Cost of living comparison
compared to
Des Moines vs. Birmingham Cost of Living Summary
Des Moines is 16.0% cheaper than Birmingham.
Des Moines vs. Birmingham Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Des Moines instead of Birmingham, you would:
pay 19.5% more for restaurants
|
Birmingham
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.50
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.70
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$2.49
|
|
Birmingham vs. Des Moines - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.3% less for groceries
|
Birmingham
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.04
|
$2.95
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.76
|
$4.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.99
|
$3.38
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.16
|
$3.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.04
|
$4.39
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.94
|
$2.01
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.61
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$3.58
|
$2.01
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.49
|
$1.70
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.92
|
$1.43
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.40
|
$1.00
|
|
Birmingham vs. Des Moines - Cost of groceries
pay 8.3% less for transportation
|
Birmingham
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.71
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$80.00
|
$58.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,617.00
|
$35,052.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.73
|
$11.94
|
|
Birmingham vs. Des Moines - Cost of transportation
pay 29.9% less for housing
|
Birmingham
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.00
|
$71.15
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,706.33
|
$1,161.80
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,224.50
|
$864.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$218.90
|
$143.28
|
|
Birmingham vs. Des Moines - Cost of housing
pay 24.3% less for childcare
|
Birmingham
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,350.00
|
$1,183.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,061.33
|
$11,812.00
|
|
Birmingham vs. Des Moines - Cost of childcare
pay 9.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Birmingham
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.74
|
$6.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.79
|
$8.03
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.00
|
$63.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Birmingham vs. Des Moines - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.9% more for clothing
|
Birmingham
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.50
|
$60.68
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.75
|
$43.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$108.75
|
$103.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$137.25
|
$145.78
|
|
Birmingham vs. Des Moines - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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