Counties / Iowa / Grundy County

Grundy County, IA

FIPS 19075 · population 12,384 · part of Waterloo, IA

$224k
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
$224k
▲ 3.1% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$774
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
$1,051
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+44.2%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+3.1%FHFA HPI2025+1.9%
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$199k
Surveyed gross rent$774
Rent burden 30%+27.4%
Median year built1962
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
6.9%vacant
5,498estimated housing units
Occupied tenure15.5% renter
owner 84.5%renter 15.5%
Structure mix86.4% single-family
Single-family 86.4%20+ units 1.7%Mobile home 2.9%Other 9.1%
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 jobs4,082▼ 1.6% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments386annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$1,185▲ 6.0% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities21.4% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−1.6%WEEKLY WAGE+6.0%Trade, transportation, and utilities21.4%
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

Grundy County presents a price-support-versus-income-depth tension: county value indicators rose, yet covered employment and net tax-return migration declined while listings took longer to market. Investors should investigate durable rental demand and flood-specific carrying costs before underwriting; buyers relying on rapid resale or an assumed rent level should be cautious. County measures identify screening issues, not property-level performance.

02Housing economics

In Zillow’s county observation for 2026-06, median home value was $223,717, up 3.1% year over year. Separately, FHFA’s 2025 annual repeat-transaction HPI increased 1.87% over the year and 44.16% over five years; this confirms positive direction but is neither a home value nor the same observation period. Market rent is not published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not asking rent. The 1.14% effective property-tax rate makes carrying-cost verification material.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com’s 2026-06 MLS snapshot shows median days on market of 78, with 26.41% of listings carrying price cuts. These are visible supply and seller-concession signals, not closed sales or proof of buyer demand. Tax-return migration was negative by 39 households, although inbound mover AGI exceeded outbound mover AGI by $6,149. Annual 2025 QCEW covered county-workplace employment fell 1.57%; this is not resident employment or a forecast. Investors accounted for 5.62% of 178 purchases, indicating measured non-owner participation rather than rent demand.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the named dominant hazard, and the modeled annual climate-loss ratio is 0.12% of building value; it is modeled exposure, not a property-specific loss estimate. The record does not publish vacancy, unit mix, insurance quotes, flood-zone status, sale comps, repair needs, or debt terms. Those gaps prevent debt-service, insurance, and resale underwriting conclusions. Next checks are property-level flood and insurance records, signed lease and comparable-rent evidence, tax bills, and recent closed sales; county-level listings and workplace data cannot substitute.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Grundy 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
Grundy Center city2.8KReinbeck city1.7KDike city1.4KConrad city1.2KWellsburg city673Holland city327Stout city296Beaman city125
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

9 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Grundy Center cityIncorporated place
    2,809
  2. 02
    Reinbeck cityIncorporated place
    1,715
  3. 03
    Dike cityIncorporated place
    1,365
  4. 04
    Conrad cityIncorporated place
    1,191
  5. 05
    Wellsburg cityIncorporated place
    673
  6. 06
    Holland cityIncorporated place
    327
  7. 07
    Stout cityIncorporated place
    296
  8. 08
    Beaman cityIncorporated place
    125
  9. 09
    Morrison cityIncorporated place
    96

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 tax1.14%

$2,273 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration-39

285 in · 324 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$6,149

$62,130 arriving · $55,981 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors5.6%

10 of 178 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 listings32▼ 17.1% year over year
Median days on market78▲ 17.7% year over year
Listings price-reduced26.4%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▲ 46.2% 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; for a rent figure, the Waterloo, IA page covers the wider market.
Same metro

The other counties in Waterloo, IA

A metro is an average of these. Which side of a county line a property sits on can change the tax bill, the hazard profile and the tenant pool.

CountyPopulationPriceRentYieldHazard
Grundy County12,384$224kn/an/ainland flooding
Black Hawk County131,049$190k$1,0116.4%inland flooding
Bremer County25,204$263kn/an/ainland flooding
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Property-level flood insurance and mitigation costs may differ materially from the county modeled loss.
  2. Recent closed-sale comps may not validate the MLS pricing and concession pattern.
  3. A specific property’s tenant catchment may not track countywide covered employment or tax-return migration.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from this record?

No. Market rent is not published, and HUD FMR cannot be used as market rent.

Do the Realtor.com figures establish closed-sale prices?

No. They are MLS listing-market measures of asking prices, active supply, marketing time, and reductions.

What dominant hazard is identified?

Inland flood; the record provides a county modeled climate-loss ratio but not a property-specific flood determination.