What is the cost of living in Waterloo-Cedar Falls?

Waterloo-Cedar Falls has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 87.1, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 63.1, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,051/month.

What is the median salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls?

The median salary in Waterloo-Cedar Falls is $61,344 annually (mean: $64,765). Top occupations include Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Waterloo-Cedar Falls?

The violent crime rate in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area is 238 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1286 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Waterloo-Cedar Falls?

The state of IA has 1,326 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.8:1. Charter schools make up 0.3% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Waterloo-Cedar Falls?

Infant center-based childcare in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area averages $8,306 per year. Preschool averages $7,157/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Waterloo-Cedar Falls a good place to relocate?

Waterloo-Cedar Falls has a Life Score of 63.4/100 (C), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This places Waterloo-Cedar Falls in the top decile of scored metros, a genuinely strong all-around profile.

Where does Waterloo-Cedar Falls sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Waterloo-Cedar Falls ranks #66 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA

BEA RPP 87.1 ranks #35 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

87.1
Cost index (US=100): $1,051
2BR rent / mo: $61,344
Median salary: 59.2
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Waterloo-Cedar Falls ranks #66 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (59.2/100), with its strongest marks in cost of living and housing.

#66
of 387 US metros · Above median: 3,241,488
metro-area population: 238
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,326
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: low hazard (24/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Waterloo-Cedar Falls ranks #66 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 87.1 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,051/mo, median salary $61,344; LiveAbility Score 59.2/100, strongest in cost of living and housing.

Signature: BEA RPP 87.1 ranks #35 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 87.1 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,051/mo.

LiveAbility 59.2/100 puts Waterloo-Cedar Falls in the top third (#66 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area is 77,420.

Waterloo-Cedar Falls vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

59 Top 17% higher than 83% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Waterloo-Cedar Falls housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Waterloo-Cedar Falls MSA; housing RPP 63.1 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,051/mo.

Studio

$725

/month

1 Bedroom

$801

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,051

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,357

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,763

/month

Waterloo-Cedar Falls wages and employment

Waterloo-Cedar Falls posts 77,420 total employment with median salary $61,344 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$61,344

Mean Salary

$64,765

Total Employment

77,420

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$47,440
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$27,820
Retail Salespersons	$31,270
Cashiers	$29,320
Registered Nurses	$76,920

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area from NCES.

Schools

1,326

Enrollment

497,853

Student:Teacher

14.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$8,306

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,157

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,157

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Waterloo-Cedar Falls's composite Life Score is 63.4/100 (C), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

91/100

Elite

Wages

45/100

Average

Rent

88/100

Elite

Crime

72/100

Strong

Schools

46/100

Average

Childcare

64/100

Above average

Environment

15/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Waterloo-Cedar Falls ranks #66 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 59.2/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Cost of living (91/100)

Cost of living

91
Housing

88
Safety

72
Schools

54
Job market

45
Climate

36
Air quality

26
Low hazard

24

What this shows Waterloo-Cedar Falls's strongest dimensions are cost of living and housing; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 24/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Waterloo-Cedar Falls to

Grand Forks Grand Island Grand Junction Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood Grants Pass Great Falls

Metros near Waterloo-Cedar Falls on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Waterloo-Cedar Falls on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Waterloo-Cedar Falls cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Waterloo-Cedar Falls wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Waterloo-Cedar Falls?

Waterloo-Cedar Falls runs a $61,344 median salary at a 87.1 cost index, ranking #66 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Waterloo-Cedar Falls's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Waterloo-Cedar Falls head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Waterloo-Cedar Falls
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.