Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety69#4,816/15,637
Economy33#10,490/15,631
Housing10#13,443/14,977
Health87#2,092/15,609
Healthcare90#1,608/15,650
Environment33#10,334/15,453
Education93#1,120/15,649
Infrastructure61#6,109/15,650
Community87#2,021/15,651
Leisure & amenities89#1,684/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Iowa City, Iowa ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Johnson County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Dentists · high245 /100k
100/100Iowa 73 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJohnson County value
Primary care physicians · high189 /100k
100/100Iowa 74 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJohnson County value
Flu vaccinations · high64.0%
100/100Iowa 51.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJohnson County value
Mammography screening · high62.0%
99/100Iowa 57.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJohnson County value
High school diploma or higher · high96.5%
97/100Iowa 93.3%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Traffic deaths · low4.5 /100k
97/100Iowa 11.0 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataJohnson County value

Weaknesses

Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.526
2/100Iowa 0.444United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Poverty rate · high26.3%
4/100Iowa 11.2%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Rent-burdened households · high61.9%
5/100Iowa 43.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Dental care shortage · high17.5
8/100Iowa 5.3United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationJohnson County value
Primary care shortage · high16.2
11/100Iowa 7.0United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationJohnson County value
Broadband subscriptions · low86.1%
14/100Iowa 88.8%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedWorsening
4.0 /1k (2021) → 2.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−47%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent as share of incomeImproving
41.9% (2015-2019) → 37.0% (2020-2024)
−4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$49,075 (2015-2019) → $58,546 (2020-2024)
+19%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
17.8% (2015-2019) → 14.2% (2020-2024)
−3.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Public transit commutersWorsening
8.7% (2015-2019) → 6.0% (2020-2024)
−2.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.4× (2015-2019) → 4.9× (2020-2024)
+11%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Iowa City, Iowa improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Uninsured−1.4 points6.5% → 5.1%
Household income+19%$49,075 → $58,546

Declined2

Transit use−2.7 points8.7% → 6.0%
Price / income+0.5×4.4× → 4.9×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Iowa City, Iowa between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.0 min2015-2019	17.3 min2020-2024	+0.2 min	Within the margin of error	44%
Bachelor's degree or higher	59.1%2015-2019	60.5%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Broadband subscriptions	86.8%2015-2019	86.1%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Child poverty rate	17.8%2015-2019	14.2%2020-2024	−3.6 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Effective property tax rate	1.77%2015-2019	1.56%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	60%
High school diploma or higher	95.3%2015-2019	96.5%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Home price to income ratio	4.4×2015-2019	4.9×2020-2024	+0.5×	Declined	48%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5112015-2019	0.5262020-2024	+0.015	Within the margin of error	38%
Median household income	$49,0752015-2019	$58,5462020-2024	+19%	Improved	32%
Poverty rate	27.6%2015-2019	26.3%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Public transit commuters	8.7%2015-2019	6.0%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Declined	11%
Rent as share of income	41.9%2015-2019	37.0%2020-2024	−4.9 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Rent-burdened households	62.6%2015-2019	61.9%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Unemployment rate	4.7%2015-2019	4.6%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.5%2015-2019	5.1%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Improved	63%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Iowa City, Iowa five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Iowa City, Iowa in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Iowa City, Iowa itself moved −3.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

75,752 residents (±43)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

30,816 households (±641)

Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa share

Under $25k23%7,179
$25k–50k20%6,274
$50k–75k16%4,856

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

30,816 households (±641)

Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa share

Own47%14,545
Rent53%16,271

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

41,577 workers (±1,143)

Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa share

Drive alone56%23,362
Carpool6.7%2,797
Public transit6.0%2,498

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Iowa City, IA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Johnson County, the county holding most of Iowa City's residents.

Johnson County has 3,490 employer establishments, 221 for every 10,000 residents (0.89× the US rate of 248; 0.85× Iowa's), with 68,965 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,592. The Census Bureau also counts 12,146 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,490; 12,146 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 221; US 248 · Iowa 259
Paid employees: 68,965
Average annual pay: $52,592; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Johnson County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	335	21.2	1.16×About typical	6,678	$20,606	52
Ambulatory health care services	287	18.2	0.87×About typical	2,427	$67,167	635
Specialty trade contractors	249	15.8	1.02×About typical	1,561	$66,261	571
Lessors of real estate	163	10.3	0.84×About typical	652	$51,870	1,630
Full-service restaurants	161	10.2	1.33×More than typical	3,550	$22,715	28
Offices of other health practitioners	123	7.8	1.28×More than typical	740	$47,696	310
Limited-service restaurants	120	7.6	0.95×About typical	2,393	$18,429	18
Construction of buildings	111	7	0.93×About typical	642	$66,871	314
Services to buildings and dwellings	103	6.5	0.97×About typical	835	$39,228	507
Building equipment contractors	84	5.3	0.88×About typical	852	$68,629	88
Religious organizations	78	4.9	0.89×About typical	820	$25,460	—
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	77	4.9	1.55×More than typical	474	$66,310	81

Rank places for an industry Open Johnson County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 157,729 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $32M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Iowa City, Iowa: $423 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $32M; −23% vs FY2025
Per resident: $423; US $1,995
Sole-source: 17%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$18.4M57%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$11.6M36%
National Institutes of Health$4.6M14%
Department of the Navy$492.7K1.5%
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration$418.7K1.3%
Public Buildings Service$129.7K0.4%
Federal Acquisition Service$32.2K0.1%
National Park Service$27.3K0.1%

Top recipients

THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA$16.1M50%
COVENANT CONSTRUCTION SERVICES LLC$2M6.2%
EXELAN PHARMACEUTICALS INC$1.4M4.4%
HORIZON RDG JV, LLC$1.4M4.3%
COMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING COMPANY$855K2.7%

Spending by fiscal year

34.9MFY2017
51.7MFY2018
43.5MFY2019
59.1MFY2020
43.1MFY2021
161.7MFY2022
46.6MFY2023
47.4M

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$13.5M42%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$2.8M8.8%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$2M6.3%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$2M6.1%
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing · 3254$1.9M5.9%
Colleges, universities, and professional schools · 6113

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Iowa City, Iowa

THE TANDEM RECONNECTION AND CUSP ELECTRODYNAMICS RECONNAISSANCE SATELLITE (TRACERS) IS PROPOSED BY THE CONTRACTOR IN RESPONSE TO THE NATIONAL AERONAUTIC AND SPACE ADMINSTRATION'S (NASA) 2016 HELIOPHYSICS SMALL EXPLORER (SMEX) ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY (AO). THIS STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW) DESCRIBES THE WORK TO BE CONDUCTED BY THE CONTRACTOR DURING THE PHASE A (TRACERS) PROJECT. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE THE NECESSARY PERSONNEL, MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT, AND FACILITIES TO PRODUCE THE TRACERS PHASE A CONCEPT STUDY REPORT (CSR) THAT ENCOMPASSES: 1. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR PROGRAM OFFICE (PIPO). 2. INSTRUMENT SYSTEM ENGINEERING, INCLUDING INSTRUMENT MISSION ASSURANCE. 3. DESIGN OF A FLIGHT QUALIFIED TRACERS INSTRUMENT MEETING MISSION AND SCIENCE REQUIREMENTS. 4. DEVELOP PLANS IN SUPPORT OF INTEGRATION AND TEST OF THE TRACERS INSTRUMENT FLIGHT SYSTEM. 5. DEVELOP PLANS IN SUPPORT OF ESSENTIAL FIELD OPERATIONS. 6. DEVELOP PLANS IN SUPPORT OF LAUNCH OPERATIONS, FLIGHT OPERATIONS. 7. DEVELOP PLANS FOR AND LEAD THE TRACERS SCIENCE INVESTIGATION, AS WELL AS THE GENERATION OF RESULTING DATA PRODUCTS. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE A BRIEFING ON THE TRACERS SCIENCE AND SCIENCE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AT THE PHASE A SITE VISIT. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE AN ORGANIZATION CHART DEFINING THE CONTRACTOR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, REPORTING PROCEDURES, AND LINES OF AUTHORITY. PARTICIPATE IN DEFINING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE CONTRACTOR PIPO AND THE NASA EXPLORERS PROGRAM OFFICE. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL DEVELOP A TRACERS INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT AND A TRACERS MISSION SYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL DEVELOP DETAILED BLOCK DIAGRAMS AND TECHNICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL CONDUCT IN-DEPTH INSTRUMENT-LEVEL REVIEWS OF THE PROPOSED INSTRUMENT DESIGN. CONDUCT ESSENTIAL TRADE STUDIES, ANALYSES, MODELING AND SIMULATIONS TO ASSURE COMPLIANCE WITH INSTRUMENT REQUIREMENTS. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL LEAD THE SCIENCE TEAM. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL DEVELOP AN INSTRUMENT-LEVEL TEST PLAN AND PARTICIPATE IN PLANNING FOR INTEGRATION AND TEST. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PREPARE A DETAILED INSTRUMENT DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE COVERING ALL MISSION PHASES, LISTING MAJOR MILESTONES AND INCLUDING A DEFINED CRITICAL PATH AND SCHEDULE RESERVES. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PREPARE UPDATED INSTRUMENT BUDGETS AND REVIEW AND APPROVE THE OVERALL TRACERS BUDGET. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PREPARE AND SUBMIT THE CONCEPT STUDY REPORT.$188.3M
THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Iowa City, Iowa, so they do not add up across cities.

Iowa City, Iowa's figures are part of those of Johnson County, IA ($105M in FY2026), never added to them: 31% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Iowa City is mostly in Johnson County.

See federal money in Johnson County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Iowa City, Iowa is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Mariannette Miller-MeeksR-IA-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 96%Missed 3.9%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Johnson County86100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Iowa City, IA93

Other cities and towns in Johnson County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1938595

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends