Cost of living in Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, Iowa has about 62,586 people. Typical rent is $1,030 a month, including utilities, and a typical household earns $64,578 a year. Both figures are Census 2020–2024 medians, not a listing or your pay. This site does not approve or deny benefits. A missing figure stays blank. We do not guess it.
Ranked #78 in Iowa on the 2026 Most Affordable Towns Index.
Simple answer
Typical rent is $1,030 a month.
Council Bluffs is a city in Iowa. That rent number includes utilities. A typical household earns $64,578 a year.
- People
- 62,586
- Census average, 2020–2024
- Typical rent
- $1,030
- Median gross rent, includes utilities
- Typical pay
- $64,578
- Median household income, yearly
- Typical home
- $171,800
- Median home value
- 2-bedroom fair rent
- $1,450
- Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA HUD Metro FMR Area
Council Bluffs, Iowa has about 62,586 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.
A typical home is worth about $171,800.
HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Pottawattamie County is $1,450 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Council Bluffs. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.
In the Omaha, NE-IA metro area, prices sit at 91.9 when the U.S. average is 100. That is a 2024 BEA index.
Iowa taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 6.9% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Council Bluffs's exact store tax.
Some places in Iowa add a local wage tax. In 2023 the state average was about 0.08% of income. That is not a Council Bluffs bill.
In July 2026, a typical Iowa home paid 15.99¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Council Bluffs's bill.
EIA did not publish a 2025 all-grades gas price for Iowa in the table we use.
Among 264 places we list in Iowa with a rent figure, 47 have higher typical rent than Council Bluffs.
Nearby places
- Carter Lake
Typical rent $1,323
Compare with Council Bluffs - Bellevue
Typical rent $1,226
Compare with Council Bluffs - Offutt AFB
Typical rent $1,666
Compare with Council Bluffs - Ralston
Typical rent $1,215
Compare with Council Bluffs - Omaha
Typical rent $1,187
Compare with Council Bluffs - La Vista
Typical rent $1,317
Compare with Council Bluffs - Treynor
Typical rent $1,122
Compare with Council Bluffs - Papillion
Typical rent $1,269
EBT nearby
USDA has a live map of stores that take SNAP. We did not copy that store list here. The downloadable file is a history file for 2005 through 2025, so the live map is the one to use.
Locator page updated 2026-09-11. Last checked 2026-10-16.
Food stamps (SNAP) tools in Iowa
Bigger places in Iowa
Census 2020-2024. HUD rents for October 2026–September 2027. BEA prices for 2024. Taxes as of January 1, 2026. Checked 2026-10-16. 15,000 places are in this guide.