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Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

Iowa City, IA

Population: 74,878 (2022) · Small Cities (50K-100K)

C
62/100

Average fiscal health, some areas of concern

Total Spending
$1.2B
Per Capita
$16,449
Total Revenue
$751.1M
Total Debt
$13.7M

Spending Breakdown

Other
25.9%$319.6M
Hospitals
14.6%$180.3M
Utilities
14.3%$176.0M
Housing & Community Development
11.9%$147.0M
Public Welfare
7.8%$96.2M
Parks & Recreation
7.1%$87.2M
Interest on Debt
7.0%$85.7M
Health
5.9%$72.3M
Fire Protection
2.8%$34.5M
Sewerage
1.6%$20.2M
Highways & Roads
0.7%$8.4M
Education
0.3%$4.3M

Spending data sourced from the Census Bureau's Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances. Per-capita comparisons use the Lincoln Institute's Fiscally Standardized Cities methodology for fair cross-city benchmarking.

Revenue Sources

Property Tax
0.1%$1.0M
Sales Tax
8.3%$62.4M
Income Tax
15.4%$116.0M
Intergovernmental
12.1%$91.1M
Charges & Fees
14.9%$112.2M
Other
21.8%$163.8M

Per Capita Spending by Department

Fire Protection$461/person
Highways & Roads$112/person
Parks & Recreation$1,165/person
Education$57/person
Health$965/person

Score Breakdown

Budget Balance & Reserves (25%)2/100
Debt Burden (20%)100/100
Pension Funding (20%)76/100
Spending Efficiency (15%)73/100
Revenue Diversity (10%)100/100
Trend Direction (10%)50/100

Debt Overview

Total Debt$13.7M
Long-Term Debt$0
Debt Per Capita$183
Cash & Securities$972K

Compare Cities

See how Iowa City stacks up against another city.

vs Des Moines, IAvs Cedar Rapids, IAvs Davenport, IA
Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023). Population from American Community Survey.

Other Cities in Iowa

Des Moines, IA

Pop. 213K

C
Total Spending
$277.4M
Per Capita
$1,302

Cedar Rapids, IA

Pop. 137K

C
Total Spending
$3.3B
Per Capita
$23,973

Davenport, IA

Pop. 101K

A
Total Spending
$1.4B
Per Capita
$14,236

Sioux City, IA

Pop. 85K

B
Total Spending
$1.3B
Per Capita
$15,576

Compare Iowa City With

Des Moines, IA

Spending: $1,302/person · Grade: C

Cedar Rapids, IA

Spending: $23,973/person · Grade: C

Davenport, IA

Spending: $14,236/person · Grade: A

Sioux City, IA

Spending: $15,576/person · Grade: B

Frequently Asked Questions

Iowa City, IA spends $16,449 per resident, based on total expenditures of $1.2B for a population of 74,878. The city has a Fiscal Health Score of C (62/100).

Iowa City, IA has total expenditures of $1.2B and total revenue of $751.1M. The city carries $13.7M in total debt, based on Census Bureau data from 2023.

Iowa City, IA employs 0 government workers, of which 0 are full-time. The average government salary is $0, with 0.0 employees per 10,000 residents.

Iowa City, IA has a Fiscal Health Score of C (62/100). This score evaluates budget balance, debt burden, pension funding, spending efficiency, revenue diversity, and 3-year fiscal trajectory compared to peer cities of similar population.

Last updated:

this entity is one of the data points covered by this site’s U.S. municipal and county government finances dataset. The detail above comes directly from the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances; the context that follows situates the headline numbers against the broader distribution across U.S. cities, counties, and states.

Every number on this page links back to the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.

For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for this entity is typically a peer within U.S. cities, counties, and states with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.