Cost of living in Des Moines, IA
The Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area (753,913 people) ranks #129 of 149 for prices among the U.S. metro areas we cover. Here's what it costs to live there.
Hover over or tap a dot to see its value.
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Price level, from cheaper to pricier.
- The Villages, FL 85.4
- McAllen, TX 85.9
- Springfield, MO 88.6
- Wichita, KS 88.9
- Jackson, MS 89.0
- Tulsa, OK 89.2
- Columbus, GA 89.3
- Little Rock, AR 89.4
- El Paso, TX 89.9
- Oklahoma City, OK 90.4
- Sioux Falls, SD 90.6
- Baton Rouge, LA 90.8
- Clarksville, TN 90.9
- Fargo, ND 90.9
- Killeen, TX 91.1
- Spartanburg, SC 91.1
- Fayetteville, AR 91.4
- Chattanooga, TN 91.5
- Toledo, OH 91.5
- Birmingham, AL 91.6
- Des Moines, IA 91.7
- Augusta, GA 91.9
- Omaha, NE 91.9
- Fayetteville, NC 92.0
- Winston-Salem, NC 92.0
- Jacksonville, NC 92.1
- Memphis, TN 92.2
- Kansas City, MO 92.5
- Fort Wayne, IN 92.6
- Knoxville, TN 92.6
- New Orleans, LA 92.6
- Dayton, OH 92.7
- Greensboro, NC 92.9
- Lexington, KY 92.9
- Huntsville, AL 93.1
- Louisville, KY 93.1
- Greenville, SC 93.3
- Akron, OH 93.4
- Billings, MT 93.5
- Myrtle Beach, SC 93.6
- Columbia, SC 93.7
- Cleveland, OH 93.9
- Daphne, AL 94.7
- Pittsburgh, PA 94.7
- San Antonio, TX 94.7
- St. Louis, MO 95.1
- Ocala, FL 95.2
- Savannah, GA 95.2
- Cincinnati, OH 95.4
- Albuquerque, NM 95.5
- Columbus, OH 95.5
- Grand Rapids, MI 95.5
- Indianapolis, IN 95.7
- Syracuse, NY 95.7
- Buffalo, NY 95.8
- Nashville, TN 96.3
- Wilmington, NC 96.4
- Asheville, NC 96.5
- Cheyenne, WY 96.5
- Gainesville, FL 96.7
- Milwaukee, WI 96.9
- Tucson, AZ 96.9
- Crestview, FL 97.0
- Rochester, NY 97.0
- Lakeland, FL 97.1
- Charlotte, NC 97.3
- Madison, WI 97.3
- Panama City, FL 97.3
- Durham, NC 97.6
- Pensacola, FL 97.7
- Richmond, VA 97.9
- Virginia Beach, VA 97.9
- Hilton Head Island, SC 98.0
- Austin, TX 98.1
- Provo, UT 98.2
- Raleigh, NC 98.2
- Prescott, AZ 98.3
- Boise, ID 98.4
- Houston, TX 98.6
- Harrisburg, PA 98.7
- Daytona Beach, FL 99.4
- Jacksonville, FL 99.5
- Albany, NY 99.6
- Allentown, PA 100.0
- Palm Bay, FL 100.0
- Atlanta, GA 100.1
- Greeley, CO 100.2
- Las Vegas, NV 100.2
- Port St. Lucie, FL 100.2
- Detroit, MI 100.3
- Ogden, UT 100.3
- Spokane, WA 100.3
- Norwich, CT 100.4
- Punta Gorda, FL 100.5
- Colorado Springs, CO 100.7
- Ann Arbor, MI 100.9
- Bakersfield, CA 100.9
- Burlington, VT 100.9
- Salt Lake City, UT 100.9
- Tampa, FL 100.9
- Charleston, SC 101.0
- Reno, NV 101.0
- Fort Collins, CO 101.1
- Orlando, FL 101.4
- Eugene, OR 101.6
- Providence, RI 101.8
- Portland, ME 101.9
- Fresno, CA 102.2
- Cape Coral, FL 102.3
- Sarasota, FL 102.4
- Worcester, MA 102.5
- Philadelphia, PA 102.6
- Hartford, CT 102.7
- Dallas, TX 103.1
- Naples, FL 103.2
- Trenton, NJ 103.2
- Phoenix, AZ 103.3
- Bend, OR 103.6
- Chicago, IL 103.6
- Olympia, WA 103.7
- Baltimore, MD 104.5
- New Haven, CT 104.6
- Minneapolis, MN 104.8
- Stockton, CA 105.1
- Boulder, CO 105.2
- Anchorage, AK 105.4
- Portland, OR 105.4
- Bremerton, WA 105.6
- Manchester, NH 105.7
- Denver, CO 105.8
- Riverside, CA 106.4
- Sacramento, CA 106.7
- Bridgeport, CT 106.9
- Santa Rosa, CA 107.8
- Boston, MA 108.3
- Vallejo, CA 108.5
- Santa Barbara, CA 108.8
- Washington, D.C. 108.9
- Salinas, CA 109.0
- Poughkeepsie, NY 109.4
- San Jose, CA 110.4
- Oxnard, CA 110.5
- Honolulu, HI 111.0
- Seattle, WA 111.1
- San Diego, CA 111.9
- New York, NY 112.6
- Los Angeles, CA 113.6
- Miami, FL 114.2
- San Francisco, CA 115.6
Compare Des Moines with your city
See what you'd need to earn in Des Moines to keep your lifestyle, after taxes and local prices. The calculator starts from Chicago, IL, which sends the most households here of the metros we cover (IRS, 2022–2023), using its median household income as an illustrative single-earner salary. Household income can include several earners and other income; it is not a typical individual wage. Pick your own city, salary and filing status.
Equal salary in Des Moines: $76,000
Compare any two of 149 U.S. metro areas. All cities
To keep the same lifestyle, you need about $76,000 in Des Moines, IA to match $90,000 in Chicago, IL ($14,000 less), after 2026 taxes and local prices.
Single filer, W-2 salary. Uses Illinois and Iowa state income tax; neither city levies a resident income tax.
Prices and housing cover the metro area; taxes use Illinois and Iowa, their principal states. A metro can span several states; living in its other state can change the tax result.
See the full Illinois to Iowa report
There is no city-to-city report for this move. The state report compares statewide taxes, housing and moving costs; it does not use the city or suburb tax settings above.
What things cost in Des Moines
The vertical line marks the U.S. average (100). BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 for the metropolitan area.
Taxes in Des Moines
In this fixed example, one single filer earning an $85,000 W-2 salary keeps $66,049 after 2026 federal tax ($9,870), Social Security and Medicare ($6,503) and Iowa income tax ($2,578). The salary is rounded from median household income, not an observed individual wage. This example stays fixed when you change the calculator.
Housing
| Measure | Des Moines area |
|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,178/mo |
| Median home value | $288,400 |
| Median property tax | $4,130/yr |
| Monthly cost to own the median home (20% down) | $2,035 |
| Median household income | $85,446 |
Climate and jobs in Des Moines
In the Des Moines area the average January low is 14°F and the average July high 86°F, and the area has about 22 days a year at 90°F or hotter. Unemployment averaged 3.5% in 2025, below the U.S. rate (4.3%), and the median wage across all jobs was $51,820 a year, 2% above the U.S. median.
| Climate | 1991–2020 average |
|---|---|
| January low | 14°F |
| July high | 86°F |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 22 a year |
| Precipitation | 37 in a year |
| Snowfall | 37 in a year |
| Jobs and pay | Metro area | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate, 2025 average | 3.5% | 4.3% |
| Median wage, all jobs (May 2025) | $51,820 | $50,980 |
| Wage and salary jobs (May 2025) | 404,130 | 155.5 million |
Climate: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages at the Des Moines International Airport station (USW00014933). Weather varies across a metro area, especially with elevation and distance from the coast. Jobs: unemployment from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics; wages and job counts from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, which count wage and salary jobs, not the self-employed; wages are before taxes. The 2025 average covers 11 months: October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown.
Retiring in Des Moines
Our modeled retiree budget is about $3,051 a month here with a home owned outright, or $3,417 renting. It uses spending benchmarks for households with a reference person age 65 or older (BLS 2024), adjusted for local prices. These are household-based estimates, not observed spending by a single retiree in Des Moines. See where your budget goes furthest.
Where people move to and from Des Moines
IRS county-to-county migration data, 2022–2023, aggregated to the 149 metro areas we cover.
Natural hazard risk
RelocateMath's population-weighted mean of FEMA county risk scores for the Des Moines area is 78.6 of 100 (high county-score mean), with modeled expected losses of about $333 per resident per year. A mean of county percentiles is not an official FEMA metro rating or a national metro percentile. It describes the counties in the metro; your property's risk can differ. Disaster risk by county in Iowa.
The vertical line marks county-score scale midpoint (50).
Frequently asked questions
What salary do you need to live in Des Moines?
In a fixed single-filer W-2 example living inside the principal city, about $70,600 in Des Moines matches the buying power of $75,000 in an average-priced area with no state income tax. The example uses 2026 federal taxes, Iowa state taxes and modeled resident local taxes where applicable. It stays fixed when calculator inputs change. Renting the median home at 30% of income takes $47,120, and buying the median home with 20% down takes about $87,212.
Is Des Moines expensive?
The Des Moines metro area's price level is 91.7 (U.S. = 100), #129 of the 149 metro areas we cover, from most to least expensive. Its housing rents price index is 84.7, 15% below the U.S. average.
Are people moving to Des Moines?
Counting moves to and from the other 148 metro areas we cover, Des Moines had a net loss of about 398 households in 2022–2023 (IRS county migration data).
What is the weather like in Des Moines?
In NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals for the Des Moines area (Des Moines International Airport weather station), the average January low is 14°F and the average July high 86°F. The area has about 22 days a year at 90°F or hotter and gets 37 inches of precipitation a year and about 37 inches of snow.
What are jobs and pay like in Des Moines?
The Des Moines metro area's unemployment rate averaged 3.5% in 2025, below the U.S. rate (4.3%). The median wage across all jobs was $51,820 a year in May 2025, 2% above the U.S. median of $50,980 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
What natural disasters affect Des Moines?
RelocateMath's population-weighted mean of FEMA county risk scores is 78.6 out of 100 (high county-score mean). This is not an official FEMA metro rating or a national metro percentile. The highest county-score means by hazard are drought, tornado, hail.
Cities with similar prices
- Birmingham, AL 91.6
- Omaha, NE 91.9
- Augusta, GA 91.9
- Toledo, OH 91.5
- Chattanooga, TN 91.5
- Winston-Salem, NC 92.0
- Moving from Iowa
State-agency links identify the responsible tax office; they do not verify every modeled rule. Use forms and guidance for the year you are filing.