Sioux City: Yield With Some Size Behind It
Program and regulatory figures verified October 7, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Sioux City is the most interesting line in the Iowa table, because its yield is built differently from everything else near the top.
The arithmetic, and why it is unusual
Typical value $226,131, typical asking rent $1,317, gross yield 6.99%: second of fifteen.
Now compare how the top three get there:
| Market | Typical value | Typical rent | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | $146,371 | $1,006 | 8.25% |
| ★ Sioux City | $226,131 | ★ $1,317 | 6.99% |
| Fort Madison | $126,448 | $690 | 6.55% |
Burlington and Fort Madison earn their yield with a low denominator: cheap assets producing ordinary rent. Sioux City earns it with a high numerator: $1,317 is the second-highest typical asking rent in Iowa, behind only Spirit Lake's $1,350, and it sits on a value $160,000 below Spirit Lake's.
★ That is a materially different asset. Strong rent on a moderate value is a more durable version of the same ratio than weak rent on a cheap value.
Against Des Moines
Sioux City beats Des Moines by 1.7 points of gross yield, 6.99% against 5.29%, on a value roughly $68,000 lower and a rent only about $20 higher.
Des Moines still wins on depth, and that is not nothing: more tenants, more buyers, more comparables. But Sioux City is a real metro rather than a small river town, so the liquidity gap is narrower than the one between Des Moines and Burlington. The Des Moines trade.
★ The caveats
The yield is gross. Taxes, insurance, vacancy, management and maintenance all sit outside it. In Iowa the tax side has two specifics worth checking: no homestead credit on a rental, and on a 3-plus unit parcel a classification the assessor assigns rather than one you can look up. The tax line.
One month is one month. This is a single reading of two published series and we are not forecasting from it.
Rent strength has to be verified property by property. A metro typical rent is not your unit's rent, and on a file where the yield case rests on the rent rather than the price, that verification is the whole underwrite.
The exit
Statewide and unchanged by county: a non-owner-occupied Sioux City rental sits on the two-month post-judgment delay under §654.21, with no post-sale redemption for mortgagor or junior lienholder under §654.23, and the purchaser entitled to immediate possession. Detail.
Run a property
Because the Sioux City case rests on rent, send the lease or the rent roll alongside the address and the assessor's figure. That is the file we can actually answer.
Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513.
Frequently asked questions
What is the rental yield in Sioux City, Iowa?
A gross yield of 6.99% for the month ending 31 August 2026, on a typical home value of $226,131 against typical asking rent of $1,317. That ranked second of the fifteen Iowa metros publishing both series, behind Burlington at 8.25%.Why is Sioux City's yield different from Burlington's?
Because of how the ratio is built. Burlington's 8.25% comes from a low typical value of $146,371 against ordinary rent of $1,006. Sioux City's 6.99% comes from the second-highest typical asking rent in Iowa, $1,317, on a moderate value of $226,131. Strong rent on a moderate value is a more durable version of the same ratio than weak rent on a cheap value.Is Sioux City or Des Moines better for a rental?
Sioux City led Des Moines by 1.7 points of gross yield for the month ending 31 August 2026, 6.99% against 5.29%, on a value roughly $68,000 lower with a rent only about $20 higher. Des Moines remains the deeper market, but Sioux City is a real metro rather than a small town, so the liquidity gap is narrower than it is for the river markets.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about investment-property financing, not a loan commitment and not legal or tax advice. Iowa foreclosure procedure, redemption and deficiency rules are set by the Iowa Code and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against the code itself. Gross yield figures are a market indicator built from published typical values and typical asking rents, not a property-level underwrite: they exclude taxes, insurance, vacancy and management. Property classification and assessment are determined by the county assessor. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.