Most of Waterloo is in Black Hawk County, where a full-time job needs to pay at least $22.24 an hour before taxes to take home four times the typical studio rent.
Across the 4 ZIP codes in Waterloo with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $720 to $790 a month. At the middle rent, $760, a full-time job would need to pay $22.89 an hour before taxes.
What the standard would be at each ZIP code's own studio rent. The calculator and the official standard use the county figure.
| ZIP | County | Studio rent | Pay needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50701 | Black Hawk County | $720/mo | $21.59/hr |
| 50702 | Black Hawk County | $790/mo | $23.87/hr |
| 50703 | Black Hawk County | $750/mo | $22.57/hr |
| 50704 | Black Hawk County | $770/mo | $23.22/hr |
Under the Four Times Rent standard, a full-time job in Waterloo needs to pay at least $22.24 an hour before taxes, about $46,260 a year. That is the figure for Black Hawk County, where the typical studio rent is $740 a month.
Yes. Across the 4 ZIP codes in Waterloo with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $720 to $790 a month. At the middle rent of $760, the pay needed would be $22.89 an hour.
The minimum wage in Black Hawk County is $7.25 an hour. The Four Times Rent standard there is 3.1 times that.
The Four Times Rent standard: a month of full-time work (160 hours) should take home at least four times the typical rent on a studio apartment in the county where the work is done. Rents: HUD FY2027 Fair Market Rents. Taxes: 2026 federal and state income taxes plus Social Security and Medicare, for a single filer. Why four times rent? · Method and data downloads