. Winfield (72.7), 3. Centerville (73.0), 4. Keosauqua (73.4), 5. Hampton (75.4)
How many cities in Iowa are ranked?: This ranking includes 289 cities in Iowa with available data.

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