The 5 Best Places to Live in Iowa

The 5 Best Places to Live in Iowa

Map of Iowa

Iowa, the great, big cornfield of the Midwest. Many people don’t realize Iowa is more than just cornfields. Iowa is full of big and small cities and full of people who will give you a big midwestern welcome. We’re here to help you find some of the best places to live in Iowa for families and individuals.

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Iowa City

One of the best places to live in Iowa is in Iowa City. Iowa City is located on the eastern side of the state. The city has a population of 75,233 people, not including those who commute to the city for work.

Cost of Living

The average cost of living in Iowa City is $1,646 if you are living by yourself and around $4,046 if you are part of a family of four. This cost includes rent, utilities, transportation, and food the person would live off for a month.

The United States has an average cost of living of $3,189 for a single person and $7,095 for a family of four. Iowa City has a significantly lower cost of living than the average of all the States.

Employment

The average hourly wage in 2022 in Iowa City is $27.39, which is slightly lower than the national average. The unemployment rate in the city is also lower than the national average at only 2.6% of the city’s population.

Iowa City has various large industries such as Procter and Gamble CO, ACT Inc., and Mercy Iowa City. These companies all have locations in Iowa City and have significantly grown both in employment and revenue in the past few years.

Education

The school district in the city is the Iowa City Community School District. Within the district, there are 28 different schools. This makes it one of the best places in Iowa for families to live since they will have many different options when it comes to sending their kids to school.

Iowa City also has a low average student-to-teacher ratio of 14:1 and all the teachers are required to be certified in order to teach.

When it comes to higher education, Iowa City is home to the University of Iowa. The college is part of the Big Ten and has also built one of the most well-known academic medical centers in the country. In addition, they are partnered with NASA’s space physics program and have one of the most prestigious creative writing programs.

Unique Feature

Old Iowa Capitol Building

Iowa City was the capital of Iowa from 1842 to 1857. This was because it was the largest city in Iowa at the time. After the state started to develop the cities on the western side it was decided that Des Moines would take over and become the capital of Iowa.

The old capital building is now a historic marker in the middle of the University of Iowa campus. The building is also a museum which is free for the public to access when it is open, whether that be on your own or on a guided tour.

Cedar Rapids

Another one of the best places to live in Iowa is Cedar Rapids. Cedar Rapids was founded in 1849 and is located on the Eastern side of Iowa. The current population is around 136,429 people.

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Cost of Living

The cost of living in Cedar Rapids averages $1,430 for a single person and around $3,343 for a family of four. This includes the average cost of rent, utilities, food, and transportation a person in the city would spend every month.

Another reason the cost of living is low in Cedar Rapids is that the cost to rent an apartment is lower than a lot of places in the nation. Renting a one-bedroom apartment in Cedar Rapids costs an average of $820 per month, which is significantly lower than the national average of $1,702.    

Employment

Cedar Rapids is full of employment opportunities of varying kinds. The average hourly wage in the city is $26.52, which is lower than the national average. However, in fields such as production, installation, maintenance, and healthcare support the hourly wages are higher than the average national wages for those positions.

One big industry that Cedar Rapids has a lot of company involvement in is food production. They are home to companies such as Quaker, General Mills, Treehouse Foods, and Kraft Heinz. All these companies are food suppliers for many stores around the nation.

Education

If you are a family living in Cedar Rapids, you will most likely be a part of the Cedar Rapids Community School District. The district has over 16,000 students enrolled and is the second-biggest district in the state of Iowa. With 4 high schools, 6 middle schools, and 21 elementary schools, this town is one of the best places in Iowa for families to live.

For people looking for higher levels of education, the city is home to 3 different colleges. Mount Mercy University and Coe College are both private 4-year colleges in Cedar Rapids. In addition, the town also has a public 2-year community college, Kirkwood Community College.

Unique Feature

Czech and Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids is very well known for its history. With this history comes the immigration stories of the Czech immigrants. During the 1850’s the Czech people came to Iowa in hopes of buying inexpensive land to farm on. The population of Czech immigrants grew steadily over the years.

Since the Czech immigrants played such a huge role in Cedar Rapids’ farming history, the city has done a lot to preserve their stories and culture. The city has a National Czech and Slovak History Museum and Library where people can go and see the cultures and traditions of the Czech people.

Cedar Falls

When looking at the best places to live in Iowa, Cedar Falls easily makes the list. Even though Cedar Falls is a smaller town with a population of 40,194 people, there still are a lot of opportunities for jobs, education, and fun within the city.

Cost of Living

Cedar Falls has one of the lowest costs of living in Iowa, for both single people and families. The average cost of living per month for a single person is $1,095 and $2,425 a month for a family of four.

One reason the cost of living in Cedar Falls is so low is due to the low average transportation costs. The town is very well known for its bike paths and bike lanes, encouraging people to bike places instead of wasting money on gas or on a bus pass.

Employment

The average hourly wage in Cedar Falls is $25.58. When it comes to job distribution, the city’s employment is highly concentrated in job fields such as architecture, engineering, production, education, and transportation.

Two of the top places to work in Cedar Falls are John Deere and the University of Northern Iowa. While these two places are very different from each other, they still have a lot in common. Both places have very high employment numbers and always have positions available. In addition, both have high average salaries with the average salary at the University of Northern Iowa being $52,079 and $54,614 at John Deere.

Education

If you are a family living in Cedar Falls you will most likely live within the Cedar Falls Community School District. The district is home to 7 elementary schools, 2 junior high schools, and 1 high school. Cedar Falls is the best place in Iowa for families to live if you are looking for a small-town school district that still will allow your kid to meet a variety of other students.

If you are looking for a school for post-secondary education, look no further. Cedar Falls is home to the University of Northern Iowa. This public University is home to almost 9,000 students and offers over 160 different majors, minors, and degrees for you to choose from.

Unique Feature

Cedar Falls ice museum

Cedar Falls is home to the Cedar Falls Ice House Museum. This museum prides itself on being the only ice house museum to reside in an actual ice house. The house itself was meant to hold up to 16 million pounds of ice.

The museum is open from May through mid-October. By paying a small admissions fee you will be able to tour the building and learn about the history from the local volunteers. Within the building, you find the tools that were used to cut and collect ice on the Cedar River from 1921 to 1934.

Dubuque

Dubuque, Iowa is located right on the Mississippi River on the eastern side of the state. With a population of around 58,000 Dubuque may not be the biggest city, but that does not stop it from being one of the best places to live in Iowa.

Cost of Living

Dubuque, Iowa has a low cost of living in comparison to the average cost of living in the United States. For a single person to live for a month they spend around $1,403 and a family of four spends around $3,179 per month.

One thing that keeps the cost of living low in Dubuque, in comparison to other cities in the United States, is the monthly cost of utilities. The average cost nationwide for utilities for one month is $429.33. In Dubuque, the average cost is only $169.77 per month for utilities. In both these statistics utilities include electricity, heating, and water bills.

Employment

In Dubuque, the average hourly wage is $25.52. One field of work in Dubuque that has a higher hourly wage than the average national wage is healthcare. The city prioritizes its healthcare workers and makes sure they are well compensated for the work and the services they provide.

Dubuque has a great majority of its population employed within health fields. Some of the greatest staffing numbers come from health-related businesses in the town such as Mercy One Dubuque Medical Center, Medical Associates Clinic, and Unity Point Health. All these medical centers have around 1,000 employees or more.

Education

When it comes to education, Dubuque has a lot to offer. They have two major public school districts, Dubuque Community School District and Western Dubuque Community School District. In addition, they also have a variety of private religious-based school districts such as Holy Family Catholic School District and Tri-State Christian School District.

For people looking for post-secondary education, Dubuque has four different private colleges you can attend. All four of these colleges have lower tuition costs and are smaller-sized campuses. This allows you to go to college in a bigger town, while still having a sense of community.

Dubuque’s variety of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education makes it one of the best places in Iowa for families to live.

Unique Feature

Dubuque, Iowa skyline

Dubuque is very well known for its history and takes pride in the fact it is the oldest city in Iowa. The land was first discovered by a French-Canadian trader back in 1785 and became an official city in 1833. This not only made it the first city in Iowa, but it also made it one of the first cities to be founded west of the Mississippi River.

All of Dubuque’s history has caused the town to want to preserve the culture of the town’s people. The town’s historic society has created and restored places such as the Mississippi Riverwalk, the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, and the Grand River Center. All these places showcase both the history and the town’s perfect location on the river.

Des Moines

Des Moines is the capital city of Iowa. They also have the largest population of all the cities in Iowa with a total of 211,034 people.

Cost of Living

Des Moines has an average cost of living is $1,505 for a single person and $3,111 for a family of four. This is below the national average in the United States for both a single person and a family of four.

One thing to realize about moving to Des Moines is the cost of living can increase greatly depending on where you live in the city. If you are going to live in downtown Des Moines, you are most likely going to end up paying higher prices for rent and other utilities since you are in the heart of the city. On the other side, if you live closer to West Des Moines you will most likely pay a lower price for rent and utilities since you are nearing the outskirts of the city.

Employment

The average hourly wage in Des Moines is $28.82, which is very close to the national average. In the city, fields such as transportation, healthcare support, and administration support all had higher hourly wages than the national averages for those fields.

One thing Des Moines is well known for is its agricultural innovation. This includes fields such as agriculture business, agricultural bioscience, precision agriculture, and biorenewables. The city is also nationally ranked as the best seller of eggs, corn, and pork. Some of the main agriculture companies in Des Moines include the Renewable Energy Group, Corteva Agriscience, and Stine Seed Company.

Education

Des Moines is one of the best places in Iowa for families to live if they want many different options when it comes to education. The city has three different public school districts and another additional school district that is technically in the neighboring town of Altoona. Within these districts, there are 137 preschools, 66 elementary schools, 34 middle schools, and 17 high schools with some of the buildings being combined.

In addition, the city has a total of 129 private schools that you can choose to enroll your children in.

If you are looking for a form of post-secondary education, Des Moines has five different colleges to choose from. Drake University, Grand View University, Mercy College of Health Sciences, and Des Moines University-Osteopathic Medical Center are all private universities in the city. The city also has a public community college called Des Moines Area Community College.

Unique Feature

Farmers market in downtown Des Moines, Iowa

One of Des Moines’ most unique features is its Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market. This farmers market is home to over 300 different vendors, including crafters, farmers, bakers, musicians, and more. The market itself spans 9 city blocks, giving people plenty of room to walk around and visit all the different vendors.

The market itself brings in thousands of customers every week, including dogs who are more than welcome! There are also various parking lots and parking garages that allow people to park near the market.

Conclusion

Iowa is full of some of the best cities to live in. The best cities have a low cost of living and many employment opportunities. They also have a good education system that makes them the best places for families to live in Iowa, along with having unique features that make them stand out. From Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and Cedar Falls, Dubuque, to Des Moines, Iowa’s best cities have something for everyone.

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Jessica is a students at the University of Northern Iowa. She is majoring in English Education with a creative writing minor. In her free time she loves to read books of every genre, write short stories, and spend time with friends. In the future she hopes to share her love for reading and writing with her future students.