Storm door cost in Iowa City, IA

Planning more than one job in Iowa City?

Because every project leans on different trades, Iowa City's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, window replacement runs −7% and front door −9%.

Is Iowa City cheap or dear? The local comparison

Same job, same size (1 door), priced for the nearest metros. Des Moines is the priciest of the group at $630.

Across 300 US metros, Iowa City comes in at #242 from the top. The priciest is Honolulu, HI at $820; the cheapest is Brownsville, TX at $530 (midpoints, 1 door). Statewide, Iowa City is 5% below the Iowa figure.

Other Iowa metros

Cities with a workforce like Iowa City's

Big cities and small ones price differently, so here is Iowa City against the 4 metros with the closest total employment.

Iowa City: what basic, standard and premium work costs

Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for Iowa City wages and prices. They overlap on purpose: a good standard job and a modest premium job can cost the same. The grid below prices the same bands at 2 common sizes.

Local wages behind the labor line

Wages are the part of this estimate that changes most from town to town. 2 trades carry the job here, and each is compared with its US median. The weighted result for Iowa City is 0.85 times the national level.

For carpenters (47-2031, weighted 80%) the local median is $23.89 an hour, which is 18% below the national $29.12. The middle half of them earn between $21.98 and $29.70 an hour. BLS counts 360 of them working in the area, 38.4 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 43.1), so the local bench is about average.

General maintenance and repair workers (49-9071), 20% of the weighting: a median of $22.96 an hour, 4% below the US median of $23.84. The middle half of them earn between $18.61 and $28.99 an hour. About 710 work in the metro. That is 75.7 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 98.4 nationally, so expect fewer local crews to bid.

Quotes come from real crews, not medians. If the carpenters on your job are paid at the 75th percentile ($29.70 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $40. At the 25th percentile ($21.98) it shrinks by about $15. The total moves by 7.1% or 2.4%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.

For context on the local economy, BLS counts 93,760 jobs in the Iowa City area. That makes it the 214th largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.06% of US employment.

Why two Iowa City quotes can differ

• Door style

  A mid-view door is $350-$700 installed, a full-view door $425-$950, and a low-E full-view door $475-$1,000 (HomeGuide).

• Replacing versus new

  Replacing an old storm door runs $400-$1,050 because the old door has to come off.

• Screens and features

  Self-storing and retractable screens, ventilating glass and security features all raise the price.

When to schedule storm door in Iowa City

We use NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for Iowa City Muni Ap (5 miles from the city center). These are 30-year monthly averages, not forecasts.

March through November is the stretch where exterior installation runs into the fewest weather problems in Iowa City (9 of 12 months). January, February and December have an average daytime high under 45°F.

In January, February and December the average high stays below 45°F. Sealants, adhesives and some materials, such as vinyl, are harder to install well in the cold, and short daylight cuts the working day.

Iowa City gets about 36 inches of precipitation in a normal year. The wettest months are May, June and August (5.3 inches in June). Inside the workable window, March and November are the driest, at 2.2 and 2.2 inches. The station averages about 19 days a year at 90°F or above.

Does the season change the price? Probably, but we do not have a sourced seasonal price curve, so the estimator shows a year-round figure and does not adjust by month. When you collect quotes, ask whether scheduling in a slower month gets a better rate.