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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Iowa City, IA
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Iowa City profile


Living in Iowa City



Iowa City is a larger medium-sized city located in the state of Iowa. With a population of 75,233 people and 19 associated neighborhoods, Iowa City is the fifth largest community in Iowa.

Iowa City real estate is some of the most expensive in Iowa, although Iowa City house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.

Also of interest is that Iowa City has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 9.77% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

In addition, Iowa City is a major college town that has a very high percentage of its residents over 18 years old who are college students. Naturally, collegiate life has a major influence on local Iowa City culture, lifestyle and entertainment options. Iowa City really pulses to the beat of the academic calendar. In Iowa City every fall, returning students reinvigorate the community, who you will notice are all over town, buying groceries, out with friends, and getting acquainted or re-acquainted with each other and Iowa City. One of the beneficial effects that colleges provide is that they tend to be lasting institutions that deliver direct economic benefits to the local economy in the form of such things as jobs for faculty and staff, and spending by students. Iowa City benefits directly from this.

Not only is Iowa City a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, creating a decent-sized population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile. This makes it a good choice for other relocating single professionals. Here, these young singles will find many others like themselves, with opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun.

Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 18.93 minutes getting to work every day.

Iowa City has a lot of people who ride the bus to and from work. In fact, for its size, Iowa City has quite a high level of public transit users. Iowa City’s need for inexpensive transportation options for its citizens is quite high.

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Iowa City, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Iowa City is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 59.78% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.

The per capita income in Iowa City in 2018 was $34,820, which is middle income relative to Iowa and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $139,280 for a family of four. However, Iowa City contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Iowa City is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Iowa City home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Iowa City residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Iowa City include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Norwegian.

The most common language spoken in Iowa City is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Arabic.