Des Moines / Dubuque
Dubuque has 59,174 residents (give or take 59) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US1922395, checked 2026-10-19), about 1,892 people per square mile.
Dubuque is about 162 miles from the Census center point for Des Moines in a straight line and covers 31.273 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
The quote form takes a ZIP code; for Dubuque that is 52001, 52002 (Census 2020 ZCTA to county subdivision and ZCTA to place relationship files, ZIP areas at least 20% inside the town, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_cousub20_natl.txt and https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_place20_natl.txt, checked 2026-10-19).
Of the 26,131 occupied homes in Dubuque, 81% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 16% with electricity and 2% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US1922395, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 81% of Dubuque against electricity at 16%, so most quotes here are a partial-home system that carries the shoulder seasons and the summer while the gas furnace handles the coldest nights, or a whole-home system when the house is ready for it.
Dubuque has about the Dubuque County oil share of 1% and 1 points more electric heat than the county's 15% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US19061, checked 2026-10-19).
Dubuque has 27,832 housing units, 30% built before 1940 and 73% before 1980, with 15% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US1922395, checked 2026-10-19).
Dubuque has 6 points more pre-1940 homes than Dubuque County as a whole (24%) and 7 points fewer homes built after 2000 than the county's 22% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US19061, checked 2026-10-19). An older stock means more insulation upgrades before the heat pump goes in.
The median Dubuque home was built in 1963 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US1922395, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 5.7 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US1922395, checked 2026-10-19).
63% of Dubuque homes are single-family detached, 12% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 18% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US1922395, checked 2026-10-19).
34% of Dubuque homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US1922395, checked 2026-10-19), so beside the 63% detached houses there is a real share of jobs where the landlord, not the resident, signs the quote.
Dubuque has 8 points fewer detached houses than Dubuque County overall (71%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US19061, checked 2026-10-19).
30% of Dubuque homes were built before 1940 and 73% before 1980 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US1922395, checked 2026-10-19), so insulation is the first sizing question: an older home leaks more heat per square foot, and the installer runs a room-by-room heat-loss calculation to size the system for what the walls and windows actually hold in, not just the floor plan.
No electric utility is on file for Dubuque on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
MidAmerican 2026 Instant Discount air source heat pump, run by MidAmerican Energy, is a live program for Iowa addresses and covers qualifying equipment at $1,200 per system (registry row 31 verified 2026-10-14, https://www.midamericanenergy.com/home-discounts-and-rebates, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Dubuque address before counting it. With 16% of Dubuque homes already on electric heat and 83% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Median household income in Dubuque is $65,845 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US1922395, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
Heating design temperature: -4F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Dubuque County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 37 to 41 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That -4F figure is the Dubuque County cold-day number a Dubuque heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at -4F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 81% of Dubuque on gas and 16% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; a Dubuque house from before 1940 (30% of the 27,832 units) rarely matches a square-footage rule of thumb.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Dubuque. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Dubuque yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.