IA · Section 8 / HCV
Public Housing Authority records in Iowa
HUD PIH directory records for 63 Public Housing Authorities in Iowa, with reported HCV unit counts and contact details. A zero-unit record does not establish an active voucher program or waitlist.
- 63
- PHAs in state
- 24,437
- Authorized HCV units
- 2%
- of all U.S. PHAs
- 4,010
- Total HUD units
Need to narrow the directory first? Search and filter all Iowa PHA records in the Finder. The Finder keeps the same HUD directory records while letting you set a reported-unit threshold; it does not show current availability or waitlists.
PHAs in Iowa by HUD size band
Exclusive HUD PIH section8_size bands across all 63 agencies in this state, not a restatement of the top-12 chart below.
The largest voucher programs in Iowa
Public Housing Authorities ranked by authorized Housing Choice Vouchers
- Des Moines Municipal Housing Agency
Des Moines Municipal Housing Agency
3,702 vouchers
- Iowa City HA 1,431
Iowa City Housing Authority
1,431 vouchers
- Cedar Rapids Housing Services 1,316
Cedar Rapids Housing Services
1,316 vouchers
- City of Sioux City HA 1,221
City of Sioux City Housing Authority
1,221 vouchers
- Southern Iowa Regional HA 1,132
Southern Iowa Regional Housing Authority
1,132 vouchers
- City of Dubuque 1,125
City of Dubuque
1,125 vouchers
- Waterloo HA 1,091
Waterloo Housing Authority
1,091 vouchers
- Northwest Iowa Regional HA 1,086
Northwest Iowa Regional Housing Authority
1,086 vouchers
- Eastern Iowa Regional HA 1,078
Eastern Iowa Regional Housing Authority
1,078 vouchers
- Fort Dodge Municipal Housing Agency 1,072
Fort Dodge Municipal Housing Agency
1,072 vouchers
- Central Iowa Regional HA 1,037
Central Iowa Regional Housing Authority
1,037 vouchers
- Region XII Regional HA 952
Region XII Regional Housing Authority
952 vouchers
According to HUD PIH's FY2025 PHA directory, Iowa ranks #24 of 51 by PHA headcount (63 authorities) and #32 of 51 by authorized HCV (24,437 units). National dual: Texas is #1 of 51 states and DC by PHA headcount (379 authorities) at authorized-HCV rank 3 (183,544 units) ≠ California #1 by authorized HCV (369,815 units) at PHA-count rank 20 (96 authorities).
- 2% of all U.S. PHAs
- #24 of 51 PHA count
- #32 of 51 authorized HCV
- Cross-referenced with HUD FY2026 Payment Standards
What HUD's PIH Record for Iowa Tells You
Iowa sits mid-pack in HUD's PIH directory: #24 of 51 states and DC by PHA headcount, with 63 records (2% of the 3,780 U.S. total) reporting 24,437 authorized Section 8 / HCV units combined. Across all HUD programs (public housing, HCV, and related subsidy streams) those same records report 4,010 total units. 26 of these records (41%) report zero authorized HCV units; that source field does not establish an active voucher program, a waitlist, or an application route.
Payment standards inside IA metros are set at 90–110% of HUD FY2026 Fair Market Rent, cross-referenced in our payment standards directory, so voucher value is metro-specific even within the same state. A city, county, regional, or statewide authority may share the state; the directory does not determine service-area eligibility, waitlist status, or whether an agency is accepting applications, use the source contact details to verify a specific agency's current programs. See the waitlist guide for general federal-program context and the portability guide for federal move rules.
PHAs in Iowa
Sorted by reported authorized HCV units, highest first. Many regions carry multiple PHA records (a city PHA, a county PHA, and sometimes a regional authority) - check the source contact details before relying on any single record for a current program, service area, or waitlist.
Showing the top 24 of 63 HUD PHA records in Iowa, ordered by reported authorized HCV units. A zero-unit record does not establish an active program or waitlist.
Browse all Iowa PHA records in the filterable finder →Checking current program information in Iowa
Contact the agency directly to confirm current availability. These guides cover the general federal process:
Nationwide states with similar PHA count or voucher inventory
Two cross-state peer sets for Iowa, outside the alphabetically adjacent states below.
Similar PHA headcount
Nearest states by agency count (63 PHAs in IA).
- Colorado · 59 PHAs
- Indiana · 54 PHAs
- Mississippi · 52 PHAs
- Ohio · 75 PHAs
Higher-rent HUD FMR areas in Iowa
These are the highest published FY2026 two-bedroom Fair Market Rents among HUD areas with a PlainVoucher detail page. They are reference amounts, not a local PHA payment-standard promise.
- Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA HUD Metro FMR Area · $1,318/mo for 2 BR
- Sioux City, IA-NE-SD MSA · $1,154/mo for 2 BR
- Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL MSA · $1,143/mo for 2 BR
- Iowa City, IA HUD Metro FMR Area · $1,141/mo for 2 BR
- Dubuque, IA MSA · $1,077/mo for 2 BR
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA HUD Metro FMR Area · $1,051/mo for 2 BR
- Boone County, IA HUD Metro FMR Area · $1,026/mo for 2 BR
- Benton County, IA HUD Metro FMR Area · $956/mo for 2 BR
HUD FMR and local market-rent context in Iowa
Iowa's HUD FMR areas show a mixed market lean: of 9 tracked areas, 5 (56%) priced above the local market, 4 sat inside HUD's 95–110% reference band, and 0 priced below the 2019–2023 ACS two-bedroom median gross rent.
This is an area-level comparison of HUD FY2026 FMR and Census ACS rent data. It is not an individual PHA payment-standard, availability, eligibility, or waitlist result. Explore the metro comparisons →
Five-year HUD FMR change in Iowa
HUD FMR rose strongly across Iowa's 92 tracked areas: the median published two-bedroom rent climbed 28.5%, from $715 in FY2021 to $919 in FY2026.
This is a historical HUD reference-rent trend across FMR areas, not a forecast or an individual PHA payment-standard, rent, availability, eligibility, or waitlist result. Check HUD's current FMR documentation →
Nearby states
Iowa borders 5 other states in our directory, voucher portability lets a household move across any of these lines:
- Illinois · IL
- Minnesota · MN
- Missouri · MO
- Nebraska · NE
- South Dakota · SD
Source: HUD PIH Open Data (FY25). Payment standards: HUD USER FY2026 FMR. The PHA directory source was consolidated in April 2026. PlainVoucher is not affiliated with HUD, the State of Iowa, or any local PHA. Verify with HUD →. See our methodology for how we compile this directory.
Disclaimer. This is general information about Section 8 / HCV administration in Iowa. Waitlist status, eligibility, and local preferences are set by each PHA and change frequently. Always contact the specific PHA directly.
What to do with Iowa's desk
Iowa has 63 HUD PIH directory PHAs in this corpus - use the dual PHA-count vs authorized-HCV read before treating any single agency as the whole state.
- Browse the Iowa PHA roster and open individual agency profiles. Iowa PHAs
- Look up Fair Market Rent schedules for metros in this state. Payment standards
- Compare national PHA-count vs authorized-HCV dual rankings. Rankings
- Compare land-border neighbors such as Illinois. Illinois
State aggregates are directory facts from HUD PIH Open Data. Waitlist status, eligibility, and local preferences are set by each PHA and change frequently.