Council Bluffs, IA: Cost of Living Diaries

A resident shares her insights on living in Council Bluffs.

By Rebecca Treon on December 19, 2023

Trisha Beccard

Council Bluffs, IA, is a city in Southwest Iowa that offers the best of the Midwest at an affordable price. Here, you’ll find fun community events, plenty of outdoor recreation, superb shopping and dining options, great jobs – the list could go on and on. To learn more about Council Bluffs and why locals love to call it home, Livability chatted with lifelong resident Trisha Beccard. Here’s what she had to say about living and working in Council Bluffs: 

How would you describe Council Bluffs? 

Because we’re so close to Omaha, we have the luxuries of a bigger city. Council Bluffs has [over 62,000] residents, and the Omaha region has about a million, so we have a smaller, hometown-type feel. We have an agricultural emphasis here – it’s a real Midwest, feel-good type of community. 

What free/low-cost outdoor entertainment options are here? 

We have lots of trails and free recreational areas, like the Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park, where there are constantly summer festivals, free music and kid activities that bring families together and give them something fun to do. 

How affordable is housing in Council Bluffs? 

We just did a huge renovation on a historic building that added some affordable housing options, so on the low end, if you qualify, your rent will be about $650, and on the higher end, it’s $1,400 a month for a two-bedroom apartment. Mortgage wise, you’re looking at between $180,000 on the low end and all the way up to multimillion-dollar homes. 

What is grocery shopping like in Council Bluffs? 

We’re really lucky because we have Hy-Vee, which are employee-owned stores, and they do a great job of supporting small businesses. Each store has its own nutritionist/registered dietitian and puts out a monthly magazine that has recipes in it created by the staff, so if you have an article about how to grill the perfect steak, it will be written by the butcher at one of the stores. 

What’s your favorite restaurant in Council Bluffs, and how much would it be for two? 

We recently opened the Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center in a historic district. They renovated the historic Harvester building and put in farm-to-table pop-up restaurants that run out of the Kitchen Council. They invite the public to come in once a month with no charge. They host live bands, and a different chef is featured. 

I also love Legends Café for breakfast. It’s been around forever, and it’s kind of a hole in the wall, but it’s always busy. It’s probably under $25 for two people for breakfast. My order is usually bacon, eggs, hash browns and toast. I have a lot of meetings at a bar called Barley’s. It’s truly a staple of Council Bluffs. It’s like [the television sitcom] “Cheers” – you go there, and everybody knows everybody.