Des Moines / Iowa City
Iowa City has 75,752 residents (give or take 43) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US1938595, checked 2026-10-19), about 2,940 people per square mile.
Iowa City is about 108 miles from the Census center point for Des Moines in a straight line and covers 25.764 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 Iowa City that is 52242, 52245, 52246 (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).
Median household income in Iowa City is $58,546 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US1938595, 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.
40% of Iowa City homes are single-family detached, 7% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 42% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US1938595, checked 2026-10-19).
With 42% of Iowa City homes in buildings of five or more units and 40% detached, the condo association usually decides where outdoor units can go, so that approval comes before the quote. With 53% of Iowa City homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US1938595, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
Iowa City has 8 points fewer detached houses than Johnson County overall (48%) and 11 points more five-plus-unit buildings than the county's 31% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US19103, checked 2026-10-19).
53% of Iowa City homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US1938595, checked 2026-10-19), so the market splits between resident-led jobs where the occupant picks the system and landlord-led jobs where they do not, and the rebate paperwork differs.
Of the 30,816 occupied homes in Iowa City, 64% heat with natural gas, 0% with heating oil, 32% with electricity and 2% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US1938595, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas heats 64% of Iowa City against electricity at 32%, 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.
Iowa City has about the Johnson County oil share of 0% and 4 points more electric heat than the county's 28% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US19103, checked 2026-10-19).
MidAmerican Energy lists Iowa City among the Iowa communities it serves for electricity (MidAmerican Energy community list, electric communities, https://www.midamericanenergy.com/territory-communitylist, checked 2026-10-19).
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 Iowa City address before counting it. With 32% of Iowa City homes already on electric heat and 66% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Iowa City has 33,863 housing units, 12% built before 1940 and 45% before 1980, with 31% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US1938595, checked 2026-10-19).
Iowa City has 3 points more pre-1940 homes than Johnson County as a whole (9%) and 6 points fewer homes built after 2000 than the county's 37% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US19103, checked 2026-10-19). An older stock means more insulation upgrades before the heat pump goes in.
The median Iowa City home was built in 1985 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US1938595, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 4.9 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US1938595, checked 2026-10-19).
Heating design temperature: -6F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Johnson 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 -6F figure is the Johnson County cold-day number a Iowa City heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at -6F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 64% of Iowa City on gas and 32% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Iowa City home has 4.9 rooms and was built around 1985, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Iowa City. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Iowa City yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.