What it's like to live in Boone
Boone is a small city in Iowa with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Boone deals with cold, harsh winters, snowy winters, fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city, and a car-dependent commute, with few people using transit.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment in the county
- Low crime rates
- Short commutes
- Low student-teacher ratio
The not so good
- Cold, harsh winters
- Snowy winters — 36" per year
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Boone compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Boone
Based on Boone's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,662
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $33,240 a year
- 40% of Boone renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$34,600
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $17,300
- Homes cost 2.5× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 41% below US
$831/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $831 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $173,000. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $173,000 · 40% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
3.1% county unemployment
Unemployment in Boone County is 3.1%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Boone County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 73% below US
88 violent crimes per 100k
Safety is genuinely one of the selling points here. Both violent and property crime run well below the national average, the kind of numbers that fade into the background after a week of living somewhere.
Property crime 690/100k · Boone Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 26% below US
19 min average commute
Commutes are reasonable, averaging 19.2 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 8% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 82°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 13°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 33% below US
24% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 24%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
4 public schools inside the boundary
There are 4 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 14:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Bottom line
Boone's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are cold, harsh winters and snowy winters. A year of median rent ($831/mo) equals 14% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low), and anyone prioritizing low crime. It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive and anyone who dislikes long, cold winters.
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