Iowa Mobile Home Park Market Data: Parks, Lots and Lot Rent

Mobile home park market size in Iowa

Iowa has roughly 900 mobile home parks containing about 37,000 lots, which works out to an average of roughly 41 lots per park. That makes Iowa the 15th-largest state by park count and the 28th-largest by lot count among the 50 states in this dataset.

Put in national terms, Iowa holds about 2% of the roughly 45,740 parks and 0.9% of the roughly 4,012,300 lots tracked nationwide. The average park size of about 41 lots is a useful yardstick: a target park well above it is an institutional-scale asset, while one well below it is a small operator-owned community with different financing and management dynamics.

These counts are estimates compiled from U.S. Census manufactured-housing data, MHI reports, and state-level MHP surveys, and they move slowly — new parks are rarely built, and existing parks leave the count mainly through redevelopment. Treat them as a planning baseline for the Midwest market, not a precise census.

Lot rent levels in Iowa

Average lot rent in Iowa runs approximately $380 per month, which is about $98 below the national median and ranks Iowa 43rd-highest of the 50 states. Lot rent is the single most important number in an MHP model, because it is the recurring revenue line that occupancy and rent growth both act on.

The statewide average is a starting point, not a price-setting input. Lot rents vary widely by submarket within Iowa: metro-area parks commonly run well above the state average, while rural parks often sit below it. When you benchmark a specific park, weight it against comparable communities in the same submarket rather than the state number.

Because Iowa sits in the Midwest region, its rent level reflects that region's cost of living, land supply, and demand for affordable detached housing. Rising site-built home prices and rents continue to push households toward manufactured housing, which supports lot-rent stability even where headline growth is modest.

The size of Iowa's lot-rent economy

Multiplying Iowa's roughly 37,000 lots by the average lot rent of $380 per month implies an aggregate lot-rent economy on the order of $169 million per year. This is a derived estimate, not a surveyed figure: it assumes full occupancy at the average rent, so real collected revenue is lower and varies with vacancy and the spread between low and high rents across the state.

At the individual-park level, an average Iowa park of about 41 lots at the state-average rent would gross on the order of $15,580 per month in lot rent before expenses, vacancy, and any park-owned-home income. Actual results depend heavily on occupancy, the tenant-owned-versus-park-owned home mix, and utility cost recovery.

The reason this math matters is that MHP is valued on stabilized net operating income. Small, durable moves — filling a few vacant lots, recovering water and sewer costs, trimming turnover — compound across a park of this size, which is why operators focus on occupancy and expense discipline rather than one-time rent spikes.

Regulatory climate and the Iowa investment picture

Iowa has no rent control on mobile-home lots, so lot-rent growth is set by market conditions and the lease rather than by a statutory cap, subject only to the state's notice requirements for increases. For investors, that removes the regulatory brake on the value-add rent story, which is one reason unregulated Sunbelt and heartland markets have drawn heavy institutional interest.

That freedom cuts both ways: without a cap, rents track the local supply-demand balance, so a soft submarket can limit growth just as a tight one accelerates it. Pair this market data with the Iowa lease-law and eviction guides to understand the notice periods and procedures that still govern how and when you can raise rent or recover a lot.

On valuation, a word of caution about cap rates: brokers have reported stabilized manufactured-housing-community cap rates nationally in a broad band roughly from the high-5% to the mid-7% range through 2024 to 2026, but that is an industry-wide, national band and not a Iowa-specific figure. Where a particular Iowa park prices within it depends on its size, occupancy, home-ownership mix, financeability, and the rent-regulation factors above. Anyone quoting a precise Iowa cap rate should be able to show you the comparable sales behind it.

Market data at a glance in Iowa

• Park count
  About 900 mobile home parks — 15th-most of the 50 states, roughly 2% of the national total.
• Lot count
  About 37,000 lots — 28th-most nationally, roughly 0.9% of tracked lots.
• Average park size
  Roughly 41 lots per park, a benchmark for spotting institutional-scale versus small operator-owned communities.
• Average lot rent
  About $380 per month — 43rd-highest of the 50 states and about $98 below the national median.
• Aggregate lot-rent economy
  On the order of $169 million per year at full occupancy (a derived estimate: lots times rent times 12).
• Region
  Iowa sits in the Midwest region, which shapes its cost structure and housing demand.
• Rent regulation
  No rent control on mobile-home lots; lot-rent growth is market-driven, subject to statutory notice periods.
• Data caveat
  Counts are slow-moving estimates from Census, MHI, and state MHP sources; benchmark specific parks against same-submarket comps.

How operators and investors use this data in Iowa

• Benchmark, then localize
  Use the Iowa averages as a first screen, then re-underwrite each park against comparable communities in its own submarket rather than the state number.
• Underwrite to occupancy, not rent spikes
  With an average park near 41 lots, filling vacant pads and recovering utility costs usually beats chasing headline rent growth — especially where rent is regulated.
• Model the regulatory brake honestly
  Reflect Iowa's rent-control posture in your rent-growth assumptions, and read the Iowa rent-control and lease-law guides before finalizing a business plan.
• Distrust precise cap-rate quotes
  Treat any exact Iowa cap rate as a claim to verify against real comparable sales, since national bands do not translate cleanly to a single state.
• Watch the slow supply story
  Because new Iowa parks are rarely built and lots leave mainly through redevelopment, existing communities hold scarcity value; track redevelopment pressure in your submarkets.
• Track lot-level data in Lotly
  Lotly tracks Iowa lot-level occupancy, rent, and infill stage so your real numbers replace these statewide estimates in day-to-day decisions.