Two Metros in Iowa Made the List of Most Affordable Rent
The website Lawn Love recently conducted a study regarding rent prices around the country. In a country where rent prices continue to climb to almost unobtainable figures, two Iowa metropolitans are on the good side of this list.
Before we address that, let's take a look at some local figures. Iowa has some of the cheapest rent prices in the country, according to the World Population Review. The American Community Survey (ACS) lists the median rent in Iowa at $789, far below NPR's reported $2,000 median.
For Illinois, the median rent is $1,010. For Wisconsin, there's a happy (?) medium: $856 according to the ACS.
Back to this study from Lawn Love. They took a look at the most expensive and most affordable metropolitans in which to rent. The Tri-State region of New York/Newark/Jersey City in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, respectively, took the #1 spot as the most expensive metropolitan. Two Florida regions followed, with Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Pompano Beach and Naples/Marco Island. California metros claim five of the 10 spots.
Conversely, two Iowa cities made the more desirable list. Des Moines/West Des Moines came in at #6 on the list of most affordable metros in the country. Right behind it at #7 are three of the four Quad Cities (Davenport/Moline/Rock Island).
According to Rent Cafe, the average price for an apartment in Des Moines is $982. According to Zumper, the average price for an apartment in Davenport is $775.
Lawn Love also noted that despite having over two million people in their cities, larger metros like Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Kansas City remained mostly stagnant amidst rent hikes. The average one-bedroom apartment is less than $1,000 in each of the aforementioned cities.
I was fortunate enough to find a cat friendly apartment in Dubuque for less than $1,000/month. I couldn't be happier with where I live.
See the full results of Lawn Love's survey here.