Counties / Iowa / Greene County

Greene County, IA

FIPS 19073 · population 8,688 · outside every metro area

$179k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$179k
▲ 5.0% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$781
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$919
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+67.4%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+5.0%FHFA HPI2025+6.4%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$155k
Surveyed gross rent$781
Rent burden 30%+32.4%
Median year built1954
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
9.2%vacant
4,319estimated housing units
Occupied tenure23.6% renter
owner 76.4%renter 23.6%
Structure mix86.3% single-family
Single-family 86.3%20+ units 1.1%Mobile home 3.4%Other 9.2%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs3,144▼ 1.9% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments300annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$1,079▲ 4.2% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorManufacturing31.2% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−1.9%WEEKLY WAGE+4.2%Manufacturing31.2%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Greene County presents a price-versus-liquidity tension: available county value and repeat-sales measures rose, while the current MLS snapshot shows more negotiating room and QCEW workplace employment weakened. Buyers relying on durable rent coverage or rapid resale should be cautious; investigators should test individual properties where acquisition basis, flood exposure and operating taxes can offset positive price evidence. County evidence supports screening, not a property-level conclusion.

02Housing economics

In Zillow’s 2026-06 county observation, median home value was $179,380, up 4.95% year over year. FHFA’s separate annual repeat-transaction HPI rose 6.38%; it confirms a positive direction but is an index, not a home value, and is not the same period or method as Zillow. No county market asking rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD FMR is a payment standard, not rent evidence. The effective property-tax rate was 1.15%; review parcel assessments and bills.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com’s 2026-06 MLS evidence showed 56 active listings as visible supply; its median listing price, an asking price rather than a sale, was 9.50% lower year over year. The 74 median days on market measures marketing time, while the 17.41% price-reduced share signals seller concessions. A 22.52% pending-to-active ratio is listing-status evidence, not proof of closed-sale demand. Tax-return migration was balanced, and average inbound mover AGI exceeded outbound by $394. Investor participation was 9 of 83 purchases, or 10.84%, a visible but minority buyer cohort.

04Risk & next checks

Risk limits begin with inland flood: modeled annual climate loss equals 0.11% of building value, an expected-loss ratio rather than an event forecast. QCEW records annual covered jobs at county workplaces, not resident employment or unemployment; its decline and Manufacturing’s status as the largest disclosed private supersector leave employer and tenant concentration to test. Missing market rent prevents yield underwriting; absent property insurance, flood-zone, building-condition, debt, vacancy and closed-sale evidence prevents reliable cash-flow, hazard-cost or exit-price conclusions. Next checks are parcel taxes, rent comps, insurance quotes, flood history and sale comparables.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Greene County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Jefferson city4.2KGrand Junction city603Scranton city542Churdan city427Paton city273Rippey city196Ralston city*61Dana city28
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

8 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Jefferson cityIncorporated place
    4,152
  2. 02
    Grand Junction cityIncorporated place
    603
  3. 03
    Scranton cityIncorporated place
    542
  4. 04
    Churdan cityIncorporated place
    427
  5. 05
    Paton cityIncorporated place
    273
  6. 06
    Rippey cityIncorporated place
    196
  7. 07
    Ralston cityIncorporated place · spans 2 counties
    61
  8. 08
    Dana cityIncorporated place
    28

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.115% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax1.15%

$1,783 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+0

208 in · 208 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$394

$52,240 arriving · $51,846 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors10.8%

9 of 83 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings56▲ 65.7% year over year
Median days on market74▲ 9.2% year over year
Listings price-reduced17.4%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▼ 9.5% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. County-level indicators may hide parcel-level rent, tax and condition variation.
  2. MLS conditions may not match closed-sale prices or actual buyer depth.
  3. Flood exposure and insurance costs may vary materially by parcel.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Is a gross yield available from this record?

No. Market rent is not published, and HUD FMR is not market rent.

Does migration show net inbound household growth?

No. Inbound and outbound tax-return households were equal, leaving net migration at zero.

What portion of purchases involved investors?

Investors accounted for 9 of 83 purchases, or 10.84%.