Cost of living in Storm Lake, Iowa
Simple answer
Typical rent is $898 a month.
Storm Lake is a city in Iowa. That rent number includes utilities. A typical household earns $62,765 a year.
- People
- 11,428
- Census average, 2020–2024
- Typical rent
- $898
- Median gross rent, includes utilities
- Typical pay
- $62,765
- Median household income, yearly
- Typical home
- $172,200
- Median home value
- 2-bedroom fair rent
- $1,031
- Buena Vista County, IA
Storm Lake, Iowa has about 11,428 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.
A typical home is worth about $172,200.
HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Buena Vista County is $1,031 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Storm Lake. 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 Storm Lake'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 Storm Lake bill.
In July 2026, a typical Iowa home paid 15.99¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Storm Lake'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, 103 have higher typical rent than Storm Lake.
Nearby places
- Alta
Typical rent $894
Compare with Storm Lake - Sac City
Typical rent $669
Compare with Storm Lake - Cherokee
Typical rent $728
Compare with Storm Lake - Holstein
Typical rent $848
Compare with Storm Lake - Laurens
Typical rent $805
Compare with Storm Lake - Ida Grove
Typical rent $694
Compare with Storm Lake - Pocahontas
Typical rent $932
- Marcus
Typical rent $639
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.