This Iowa City is Now the Cheapest Place to Live in the State

When it comes to affordable living, literally anywhere in Iowa beats a lot of other places in the country.

Even in the Midwest, Iowa is a cheaper state. In fact, our cost of living for home ownership/renting is 27% lower than the national average.

But what is the cheapest city in our state to live in?

This is the Cheapest Place to Live in Iowa

With 99 counties and loads of small, more rural cities and towns, which comes out on top for value?

Get our free mobile app

It may be a bit of a surprise.

Located almost smack in the middle of the state, off of highway 20, the cheapest city, according to Clever, is Fort Dodge.

While the people at Clever looked at 75 zip codes in the state, they also looked only at cities with a population at or greater than 10,000.

READ MORE: Hungry? Try Iowa's Most Expensive Restaurant

A city sporting a population just under 25,000, Fort Dodge is perhaps best known for the Fort Museum and Frontier Village.

Why is Fort Dodge Considered the Cheapest?

According to Clever, Fort Dodge is the cheapest city in Iowa because of the median home value, which is $121,548. Fort Dodge ranks as the 7th-cheapest housing market in the state.

Rent costs average $779/month, which is the 6th lowest in Iowa.

Homeowners in Fort Dodge pay a median property tax of $2,233, placing it 13th in the state.

When it comes to utilities, residents benefit from the lowest electricity rate in Iowa at just $0.11 per kWh.

Don't Want to Live in Central Iowa?

Number two on the list is significantly closer to home, assuming you're in Eastern Iowa. It's Waterloo.

Waterloo has an average property tax of $1,481, making it the cheapest in the state.

At number three, another Eastern Iowa city, Davenport which has the lowest energy costs in the state.

You can see the top 10 here.

Leaving Iowa? You're likely heading to one of these states: