>>>Come to NYC and you will seldomly find bellow 90K.
>>
>>What's the cost of living in NYC in relation to what might be considered a 'larger city' in Iowa.
>
>Well, NYC is one of the most expensive cities in USA if we don't consider CA, where I believe the cost of living is higher. I don't know Iowa, but renting an apt. in Columbus, OH was 3 times cheaper than similar (and worse) apt. in NYC.

In Iowa, I was renting a 3 bedroom older house for 375 a month + utils in college. In Cedar Falls, which is a larger city, I could probably rent a decent apartment for 800-900 a month.

As far as buying, you can find a newer (built 2000+) ranch style 3-4 bedroom house with 2 stall garage and nice sized backyard for around 145K-170K.