What is the median rent in Clear Lake, IA?

Name: Median rent in Clear Lake, IA, 2020–2024
Creator: US Census Bureau
License: https://www.census.gov/data/developers/about/terms-of-service.html

The median gross rent in Clear Lake, IA is $808 (±$74) a month, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.

That is across 819 rented homes; gross rent is the contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays separately.

In Clear Lake, the median gross rent went from $623 in 2015–2019 to $808 in 2020–2024 (+29.7%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years; the change is not measurably different from the rise in prices.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Median gross rent: $808 (±$74)
Rented homes: 819 (±186)
$2,000 or more: 4.4%
Since 2015–2019: +29.7%

How much rent costs in Clear Lake

Share of rented homes in each gross-rent range, 2020–2024
Monthly gross rent	Clear Lake	Cerro Gordo County	Iowa	United States
Less than $500	22.2% (±8.2 points)	12.3%	8.4%	6.3%
$500 to $999	49.7% (±9.9 points)	56.2%	44.8%	20.2%
$1,000 to $1,499	13.7% (±9.7 points)	24.7%	32.3%	28.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	10.0% (±8.0 points)	3.7%	9.8%	21.1%
$2,000 to $2,499	2.8% (±3.2 points)	0.4%	2.7%	12.0%
$2,500 to $2,999	0.0% (±3.0 points)	0.9%	0.6%	5.5%
$3,000 or more	1.6% (±1.7 points)	1.7%	1.4%	6.8%

The most common range is $500 to $999, paid by 49.7% of renting households.

4.4% of rented homes in Clear Lake cost $2,000 or more a month.

Clear Lake against Cerro Gordo County, its state and the nation

Estimate (90% margin of error)
	Clear Lake	Cerro Gordo County	Iowa	United States
Median gross rent	$808 (±$74)	$850 (±$42)	$972 (±$6)	$1,413
Rented homes paying rent	819 (±186)	5,362 (±495)	350,667 (±3,497)	42,849,984

In Clear Lake, median gross rent is not measurably different from Cerro Gordo County ($850).

It is also lower than in Iowa ($972).

It is lower than the national figure ($1,413).

In Cerro Gordo County, Clear Lake ranks 5 of 7 places with a published estimate, from highest to lowest median gross rent.

Statewide, it ranks 346 of 727.

Rankings use the estimates alone; where margins of error overlap, neighboring ranks may not truly differ.

How rent in Clear Lake has changed since 2015–2019

2015–2019 and 2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates
	2015–2019	2020–2024	Amount of change	Verdict
Median gross rent	$623 (±$43)	$808 (±$74)	+29.7%	No measurable change after inflation
Households that rent	28.2% (±4.3 points)	23.7% (±4.9 points)	−4.5 percentage points	Not a measurable change
Rental vacancy rate	9.1% (±8.0 points)	0.0% (±2.9 points)	−9.1 percentage points	Measurable decrease

The Census Bureau publishes 2015–2019 dollars in 2019 dollars and 2020–2024 dollars in 2024 dollars.

Prices (the CPI-U, US Bureau of Labor Statistics) rose 22.7% between 2019 and 2024, so a dollar figure’s verdict compares the two after raising the earlier one by that much, using the Census Bureau’s test for a difference.

The two periods do not overlap, as the Census Bureau recommends for 5-year estimates.

Median gross rent in places near Clear Lake

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with Clear Lake
Place	Distance	Median gross rent	Compared with this place
Clear Lake	—	$808 (±$74)	—
Ventura	4.7 mi	$1,063 (±$158)	Higher
Mason City	8.8 mi	$882 (±$54)	Not measurably different
Fertile	9.1 mi	$858 (±$24)	Not measurably different
Hanlontown	10 mi	$794 (±$73)	Not measurably different
Garner	12 mi	$740 (±$32)	Not measurably different
Thornton	13 mi	$839 (±$160)	Not measurably different
Manly	14 mi	$756 (±$70)	Not measurably different
Rockwell	14 mi	$575 (±$157)	Lower

Nearby places with a measurably lower figure: Rockwell, IA ($575).

Nearby places with a measurably higher figure: Ventura, IA ($1,063).

Distance is measured in a straight line between the Census Bureau’s internal points for each place.

Median gross rent across Cerro Gordo County, place by place

Rank	Place	Median gross rent
1	Ventura	$1,063 (±$158)
2	Mason City	$882 (±$54)
3	Thornton	$839 (±$160)
4	Plymouth	$831 (±$250)
5	Clear Lake	$808 (±$74)
6	Meservey	$631 (±$19)
7	Rockwell	$575 (±$157)

Survey years: 2020–2024 (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), compared with 2015–2019.

Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level.

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Questions about Clear Lake

What is the average rent in Clear Lake, IA?

The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Clear Lake is $808 (±$74) a month (2020–2024 American Community Survey), so half of renting households pay less and half pay more.

How much has rent gone up in Clear Lake?

In Clear Lake, the median gross rent went from $623 in 2015–2019 to $808 in 2020–2024 (+29.7%).

Prices (CPI-U) rose 22.7% over the same years; the change is not measurably different from the rise in prices.

How many rentals in Clear Lake cost more than $2,000 a month?

4.4% of rented homes in Clear Lake have a gross rent of $2,000 or more a month, and 22.2% cost less than $500.

Is rent in Clear Lake higher than in Cerro Gordo County?

In Clear Lake, median gross rent is not measurably different from Cerro Gordo County ($850).

It is also lower than in Iowa ($972).

It is lower than the national figure ($1,413).

Is this the rent for an apartment listed today?

No: these are rents households reported paying across 2020–2024, not asking rents for vacant homes, which usually run higher.

Sources

To check these figures in the Census Bureau’s own API, request the variables below from the 2024 ACS 5-year data profile (acs/acs5/profile) for Clear Lake city, Iowa (place:14025, in state:19).

Each estimate (E or PE) has a margin of error beside it (M or PM).

The 2015–2019 figures are B25064_001E, B25064_001M, DP04_0047PE, DP04_0047PM, DP04_0005E, DP04_0005M from the 2019 release.

The API needs a free key.

Request a Census API key.

DP04_0134E, DP04_0134M, DP04_0126E, DP04_0126M, DP04_0127PE, DP04_0127PM, DP04_0128PE, DP04_0128PM, DP04_0129PE, DP04_0129PM, DP04_0130PE, DP04_0130PM, DP04_0131PE, DP04_0131PM, DP04_0132PE, DP04_0132PM, DP04_0133PE, DP04_0133PM

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are published by the US Census Bureau, HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI; Seayora reproduces them and does not adjust them, except where a sentence says it compares dollar figures after inflation. They describe the whole place, not any one building or street, and are not an appraisal, a rent determination, a tax bill, a safety rating or legal advice.