Ottumwa, Iowa

Population

Steady. Within 1% of 2020, every year since.

25,319

people, the 19th-largest of Iowa's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Iowa's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

6 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

56.1%

of 13,123 jobs located in Ottumwa are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Unemployment, 2026

The low came in April: 3.2%.

4.7%

in August 2026, the latest month released. A year earlier it was 5.3%.

BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, monthly, through August 2026. Not seasonally adjusted, so compare with the same month a year earlier. Sources: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

Rent

Median rent is up 62% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$921

a month. Iowa's median is $972.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $948 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Wapello County.

• $617 Tract 9611
• $1,565 Tract 9607

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.

$1,079–$1,619

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $921 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 88 homes permitted, 2022–2025
• 17% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 93% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2022–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.4–1.1% to the 11,395 homes here.

40–131

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 49% less than Iowa's.

$106,300

median home value in Ottumwa.

• $106,300 Ottumwa
• $208,000 Iowa
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year