Cost of living in Spencer, Iowa
Simple answer
Typical rent is $805 a month.
Spencer is a city in Iowa. That rent number includes utilities. A typical household earns $59,667 a year.
- People
- 11,400
- Census average, 2020–2024
- Typical rent
- $805
- Median gross rent, includes utilities
- Typical pay
- $59,667
- Median household income, yearly
- Typical home
- $184,800
- Median home value
- 2-bedroom fair rent
- $927
- Clay County, IA
Spencer, Iowa has about 11,400 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.
A typical home is worth about $184,800.
HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Clay County is $927 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Spencer. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.
Iowa's prices sit at 87.8 when the U.S. average is 100. This place is not in a metro area with its own index, so this is the state number from BEA for 2024.
Iowa taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 6.9% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Spencer'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 Spencer bill.
In July 2026, a typical Iowa home paid 15.99¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Spencer'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, 165 have higher typical rent than Spencer.
Nearby places
- Milford
Typical rent $887
Compare with Spencer - Hartley
Typical rent $779
Compare with Spencer - Spirit Lake
Typical rent $911
Compare with Spencer - Graettinger
Typical rent $518
Compare with Spencer - Lake Park
Typical rent $872
Compare with Spencer - Estherville
Typical rent $754
Compare with Spencer - Emmetsburg
Typical rent $624
Compare with Spencer - Sanborn
Typical rent $954
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.