Waterloo, Iowa

Population

Down 0.5% since 2020.

66,919

people, the 9th-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.

64.8%

of 46,923 jobs located in Waterloo are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Unemployment, 2026

The low came in April: 3.5%.

5.1%

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 58% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$923

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 $1,265 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Black Hawk County.

• $790 Tract 1
• $2,055 Tract 18

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.

$1,187–$1,781

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $923 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.

• 727 homes permitted, 2022–2025
• 78% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 87% 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 0.3–1.5% to the 32,143 homes here.

105–469

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 27% less than Iowa's.

$152,600

median home value in Waterloo.

• $152,600 Waterloo
• $208,000 Iowa
• $332,700 U.S.

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