AI Income Risk · Real Estate

Iowa City, IA

ProofIndex score 72/100 (High Risk) · medium confidence

ProofIndex score: 72/100 — High Risk risk.

Scoring period 2026-Q2 · medium confidence in the underlying data

Iowa City, IA (United States) ranks among the higher-risk markets ProofIndex tracks, with a ProofIndex score of 72/100 (High Risk). The biggest contributor is employment vulnerability — how exposed local jobs are to AI automation, based on the area’s occupation mix.

Key risk drivers

Employment Vulnerability — 88/100
How exposed local jobs are to AI automation, based on the area’s occupation mix.
Income Concentration — 78/100
How concentrated local income is in higher-paid, AI-exposed work.
Housing Leverage — 34/100
How leveraged local mortgage borrowers are — loan-to-value, debt-to-income, and price-to-income.
Resilience Factors — 12/100
Local economic cushioning — savings, benefits, and job diversity that absorb an income shock.

Where this score comes from

Every ProofIndex pillar is computed from published statistics. These are the sources behind this area's score, with the vintage of each and the limitation we know about it.

Employment Vulnerability — US Census Bureau + ProofIndex model
Derived ACS MSA occupation proxy · Proxy · MSA · vintage 2020-2024 ACS 5-year. MSA occupation exposure is inferred from local education and parent-state sector mix.
Income Concentration — US Census Bureau — ACS 5-year
ACS MSA indicators · Official statistics · MSA · vintage 2020-2024 ACS 5-year. Official survey data at metro level; occupation exposure still uses derived sector/education mapping.
Housing Leverage — Zillow Research
Zillow metro home value index · Market data · MSA · vintage May 2026 file release. Market data series for metro home values; some credit and rent inputs are modelled.
Rental Market Exposure — Zillow Research
Zillow metro home value index · Market data · MSA · vintage May 2026 file release. Market data series for metro home values; some credit and rent inputs are modelled.
Resilience Factors — US Department of Labor ETA + ProofIndex model
US metro resilience estimate · Derived · MSA · vintage 2026. Derived from state-level safety-net parameters and metro labor-market characteristics.

Frequently asked questions

Is Iowa City, IA at risk from AI job losses?

Relative to other United States markets, yes — Iowa City, IA ranks among the higher-risk markets ProofIndex tracks. It scores 72/100 (High Risk) overall, and 88/100 on employment vulnerability — how much of the local occupation mix overlaps with work today’s AI can already do. ProofIndex measures how exposed local incomes are, not how many jobs will go: a higher score means more of the local wage base sits in work that AI is changing.

How exposed is the Iowa City, IA housing market to AI automation?

Iowa City, IA scores 72/100 (High Risk) on ProofIndex, which blends how exposed local incomes are to AI with how leveraged the local housing market is. The largest single contributor is employment vulnerability at 88/100 — how exposed local jobs are to AI automation, based on the area’s occupation mix. Housing leverage — loan-to-value, debt-to-income, and price-to-income among local borrowers — scores 34/100. Local resilience — savings, benefits, and job diversity that absorb an income shock — scores 12/100 and pulls the composite down. Scores are normalized 0–100 within United States, so this ranks Iowa City, IA against other United States markets rather than against markets abroad.

Why is Iowa City, IA rated High Risk?

High Risk is the risk tier ProofIndex assigns to a composite score of 72/100. The composite weights employment vulnerability at 35%, income concentration at 25%, housing leverage at 25%, and subtracts local resilience at 15%. For Iowa City, IA the risk pillars rank employment vulnerability 88/100, income concentration 78/100, housing leverage 34/100. Confidence in the underlying data for this area is medium.

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