What is the median rent in Council Bluffs, IA?

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

The median gross rent in Council Bluffs, IA is $1,030 (±$35) a month, according to the US Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey.

That is across 9,189 rented homes; gross rent is the contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays separately.

In Council Bluffs, the median gross rent went from $848 in 2015–2019 to $1,030 in 2020–2024 (+21.5%).

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: $1,030 (±$35)
Rented homes: 9,189 (±507)
$2,000 or more: 4.2%
Since 2015–2019: +21.5%

How much rent costs in Council Bluffs

Share of rented homes in each gross-rent range, 2020–2024
Monthly gross rent	Council Bluffs	Pottawattamie County	Iowa	United States
Less than $500	8.5% (±1.6 points)	8.5%	8.4%	6.3%
$500 to $999	38.4% (±3.8 points)	39.6%	44.8%	20.2%
$1,000 to $1,499	41.6% (±3.7 points)	40.6%	32.3%	28.1%
$1,500 to $1,999	7.3% (±1.9 points)	7.5%	9.8%	21.1%
$2,000 to $2,499	2.4% (±1.1 points)	2.1%	2.7%	12.0%
$2,500 to $2,999	0.5% (±0.5 points)	0.5%	0.6%	5.5%
$3,000 or more	1.3% (±0.9 points)	1.3%	1.4%	6.8%

The most common range is $1,000 to $1,499, paid by 41.6% of renting households.

4.2% of rented homes in Council Bluffs cost $2,000 or more a month.

Council Bluffs against Pottawattamie County, its state and the nation

Estimate (90% margin of error)
	Council Bluffs	Pottawattamie County	Iowa	United States
Median gross rent	$1,030 (±$35)	$1,018 (±$33)	$972 (±$6)	$1,413
Rented homes paying rent	9,189 (±507)	10,655 (±557)	350,667 (±3,497)	42,849,984

In Council Bluffs, median gross rent is not measurably different from Pottawattamie County ($1,018).

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

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

In Pottawattamie County, Council Bluffs ranks 4 of 12 places with a published estimate, from highest to lowest median gross rent.

Statewide, it ranks 109 of 727.

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

How rent in Council Bluffs 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	$848 (±$22)	$1,030 (±$35)	+21.5%	No measurable change after inflation
Households that rent	38.7% (±1.9 points)	36.9% (±1.8 points)	−1.8 percentage points	Not a measurable change
Rental vacancy rate	2.2% (±1.0 points)	1.6% (±1.1 points)	−0.6 percentage points	Not a measurable change

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 Council Bluffs

Nearest places with a published estimate, compared with Council Bluffs
Place	Distance	Median gross rent	Compared with this place
Council Bluffs	—	$1,030 (±$35)	—
Carter Lake	4.9 mi	$1,323 (±$129)	Higher
Bellevue	7.7 mi	$1,226 (±$39)	Higher
Offutt AFB	8.7 mi	$1,666 (±$36)	Higher
Ralston	9.9 mi	$1,215 (±$88)	Higher
Omaha	11 mi	$1,187 (±$13)	Higher
La Vista	12 mi	$1,317 (±$57)	Higher
Treynor	13 mi	$1,122 (±$76)	Higher
Papillion	13 mi	$1,269 (±$101)	Higher

Nearby places with a measurably higher figure: Carter Lake, IA ($1,323), Bellevue, NE ($1,226), Offutt AFB, NE ($1,666).

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

Median gross rent across Pottawattamie County, place by place

Rank	Place	Median gross rent
1	Carter Lake	$1,323 (±$129)
2	Treynor	$1,122 (±$76)
3	Underwood	$1,063 (±$168)
4	Council Bluffs	$1,030 (±$35)
5	Neola	$968 (±$143)
6	Hancock	$922 (±$171)
7	Oakland	$878 (±$126)
8	Walnut	$874 (±$74)
9	Avoca	$850 (±$64)
10	Macedonia	$775 (±$158)

Showing 10 of 12 places in Pottawattamie County, ranked from highest to lowest.

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 Council Bluffs

What is the average rent in Council Bluffs, IA?

The Census Bureau publishes the median rather than the average: the median gross rent in Council Bluffs is $1,030 (±$35) 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 Council Bluffs?

In Council Bluffs, the median gross rent went from $848 in 2015–2019 to $1,030 in 2020–2024 (+21.5%).

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 Council Bluffs cost more than $2,000 a month?

4.2% of rented homes in Council Bluffs have a gross rent of $2,000 or more a month, and 8.5% cost less than $500.

Is rent in Council Bluffs higher than in Pottawattamie County?

In Council Bluffs, median gross rent is not measurably different from Pottawattamie County ($1,018).

It is also higher 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 Council Bluffs city, Iowa (place:16860, 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.