What is the Best Neighborhoods USA ranking for Downtown?
Downtown is ranked #7 of 7 eligible neighborhoods in Council Bluffs; #155 of 165 eligible neighborhoods in IA; and #13,504 of 14,967 eligible neighborhoods in the United States.
Neighborhood Profile
Downtown
Council Bluffs, IA | Pottawattamie County
Scored premium profile
Best Neighborhoods USA Index
29.8
Stability and Strength
19.5
Value Opportunity
38.5
Momentum
34.3
Score note: Rankings show denominators so users always see the size of the eligible cohort.
| Context | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | Council Bluffs, IA |
| County | Pottawattamie County |
| National rank | #13,504 of 14,967 |
| State rank | #155 of 165 |
| City rank | #7 of 7 |
| County rank | #7 of 7 |
| National percentile | 9.8 |
| National band | LOWER_25_PERCENT |
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Housing and local fundamentals
| Housing and market metrics | Value |
|---|---|
| Current Zillow home value | $149,427 |
| Year-over-year home value change | -0.6% |
| Month-over-month home value change | -0.21% |
| Home value to income ratio | 4.06 |
| Median household income | $36,788 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 10.0% |
| Civilian unemployment rate | 6.8% |
| Homeownership rate | 21.1% |
| Housing vacancy rate | 10.7% |
| Rent burden 30% or higher | 51.2% |
How to read this profile
- Ranks are always shown with denominators.
- Momentum reflects both year-over-year and month-over-month housing change.
- Stability and Strength and Value Opportunity are governed composite scores.
- Identity composition is descriptive intelligence and is not a scoring component.
Questions and Answers
Questions About Living in Downtown
Is Downtown one of the best neighborhoods in Council Bluffs?
Downtown has a Best Neighborhoods USA Index of 29.8 and a city ranking of #7 of 7 eligible neighborhoods in Council Bluffs.
How much are homes worth in Downtown?
The current Zillow Home Value Index for Downtown is approximately $149,427.
Are home values rising or falling in Downtown?
Zillow neighborhood values changed -0.6% year over year and -0.21% month over month.
What is the Neighborhood Momentum Score for Downtown?
Downtown has a Neighborhood Momentum Score of 34.3. Momentum is 70% year-over-year and 30% month-over-month Zillow housing change.
What is the median household income in Downtown?
The NDS-derived neighborhood median household income is approximately $36,788.
How affordable is Downtown relative to household income?
The current Zillow home-value-to-household-income ratio is 4.06. Price-to-income affordability is a major Value Opportunity input.
Is Downtown primarily homeowners or renters?
The NDS-derived homeownership rate is approximately 21.1%.
What is the unemployment rate in Downtown?
The NDS-derived civilian unemployment rate is approximately 6.8%.
How educated are residents of Downtown?
Approximately 10.0% of residents age 25 and older are estimated to have a bachelor's degree or higher.
What share of renters in Downtown face high rent burden?
Approximately 51.2% of the applicable renter-household universe is estimated to spend 30% or more of household income on gross rent.
How does Best Neighborhoods USA score Downtown?
The overall index combines 40% Stability and Strength, 35% Value Opportunity, and 25% Momentum. Race, ethnicity, and identity composition are not scoring components.
Governed ranking context
How this neighborhood ranks
HMDA Mortgage Intelligence
Neighborhood Mortgage Market
Modeled neighborhood-level mortgage activity allocated from governed HMDA tract data using Zillow neighborhood geometry. These neighborhood values are nonadditive and do not enter the Best Neighborhoods USA Index.
Activity year2024
Estimated applications102
Estimated originations68
Home-purchase applications57
Origination rate66.5%
Home-purchase share55.6%
Average application loan$167,118
Total application loan amount$17,047,323
National application rank#4,275 of 14,874 rankable neighborhoods
Geometry coverage100.0%
Recent trend: Applications 10.8% YoY; originations 14.5% YoY
Mortgage methodology
HMDA is natively reported at tract and other lender-reporting geographies, not Zillow neighborhood or ZIP geography. This module uses the certified NDS HMDA-to-Zillow tract-vintage crosswalk and area-weighted allocation. Rankings require governed geometry coverage. Applicant demographics are excluded. Neighborhood values may overlap and must not be summed to reconstruct ZIP or national totals.