These 3 Iowa Cities Rank In New Top 100 Places To Live In U.S. List

Believe it or not, we've got the right vibe.

Cities in Iowa have ended up on a lot of lists before, whether it's best places to live, worst places to live, whatever. But now, we're on a new list that you can choose to take as definitive but it's the latest.

Livability made a list of the 'Top 100 Best Places To Live In The U.S. In 2026'. And out of this whole country, 3 cities in Iowa made the list.

Factors

Before you start into the argument either against or for, here's the research methodology they used:

• Economy
  • Unemployment rate
  • Employment stability and opportunity
  • Industrial diversity
• Housing & Cost of Living
  • Tax rates
  • Home & rental affordability measures
  • Discretionary income
• Amenities
  • Cultural amenities (museums, arts, dining variety, etc.)
  • Leisure amenities (parks, golf, sports venues, nightlife, etc.)
• Transportation
  • Walkability
  • Median commute time
  • Average vehicles per household
• Environment
  • Population density
  • Air quality
  • Various natural disaster risks
• Safety
  • Various crime rates
• Education
  • School quality
  • Educational attainment
• Health
  • Life expectancy
  • Doctor & hospital access
  • Prevalence of health concerns, including diabetes, asthma, and cancer

The 3 Iowa Cities That Made It

Without further ado, meet the best places to live in Iowa this year, along with their rank on Livability's list.

31. Iowa City

The home of the Hawkeyes had a LivScore (compiled by the factors listed above) of 722. They report the population of Iowa City to be 77,797 and the median home value in Iowa City is $294,270.

33. Cedar Rapids

Not far from Iowa City on the list is Cedar Rapids. Their LivScore is just slightly less, coming in at 719. Cedar Rapids' population is listed as 138,542. The median home value is is $199,181.

93. Des Moines

Towards the end of the list, but still on the list, sits Iowa's capitol, Des Moines. Their LivScore is 647. Livability lists their population as 216,695 with a median home value of $211,651.

Believe it or don't believe it, it at least makes Iowa look good. Not all states have 3 cities on the list, you know.