State profile · IA

Largest Cities in Iowa

Name: Iowa Cities: Population, Income & Housing Data
Creator: PlainCities
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Ranked by resident population across 858 tracked cities and towns in Iowa, using Census ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023). This compares cities and Census-designated places, not metropolitan areas, and carries the same rows into the chart, table, and downloadable CSV below.

Compiled by PlainCities

858
Cities: 2.6M
Combined city pop.: $68,941
Avg median income: 7.5%
Avg poverty rate

Data updated August 2026

The headline finding

Des Moines is the largest of 858 tracked cities in Iowa, which ranks #29 of 52 nationally on avg median income.

Des Moines
largest tracked city (212,464 people): #29
national rank, avg median income: 858
cities tracked in this state

Every figure here is read live from the same table rendered below.

95% of Iowa's 858 tracked cities are small towns under 10,000 people -- none crosses the 1-million-resident mark.

<10K

816
10K-99K

39
100K-999K

3

What this shows Small towns under 10,000 residents are the largest group in PlainCities' Iowa coverage, with 816 of 858 tracked places. This is a count of profiled places, not a share of the state's population.

How we calculate this mix & the national home-value percentile below

Every tracked city in Iowa is bucketed by population: small town under 10,000; mid-size 10,000–99,999; large 100,000–999,999; megacity 1,000,000+. The national home-value comparison below plots Iowa's average tracked-city home value against all 52 US states/territories, ranked the same way as the per-city percentiles: the state's percentile is the share of states with a lower average home value. See the methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.

Des Moines

212,464
Cedar Rapids

136,859
Davenport

101,083
Sioux City

85,651
Iowa City

75,264
Ankeny

70,542
West Des Moines

69,893
Waterloo

66,947
Ames

66,112
Council Bluffs

62,564
Dubuque

59,271
Urbandale

46,026

What this shows Des Moines, IA is the most populous city profiled in Iowa; the top 100 rows are listed below and the complete 858-row record is available as a CSV.

How Iowa ranks nationally

Avg median income

$68,941

#29 of 52 · highest income

Avg home value

$136,804

#45 of 52 · highest values

Avg poverty rate

7.5%

#15 of 52 · lowest poverty

Tracked cities

858

#9 of 52 · most tracked cities

Iowa ranks #29 of 52 nationally on average median income and #15 of 52 on average poverty rate, derived live by comparing it against every other tracked state. Averages are computed only across the cities PlainCities tracks in each state, not full state populations.

How Iowa's home values compare nationally

Average tracked-city home value vs. all 52 US states/territories

$136,804 Among the most affordable more affordable than 87% of 52 US states

Show national distribution

Each bar is a $50K-wide band; taller bars hold more US states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023

Largest cities in Iowa

Showing the 100 most-populous tracked places, ordered by population. Download the CSV for every one of the 858 city records and their source-backed fields.

#	City	Population	Median Income	Home Value	Poverty
1	Des Moines	212,464	$63,966	$183,700	11.1%
2	Cedar Rapids	136,859	$67,859	$177,100	7.1%
3	Davenport	101,083	$64,497	$162,900	10.3%
4	Sioux City	85,651	$65,473	$162,600	11.6%
5	Iowa City	75,264	$57,533	$273,600	7.8%
6	Ankeny	70,542	$106,603	$311,300	2.6%
7	West Des Moines	69,893	$84,925	$286,300	5.6%
8	Waterloo	66,947	$56,344	$150,200	11.5%
9	Ames	66,112	$60,102	$263,800	5.2%
10	Council Bluffs	62,564	$64,092	$164,300	8.7%
11	Dubuque	59,271	$64,985	$193,100	6.9%
12	Urbandale	46,026	$113,086	$318,800	4.5%
13	Marion	41,690	$87,105	$230,800	6.1%
14	Cedar Falls	40,662	$74,165	$252,500	5.7%
15	Bettendorf	39,297	$102,917	$295,600	4.9%
16	Marshalltown	27,491	$68,854	$117,100	10.4%
17	Mason City	27,135	$62,369	$130,000	7.3%
18	Waukee	26,974	$106,728	$328,200	5.7%
19	Ottumwa	25,352	$56,994	$92,400	14.0%
20	Fort Dodge	24,788	$61,769	$128,900	7.0%
21	Clinton	24,425	$57,493	$115,400	13.8%
22	Johnston	24,196	$103,430	$346,200	5.3%
23	Burlington	23,800	$55,274	$115,800	12.3%
24	Muscatine	23,567	$59,332	$146,900	14.9%
25	Coralville	22,846	$66,508	$286,000	7.4%
26	North Liberty	20,782	$103,933	$300,000	1.8%
27	Altoona	20,592	$87,123	$257,300	3.8%
28	Clive	18,776	$131,082	$379,000	3.2%
29	Indianola	15,918	$78,125	$228,100	3.5%
30	Grimes	15,810	$104,497	$281,000	4.9%
31	Newton	15,696	$56,321	$151,600	6.4%
32	Norwalk	13,610	$94,583	$275,700	1.0%
33	Boone	12,445	$67,269	$156,400	2.8%
34	Oskaloosa	11,492	$62,172	$128,900	8.3%
35	Spencer	11,393	$57,068	$178,300	8.0%
36	Storm Lake	11,275	$58,341	$163,600	4.8%
37	Pleasant Hill	10,796	$86,890	$284,100	7.3%
38	Pella	10,624	$81,201	$259,600	1.3%
39	Le Mars	10,597	$72,381	$202,200	6.0%
40	Waverly	10,446	$78,429	$215,200	5.6%
41	Carroll	10,261	$59,323	$184,100	7.5%
42	Fort Madison	10,221	$49,359	$95,900	11.0%
43	Keokuk	9,748	$49,340	$93,700	13.0%
44	Grinnell	9,527	$64,426	$191,700	4.4%
45	Fairfield	9,438	$48,302	$152,900	9.8%
46	Mount Pleasant	9,093	$59,216	$145,600	12.0%
47	Sioux Center	8,335	$87,555	$275,900	0.0%
48	Denison	8,247	$63,850	$137,600	19.1%
49	Bondurant	8,061	$128,341	$288,600	4.4%
50	Perry	7,928	$63,983	$122,100	8.5%
51	Webster City	7,769	$65,844	$115,400	12.0%
52	Clear Lake	7,603	$70,278	$235,100	1.0%
53	Decorah	7,597	$62,177	$234,600	4.5%
54	Knoxville	7,493	$70,136	$147,600	5.5%
55	Creston	7,466	$50,752	$112,600	13.1%
56	Charles City	7,321	$56,734	$118,900	8.8%
57	Washington	7,314	$56,536	$144,500	12.4%
58	Hiawatha	7,178	$67,628	$210,200	12.1%
59	Nevada	6,952	$75,221	$177,800	8.0%
60	Atlantic	6,773	$57,486	$134,900	20.1%
61	Eldridge	6,743	$101,089	$329,400	0.0%
62	Orange City	6,312	$81,667	$245,300	7.4%
63	Adel	6,259	$96,905	$320,500	4.4%
64	Independence	6,149	$72,250	$156,900	6.6%
65	Maquoketa	6,105	$56,039	$126,800	10.1%
66	Asbury	5,949	$130,071	$312,400	5.1%
67	Oelwein	5,878	$49,821	$96,800	13.5%
68	Estherville	5,865	$54,624	$96,300	8.1%
69	Polk City	5,833	$163,000	$385,000	4.8%
70	Anamosa	5,553	$56,167	$164,900	18.5%
71	Red Oak	5,542	$52,996	$91,600	12.7%
72	DeWitt	5,535	$84,474	$223,100	3.7%
73	Osceola	5,495	$62,363	$145,300	10.7%
74	Spirit Lake	5,469	$73,627	$218,400	2.5%
75	Algona	5,414	$52,542	$156,200	5.9%
76	Sheldon	5,386	$68,448	$173,600	10.2%
77	Winterset	5,384	$69,268	$181,500	7.5%
78	Centerville	5,377	$41,472	$99,000	17.3%
79	Clarinda	5,366	$50,644	$112,200	8.2%
80	Tiffin	5,271	$106,034	$315,800	2.6%
81	Windsor Heights	5,171	$89,083	$251,800	4.3%
82	Cherokee	5,157	$48,693	$119,400	18.6%
83	Manchester	5,144	$58,578	$130,500	9.6%
84	Glenwood	5,118	$69,320	$193,800	0.5%
85	Sergeant Bluff	5,090	$122,610	$287,600	8.0%
86	Iowa Falls	5,062	$53,051	$106,300	2.5%
87	Vinton	4,948	$65,488	$146,400	3.7%
88	Shenandoah	4,913	$52,469	$110,000	12.8%
89	Harlan	4,896	$54,923	$137,500	12.0%
90	Humboldt	4,761	$70,661	$162,600	9.4%
91	Le Claire	4,718	$100,404	$300,200	3.5%
92	Camanche	4,562	$68,727	$175,300	3.8%
93	Mount Vernon	4,551	$106,356	$256,900	4.7%
94	Evansdale	4,530	$57,415	$138,200	20.4%
95	Huxley	4,440	$122,716	$296,100	1.3%
96	Dyersville	4,357	$72,768	$219,800	0.0%
97	Hampton	4,311	$48,922	$91,900	13.4%
98	Forest City	4,280	$62,917	$136,400	6.0%
99	Chariton	4,235	$52,109	$84,200	20.1%
100	Carlisle	4,187	$98,333	$208,100	2.2%

What to do with Iowa's city data

858 cities is a lot to browse, here's where to start.

Des Moines is Iowa's largest tracked city by population, start there if you want the fullest picture of a major IA metro. Des Moines profile
The highest published median in Iowa sits on the Census ACS top-code of $250,000 or more, a bound rather than an exact figure. Browse the city table by income column instead of trusting a single crown. All Iowa cities
See how Iowa's cities stack up nationally, not just against each other. National rankings

City counts and averages on this page cover only the 858 places with sufficient Census ACS data, smaller towns below the reporting threshold are not included.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES.

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide similar states

Other states closest to Iowa on two ACS statewide axes: tracked-city population sum and mean of city median household incomes. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a claim that peers share a labor market or climate.

Similar statewide population

Nearest 50-state peers by ACS population of tracked cities. This state: 2,601,792.

4 peers

Similar mean household income

Nearest peers by mean of city median household incomes. This state: $68,941. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

National city rankings →

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cities does PlainCities track in Iowa?

PlainCities profiles 858 cities and towns in Iowa, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2023).

What is the largest city in Iowa?

Des Moines is the largest tracked city in Iowa, with a population of 212,464.

What is the average household income in Iowa?

Across the 858 tracked cities in Iowa, the average median household income is $68,941. Individual cities vary widely - the highest published median in Iowa sits on the Census ACS top-code of $250,000 or more, a bound rather than an exact figure.

What is the average poverty rate in Iowa?

The average poverty rate across Iowa's tracked cities is 7.5%, based on Census ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023).

Browse all city profiles → | Explore city rankings →

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau →

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Largest Cities in Iowa

Iowa's city-size mix

Largest cities in Iowa

How Iowa ranks nationally

Largest cities in Iowa

Nationwide similar states

Similar statewide population

Similar mean household income

Frequently Asked Questions

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