United States · Iowa

Iowa mortgage calculator

Estimate your monthly payment in Iowa — principal & interest, property tax, and insurance — using the live national average rate and Iowa's estimated ~1.57% effective property tax rate. Adjust any figure below.

Data researched & maintained by Robinjit Singh · Last verified June 2026

Affording a home in Iowa

Affordable

Income to spare

−$10,000

$10,000 of yearly income to spare — Iowa is one of the markets where a single median income can still qualify for a median home.

Median home price

$203,000

The statewide middle — half of homes cost less, half more.

Income needed

$58,000

To qualify at the standard 28% rule with 20% down.

Typical household income

$68,000

What the median household here actually earns.

A median Iowa home costs $203k — one of the states where a median income is actually enough to qualify.

Median is a statewide figure — expensive cities and more affordable rural areas vary widely.

Source: Zillow ZHVI · U.S. Census ACS · Splitero · Verified 2026-06-30

A single median income can qualify in Iowa — here's what that looks like

The typical Iowa household earns $68,000/year. To buy a median-priced home here, lenders generally want to see $58,000/year — which a single median income can cover. Iowa is one of the more accessible markets in the country right now.

The roles and income paths that commonly reach it in Iowa are listed below — some single high-earning roles, some two incomes combined.

Roles and income paths that commonly meet the income in Iowa

Nurse
Teacher
Accountant
Any median-income job

Pay varies widely by employer, experience, and city — these are paths that often (not always) reach the income needed, not a guarantee for any individual. Entries like “+ partner income” mean two incomes combined.

First-time buyer programs available in Iowa

IFA FirstHome Program
Iowa Finance Authority programs

Programs and their terms change — verify current availability and eligibility with the official state housing agency before relying on any of these.

What makes Iowa legally different for homebuyers

Iowa is the most affordable state in the country for homebuyers relative to income, requiring just 3.7 years of median household income to buy a typical home. Iowa's judicial foreclosure includes a 6-month redemption period in most cases.

If you buy here

Iowa's affordability is real and documented — but some of its most affordable cities also have limited job markets outside agriculture and government. Research the local economy alongside the home price before committing.

Foreclosure: judicial, ~5 mo
Post-sale redemption: 6 months (1 year if property is large or abandonment issues)
Anti-deficiency protection: No

General overview only — laws change and individual situations vary. Consult a real estate attorney for advice specific to your purchase. (Verified 2026-06-30.)

A clean, printable one-page summary — free, no account needed.

Loan details

Understanding your numbers before you sign.

A mortgage is likely the largest financial commitment of your life. The Mortgage Ledger was built so you can explore what that commitment actually looks like — payment by payment, line by line — before you're sitting across from a lender.

Rates sourced from FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). Estimates only — not a loan offer.

Enter loan details to see your payment.

Save & share

Save scenarios to compare them later — they stay in this browser.

Compare scenarios

Save a scenario above, then compare it side by side with your current inputs here.

Mortgage rate trend

Past year, weekly national average

Loading rate history…

Down-payment scenarios for a median home in Iowa

How much you put down changes the loan, the monthly payment, and the income a lender wants to see. Below is a median-priced $203,000 home in Iowaat a 6.65% benchmark rate over 30 years — the same assumptions behind the income figures above.

Down payment	Loan	Monthly P&I	Income to qualify	Mortgage insurance
5% · $10,150	$192,850	$1,238/mo	≈ $71,888	PMI ~$129/mo
10% · $20,300	$182,700	$1,173/mo	≈ $68,805	PMI ~$122/mo
20% · $40,600	$162,400	$1,043/mo	$58,000	None

At 20% down the income to qualify is the $58,000 shown above; putting less down means a bigger loan, a higher payment, and PMI (estimated at ~0.8% of the loan per year until you reach 20% equity — the actual rate varies by credit).

What a median home actually costs each month (20% down)

$1,043principal & interest + $266 property tax + $150 insurance = $1,458/mo. Property tax and insurance are added on top of the mortgage, never blended into the rate. Insurance is Iowa's average annual premium ($1,800/yr, at a benchmark $300k dwelling) — your quote will vary.

The bigger picture: a median home in Iowa costs about 3.0×the typical household's yearly income — below the national ratio of about 4.8×.

Go deeper: run your own numbers in the affordability calculator, download the full dataset or read the methodology. Compare with neighbouring Missouri and Nebraska.

How much do you need to earn to buy a home in Iowa?

In Iowa, a median-priced home of $203,000 takes about $58,000 a year to afford — less than the $68,000 a typical household earns, so a single median income can qualify with roughly $10,000 to spare.

How much do you need to earn to buy a house in Iowa?

To afford a median-priced home in Iowa (about $203,000), a buyer needs roughly $58,000 per year, compared with the $68,000 a median Iowa household earns. Source: The Mortgage Ledger, 2026.

What is the average home price in Iowa?

The median home price in Iowa is about $203,000 as of June 2026, per The Mortgage Ledger.

What are property taxes in Iowa?

Iowa has an effective property tax rate of about 1.57%, or roughly $3,187 per year on a median-priced home. Source: The Mortgage Ledger, 2026.

Do you need two incomes to buy a home in Iowa?

No — a single median household income of $68,000 is enough to afford a median-priced home, which needs about $58,000 a year.

Source: The Mortgage Ledger · Figures are statewide medians and benchmark estimates · Data verified June 2026.