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Cost & Benefits

Cost of living in West Branch, Iowa

West Branch, Iowa has about 2,594 people. Typical rent is $1,053 a month, including utilities, and a typical household earns $92,209 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.

Simple answer

Typical rent is $1,053 a month.

West Branch is a city in Iowa. That rent number includes utilities. A typical household earns $92,209 a year.

Is West Branch affordable?See benefits in West Branch
People
2,594
Census average, 2020–2024
Typical rent
$1,053
Median gross rent, includes utilities
Typical pay
$92,209
Median household income, yearly
Typical home
$216,100
Median home value
2-bedroom fair rent
$969
Cedar County, IA
Gas
$4.237
Midwest (PADD 2), week of October 12, 2026

West Branch, Iowa has about 2,594 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $216,100.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Cedar County is $969 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in West Branch. 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 West Branch'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 West Branch bill.

In July 2026, a typical Iowa home paid 15.99¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not West Branch's bill.

EIA does not publish a Iowa gasoline price. For the week of October 12, 2026, the Midwest (PADD 2) all-grades price was $4.237 a gallon. At 12,000 miles a year and 25 mpg, the index counts that as $2,033.76 a year. Those miles are our standard, not a Census figure, and every town in Iowa shares this price.

Among 264 places we list in Iowa with a rent figure, 41 have higher typical rent than West Branch.

Nearby places

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.

Find SNAP stores near West BranchWhat EBT can buy in Iowa

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.