Shutter BoysPlantation shutters in Iowa City
Homes in Iowa City
Iowa City's 33,863 homes are a mix: 40% detached houses, 49% apartments or units in buildings of two or more homes and 9% townhouses and other attached houses.
The biggest building period was 1950 to 1979, which accounts for 31% of homes standing today; 31% are from 2000 or later. The median home dates from 1985. 47% of homes are lived in by their owners.
Of the 11 Iowa cities we have census figures for, Iowa City has the second-highest share of apartments. In Cedar Rapids, 22 miles away, 30% of homes are apartments, fewer than here. Nationally, Iowa City's homes are newer than those in 55% of the 881 US cities we have census figures for.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. Estimates carry margins of error.
Apartments and condos
49% of homes are in buildings of two or more units. Balcony and patio doors suit bypass or bifold panels rather than hinged ones, which need floor space to swing. Check what your HOA or building allows to show from outside before you order: most rules are about the colour seen through the glass.
Shallow openings
31% of homes were built in 2000 or later. Newer windows are often set close to the room side of the wall, and handles, cranks and alarm sensors stick out into the space a louver swings through. Measure the depth to the glass and to anything that sticks out; the designer checks it against the louver size you pick.
A whole house in Iowa City
The most common home in Iowa City has two bedrooms: 29% of homes. Three-bedroom homes make up another 28%. The median home has 4.9 rooms.
Apartments are the most common kind of home here. Across the US, the middle home among apartments in buildings of five or more units has 3 to 5 windows (EIA, 2020). Shuttering that many windows at a typical bedroom-window size comes to roughly $900 to $2,000. For scale, that's about 0.5% of the median home value here, $285,900 (owners’ estimates, 2020–2024).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 (bedrooms B25041, rooms B25018, value B25077); U.S. Energy Information Administration, Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020, Table HC2.1 (windows). EIA RECS 2020, Table HC2.1
A typical home3–5 windows
All of them shuttered$900 to $2,000
Every window priced as a 36 × 48 in opening in our basic build (flat moulding, paint stage 1, 3½ in louvers), before tax and shipping. Your windows will differ; the designer prices each one.
Price your own windowsOne room at a time
Homes here cost less than in 71% of the 881 US cities we have figures for, and many owners do a house in stages. Start with the rooms where light and privacy matter most, usually bedrooms and the street-facing front, and keep the same louver size and colour so later rooms match. Your saved design keeps every size.
Ages (B01001), working from home (B08301) and value (B25077): U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. Rankings compare the US cities we have figures for.
Iowa City weather and your shutters
At Iowa City Muni AP, IA (2 mi away), July averages a high of 85.8°F and January a low of 14.6°F. Average highs reach 85°F in July and average lows sit at or below freezing from November to March.
About 19 days a year reach 90°F, 135 nights fall to freezing and 35.7 inches of precipitation falls, most of it around June and least in January.
That's more freezing nights than in 87% of the 881 US cities we have climate normals for.
Daylight runs from 15 h 12 min on the longest day to 9 h 9 min on the shortest, and the midday sun stands 72° above the horizon in June and 25° in December.
Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Iowa City Muni AP, IA (temperature) and Iowa City Muni AP, IA (precipitation, 2 mi away). Daylight and sun height: calculated from the city’s latitude.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average high | Average low | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30.9°F | 14.6°F | 1 in |
| Feb | 35.5°F | 18.5°F | 1.2 in |
| Mar | 49.5°F | 29.5°F | 2.2 in |
| Apr | 62.6°F | 40.1°F | 3.8 in |
| May | 73.4°F | 51.7°F | 4.5 in |
| Jun | 82.6°F | 62.1°F | 5.3 in |
| Jul | 85.8°F | 65.8°F | 3.9 in |
| Aug | 83.8°F | 63.3°F | 3.9 in |
| Sep | 77.5°F | 54.2°F | 3.2 in |
| Oct | 64.1°F | 42.1°F | 3 in |
| Nov | 49.2°F | 30.4°F | 2.2 in |
| Dec | 36.3°F | 20.1°F | 1.5 in |
Cold winters
With 135 freezing nights a year, warm room air meets cold glass for months. Shutters closed tight overnight hold that air against the window, so condensation can collect on the sill: tilt the louvers open in the morning, and wipe the sill on windows that often run wet.
Fitting them in Iowa City
Shutter Boys shutters are made for you to fit yourself: an inside or outside mount takes a drill, a level and our step-by-step guide. If you'd rather hire someone, a finish carpenter or blinds installer can fit them; ask on your quote and we'll tell you if we know one near you. You arrange and pay the installer directly.
Near Iowa City
- Cedar Rapids 22 mi
- Davenport 48 mi
- Waterloo 71 mi
- Dubuque 72 mi
More about shutters in Iowa City
Each page takes one question further (fitting your windows, room by room, sizes and colours, louvers, or how shutters compare with other choices), using Iowa City’s own figures.
For designers, contractors and stores in Iowa City
Interior designers, contractors, window covering stores, realtors and property managers in Iowa City can sell or refer Shutter Boys shutters: dealers buy at trade pricing with a protected area; referral partners earn a fee on each client they send. No fee to join.
Price your windows
Pick your look once, add every window, and see each one drawn and priced. Send it to us and we reply with your quote.