Updated 2026 · Based on median market data for Davenport, IA
Davenport cannot be analyzed in isolation. It is the largest of the Quad Cities — the contiguous metropolitan economy that spans Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa and Rock Island and Moline in Illinois, all linked by the Mississippi River and a century of shared industrial and economic history. The Quad Cities metro encompasses roughly 380,000 people and operates as a single labor market and housing market despite the bi-state geography. To underwrite Davenport without understanding the broader Quad Cities is to miss most of what makes this market distinctive. Median home prices in Davenport sit at $185,000 and rents at $950, producing a 1% ratio of 0.51% and a cap rate of 3.46%. Population growth runs 0.10% — slow, with periods of stagnation, and currently in a roughly flat-to-modestly-declining pattern. Median household income lands at $48,200 against a price-to-income of 3.8. Vacancy across the metro runs 6.20%. The bi-state dynamic, the John Deere employment anchor, and the Mississippi River geography are the three facts that drive everything else.
John Deere's World Headquarters sits in Moline, Illinois — across the river from Davenport, but functionally the central economic anchor of the entire Quad Cities metro. Deere employs over 7,000 people in the immediate Quad Cities area across the World HQ campus, multiple major manufacturing facilities (Deere Harvester Works in East Moline, John Deere Davenport Works in Davenport, and Deere Seeding facility in Moline), and engineering and corporate functions. The Davenport Works specifically manufactures construction and forestry equipment, employing several thousand. For real estate underwriting in Davenport, John Deere matters in three concrete ways. First, it provides a substantial high-skill engineering and corporate workforce concentrated in the Quad Cities, much of which lives on the Iowa side of the river in Davenport, Bettendorf, Eldridge, and surrounding communities — Deere engineers and senior staff form a core upper-middle income tenant base. Second, Deere's status as a global agricultural equipment leader anchors the metro's industrial identity in a way that few other secondary markets can match. Third, the agricultural cycle exposure is unavoidable — Deere's revenue and employment fluctuate meaningfully with farm income cycles, and Quad Cities employment has historically tracked those cycles.
The Mississippi River is not a backdrop to the Quad Cities — it is the central structural feature, and it shapes property markets, transportation, taxation, and risk in ways that out-of-state investors often underestimate. Three Mississippi River bridges link Davenport with Rock Island and Moline (the I-74 bridge, the Centennial Bridge, and the Government Bridge across to Rock Island Arsenal), with a fourth bridge connecting Bettendorf with Moline (the I-74 bridge upstream). Commute patterns flow in both directions across these bridges throughout the workday, and the labor market integration is genuinely seamless — a Deere engineer living in Davenport commuting to the Moline World HQ is making a normal Quad Cities commute. The river also defines the floodplain geography, the riverfront recreational and tourism amenities (LeClaire Park, the Figge Art Museum, Modern Woodmen Park where the Quad Cities River Bandits play minor-league baseball, and the broader downtown Davenport riverfront district), and the seasonal flooding cycle that has shaped the city's land use for over 150 years. Properties in or near the floodplain require careful underwriting; properties with riverfront views command premium pricing in select submarkets.
Davenport, alone among major Mississippi River cities, has historically refused to build a permanent floodwall along its downtown riverfront — preferring the recreational and aesthetic value of an unobstructed waterfront connection. The consequence is that Davenport floods. The 1993 flood, the 2001 flood, the 2008 flood, the 2014 flood, the 2019 flood (which produced the most damaging downtown inundation in modern history when temporary HESCO flood barriers failed), and other smaller events have all caused real property damage in downtown Davenport and along the river corridor. The 2019 flood specifically prompted renewed political conversation about permanent flood control infrastructure, but as of 2026 no major permanent floodwall has been constructed for the downtown core. For investor underwriting, the practical consequences are substantial. FEMA flood maps in Scott County and across to Rock Island County are detailed and meaningful, and properties in the 100-year and 500-year floodplains carry meaningful insurance costs and resale headwinds. Riverfront-adjacent commercial property has periodically suffered from flood interruption. Always pull the current FEMA flood map for any candidate property, request an elevation certificate where applicable, and price flood insurance into your underwriting where required. Higher-elevation neighborhoods (McClellan Heights, the upper bluffs, much of north Davenport) face minimal direct flood risk; the river-adjacent flat lands face real exposure.
Davenport's neighborhoods follow the topography of the Mississippi River bluffs. McClellan Heights, on the higher ground in central-north Davenport, is one of the city's traditional middle and upper-middle class residential zones — older quality housing stock, mature tree-lined streets, and stable owner-occupant demographics. Investor entry prices in McClellan Heights run $203,500 to $259,000 for renovated stock, and rent ratios are weaker than the city average — McClellan Heights is an appreciation-tilted submarket more than a yield play. East Davenport, with its historic Village of East Davenport district, has been a steady neighborhood with character housing stock and good rental demand. The area around Vander Veer Park, the city's signature municipal park, offers established neighborhood character. Eldridge, a small town northwest of Davenport in Scott County, has been a quietly strong appreciation submarket — the North Scott Community School District is among the strongest in the metro, and family households relocate to Eldridge specifically for school access. Bettendorf, the contiguous neighbor to the east, is the Quad Cities' most consistently appreciation-strong submarket, with Pleasant Valley Schools as a major demand driver. West Davenport and central Davenport carry more variable tenant quality and stronger cash-flow ratios.
The bi-state geography produces material tax planning consequences for households and indirect consequences for property values. Iowa's state income tax tops out at roughly 5.7% as of the post-2023 reform implementation, with the state moving toward a flat 3.9% rate by 2026. Illinois imposes a flat 4.95% state income tax. The two rates are substantially closer than the Fargo-Moorhead North Dakota–Minnesota dynamic, but the broader tax picture differs in important ways. Illinois property tax is structurally higher than Iowa property tax — Rock Island County (Illinois side) effective rates on residential property typically run 2.0-2.5% of market value, while Scott County (Iowa, Davenport) effective rates run around 1.52%. This is the single largest tax difference between the two sides of the river, and it tilts homeownership economics meaningfully toward the Iowa side. Illinois sales tax, particularly with local add-ons, runs higher than Iowa. For property investors, the practical implication is that comparable rental properties on the two sides of the river produce meaningfully different after-tax cash flows. Iowa's lower property tax burden is one reason Davenport and Bettendorf have generally outperformed Rock Island and Moline on residential price appreciation over the past two decades.
Healthcare is the second-largest aggregated employment sector in the Quad Cities after the John Deere plus broader manufacturing cluster. Genesis Health System, headquartered in Davenport, operates Genesis Medical Center East Rusholme (Davenport) and Genesis Medical Center Silvis (Illinois) along with a broader clinic network, employing roughly 4,500-5,000 healthcare workers. UnityPoint Health Trinity (formerly Trinity Regional Health System) operates major facilities on both sides of the river — Trinity Bettendorf, Trinity Rock Island, Trinity Moline — with combined employment of similar scale. Together, the two systems employ roughly 9,000-10,000 healthcare workers across the Quad Cities. For investor underwriting, healthcare workers — concentrated in mid-tier rental price points and dispersed across both Iowa and Illinois sides — represent a core stable rental demographic. Properties within reasonable commute of Genesis East and Trinity Bettendorf in Davenport carry steady rental demand from this base. Healthcare employment is also one of the stabilizers through agricultural cycles in a way that direct John Deere exposure is not — when farm income compresses and Deere headcount softens, healthcare demand has historically held up well.
Beyond John Deere and healthcare, the Quad Cities has a diverse mid-tier employment layer that supports rental demand across multiple submarkets. St. Ambrose University, a private Catholic university located in Davenport, enrolls roughly 3,000 students and supports a meaningful student rental population in the surrounding neighborhoods. Augustana College, on the Rock Island side, adds another small private liberal arts campus to the metro. Western Illinois University Quad Cities and several community colleges contribute additional educational employment. The Rock Island Arsenal, located on Arsenal Island in the Mississippi River and accessible from both Iowa and Illinois sides, is a major US Army weapons manufacturing and arsenal operation employing several thousand civilian Department of Defense workers. The Quad Cities International Airport (MLI) on the Moline side supports aviation employment. Modern Woodmen of America, headquartered in Rock Island, is a fraternal benefit society and major Quad Cities employer. KONE Inc. has substantial Moline operations. Tyson Foods has a Quad Cities facility. The aggregated diversification is real — the metro is not as Deere-dependent as the headlines suggest, though Deere remains the largest single employer.
Iowa property tax in Scott County (Davenport, Bettendorf, Eldridge) runs at effective rates around 1.52% of market value for rental properties, which is among the more moderate rates in Iowa due to the relatively favorable Scott County levy structure. The Iowa rollback system applies, and a $185,000 property carries roughly $281,200 in annual property tax, or about $23,433 per month. School district funding accounts for a meaningful share of total levies, and Scott County contains multiple districts with different rates — Davenport Community Schools, Pleasant Valley (Bettendorf), North Scott (Eldridge area), and Bettendorf Community Schools all have different total millage. The Pleasant Valley and North Scott district levies are particularly relevant for investors targeting the appreciation submarkets, as those school district pulls drive much of the Bettendorf and Eldridge demand. Iowa's 2023 property tax reform produced incremental relief, but for investor-owned rentals the headline rate is what you pay. Always pull the actual prior-year tax bill from the Scott County Assessor before closing, and confirm the school district levy specifically.
Here is a concrete deal example. A 1998 two-story home in Bettendorf, 4 bed, 2.5 bath, 1,900 sq ft above grade with a finished walkout basement adding 750 sq ft, attached two-car garage, on a 0.25-acre lot, in the Pleasant Valley Community School District. Listed at $222,000. Solid condition, light cosmetic refresh needed. Rehab budget: $8,500. Stabilized rent: $1,188. With 25% down at 7.0%, P&I runs about $1,177 per month. Scott County property tax at Bettendorf/Pleasant Valley rates: monthly $28,120. Insurance: $185. Property management at 8%: $95. Maintenance/capex reserve at 12%: $143. Vacancy at 6.20%: $7,363. Net monthly cash flow lands $135 to $265 depending on operations. Cash-on-cash return: 5-7% at acquisition. The Bettendorf appreciation thesis is supported by the Pleasant Valley schools pull, the John Deere engineer relocation flow, the broader Quad Cities stability, and the favorable Scott County tax structure relative to the Illinois side. Ten-year IRR projects 10-12% with a moderate appreciation assumption of 2.00% annually plus the school-district demand tailwind specific to Pleasant Valley.
Five risks deserve serious weight in Davenport underwriting. First, John Deere agricultural cycle exposure. Deere's revenue and Quad Cities employment have historically been pro-cyclical with farm income, and a multi-year farm-belt downturn has historically produced meaningful headcount softening at Deere facilities. The 2025-2026 environment has seen Deere reduce production schedules at multiple Quad Cities plants in response to weakening farm equipment demand, and underwriters should not assume current Deere employment is the floor. Second, slow population growth. The Quad Cities metro has been roughly flat to modestly declining for the past two decades, and the long-term demographic trend is not strongly positive. Third, Mississippi flood risk on near-river properties remains a recurring and partially-uninsured exposure. Fourth, the bi-state regulatory environment adds operational complexity for investors operating on both sides of the river. Fifth, infrastructure age — the Quad Cities has substantial aging infrastructure (river bridges, water systems, sewer systems) and the long-term fiscal picture for both Iowa and Illinois municipalities suggests continued tax escalation to fund maintenance. Less acute risks include healthcare consolidation pressure, weather capex from Iowa storm exposure, and the occasional Class III/IV minor-league baseball franchise business cycle (River Bandits ownership has been active recently).
Through 2031, Davenport and the broader Quad Cities should continue to be a steady but slow-growing Midwest secondary market, generating modest yields from a manufacturing-anchored economy with healthcare and education stabilizers. Base case: 2.00% appreciation, 0.03% to 0.04% rent growth, vacancy steady around 6.20%. Bettendorf and Eldridge continue to lead suburban appreciation driven by the school district pulls. Davenport's urban core continues moderate value-add opportunity for disciplined operators. Working-class submarkets continue to offer the strongest cash-flow ratios with appropriate operational discipline. John Deere employment remains the swing variable — a recovery in farm income would boost the metro materially, while continued agricultural softness would compress employment. Insurance and property tax costs continue moderate escalation. The right Davenport investor accepts slow growth in exchange for genuine yield, has realistic flood and weather assumptions, can underwrite the agricultural cycle exposure, and chooses submarkets carefully (Pleasant Valley and North Scott school districts produce meaningfully different appreciation profiles than the urban core). With a 1% ratio of 0.51% and a price-to-income of 3.8, Davenport offers a disciplined, manufacturing-anchored, river-city entry point — for the right operator with the right risk tolerance for agricultural-cycle volatility.
Davenport vs Iowa state average and national average across key investment metrics. Davenport's cap rate is below both benchmarks — deal sourcing is critical here.