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Iowa Break-Even Occupancy Calculator

Find the minimum occupancy rate needed to cover all expenses using Iowa market data. It's (Operating Expenses + Debt Service) / Gross Potential Income. Pre-filled with Iowa rents, tax rates, and insurance.

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Rental Income(Iowa defaults)

Operating Expenses(Iowa defaults)

Property Management

Debt Service

Iowa Market Context

Avg Cap Rate

7%

Median Price

$228K

Property Tax

1.25%

Vacancy Rate

8%

Local Factors

  • -High property taxes offset by very affordable home prices
  • -Severe weather (hail, tornadoes) drives above-average insurance costs
  • -University towns (Iowa City, Ames) provide reliable student rental demand

Break-Even Occupancy

48.7%

Very Safe
Units needed occupied2 of 4
Max vacant units2
1
2
3
4

Must be occupied Can be vacant

Safety Margin51.3%
Gross Potential Income$60,048
Operating Expenses−$14,816
Annual Debt Service−$14,400
Total Costs to Cover$29,216
Cash Flow (100% occ.)$30,832
BREAK-EVEN48.7%
Safety Margin$51
Operating Expenses$25
Debt Service$24

What does this mean?

A break-even below 60% means this property can weather significant vacancy and still cover all costs. That's an extremely resilient deal with a wide margin of safety.

What Is Break-Even Occupancy?

Break-even occupancy is the minimum percentage of a property that must be occupied for rental income to cover all operating expenses and debt service. It's a critical risk metric — the lower the break-even, the more resilient your investment.

Break-Even Occupancy = (Operating Expenses + Debt Service) / Gross Potential Income x 100

Target benchmarks: Most lenders want to see break-even occupancy below 85%. Best-in-class stabilized properties often achieve 65-75%. Above 90% is a red flag in underwriting.

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