Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Iowa, IA

Discover affordable housing in Iowa where there are 750+ housing opportunities based on income and household needs like accessible units for seniors or persons with disabilities. Find and apply to these low income apartments now.

Prairie West

2330 Prairie View West Dr, Ames, Iowa 50010

bed 3
payment $1415/mo.

3562 Kimberly Downs Rd

3562 Kimberly Downs Rd, Davenport, Iowa 52807

bed 1-2
payment $725-825/mo.

613 S Dubuque St

613 S Dubuque St, Iowa City, Iowa 52240

bed 4
payment $1200/mo.

Vesta Village by Kading

331 Wildflower Dr, Osceola, Iowa 50213

bed 3
payment $1050/mo.

Element at Valley West

4101 Woodland Plz, West Des Moines, Iowa 50266

bed 1-3
payment $850-1395/mo.

Broadway Heights

4282 E 50th St, Des Moines, Iowa 50317

bed 3
payment $1312/mo.

William Pointe by Kading

2908 Kading Rd, Perry, Iowa 50220

bed 3
payment $920/mo.

Spruce Pointe

1000 Adventureland Dr, Altoona, Iowa 50009

bed 2
payment $1061/mo.

Colonial Village

1340 42nd St, West Des Moines, Iowa 50266

bed 1-3
payment $875-1230/mo.

City Square Lofts

240 E Walnut St, Des Moines, Iowa 50309

bed Studio
payment $790/mo.

Washington Manor

3901 Woodland Ave, West Des Moines, Iowa 50266

bed 2
payment $1045/mo.

Gray's Lake Apartments

2800 Fleur Dr, Des Moines, Iowa 50321

bed 1-3
payment $805-1125/mo.

Grandview Square Apartments

2505 Jensen Ave, Ames, Iowa 50010

bed 2
payment $775/mo.

The Scott At East Village

700 E 5th St, Des Moines, Iowa 50309

bed Studio-3
payment $802-1239/mo.

The Burlington Apartments

206 N 3rd St, Burlington, Iowa 52601

bed 2-3
payment $895-1100/mo.

Southview Apartments

2155 Westdale Dr SW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404

bed 1
payment $700/mo.

The Ridges

7201 SE 5th St, Des Moines, Iowa 50315

bed Studio-2
payment $697-772/mo.

Cottonwood Apartments

806 N 34th St, Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501

bed 1-2
payment $805-935/mo.

Lynnwood Estates

3920 Highway 151, Marion, Iowa 52302

bed 3
payment $1200/mo.

18 S Adams Ave

18 S Adams Ave, Mason City, Iowa 50401

bed 1
payment $525/mo.

How To Identify Affordable Housing in Iowa

Look for program and preference badges on affordable apartment listings. These badges can help you identify the types of low income housing each apartment offers and if you may be eligbile for rental assistance or reduced rents.

Badge Description
switch_access_shortcut Short Wait
Low income apartments with no or short waiting lists.
payment Subsidized
Low income housing where the rent is subsidized and the renter pays only a portion of total rent.
real_estate_agent Accepts Vouchers
Apartments that accept Section 8 vouchers near you
elderly Senior
Rental housing for seniors who are 55 (or sometimes 62) and older.
payment Income Based
Affordable apartments where the rent paid is based on renter income.
accessibility Accessible
Meets Accessibilty Requirements of the Fair Housing Act, the ADA, or HUD policy.
accessible_forward Disability
Apartments for individuals or families with disabilities.
real_estate_agent Naturally Affordable
Naturally Occuring Affordable Housing - or NOAH - is any housing unit that offers affordable rent without participating in a rent subsidy program.
The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Iowa
$17.42/hour
$10.17 (+140%) more than Iowa minimum wage and $10.17 (+140%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Iowa Affordable Housing ↓

How many renters live in Iowa?

The State of Iowa has people living in households.

There are renters living in renter households in this State. Renters make up 15.26 percent of the population living in Iowa.

What is the rental market like in Iowa?

There are an estimated housing units in the Iowa area. Of these, units are rental homes, making up percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Iowa, there are 1.14 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Iowa?

The rental vacancy rate in Iowa is 10 percent. This is a higher than average vacancy rate. When rental vacancy rates are high it means that there are a lot of available units and rents tend to be lower.

How many rental units are in Iowa for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Iowa
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
93 357 553 410 121
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Iowa

A large number of apartments in Iowa have two or fewer bedrooms. Seniors and young professionals especially may have more success finding an apartment that meets their needs.

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Iowa?

Renters with a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher must select a home that is at or below the area’s Fair Market Rent. Markets with a large share of units above FMR tend to have longer search times to find a qualified unit, while those with a large share of units below FMR tend to have more choices and shorter search times. The share below FMR can vary by size of unit, as shown in the table below.

These are the approximate number of units renting below the FMR in this market:

Unit Size Count of Units Below FMR Percentage of Total Units Below FMR
Studio 56 60 percent
One BR 257 72 percent
Two BR 314 57 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Iowa

How many affordable rental units are in Iowa?

There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Iowa including the following:

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit
USDA Section 515 Rural Rental Housing
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Iowa

Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.

Income Based Apartments in Iowa

Iowa features 25,968 income based apartments. Tenants of income based apartments typically pay no more than 30% of their income towards rent and utilities.

Low Rent Apartments in Iowa

There are 23,361 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Iowa.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Iowa

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Iowa landlords $500 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in Iowa.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Iowa for a two-bedroom apartment is between $828 and $1,012.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.

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