Cost of living comparison
compared to
Madison vs. Des Moines Cost of Living Summary
Madison is 27.8% more expensive than Des Moines.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.8% less in Madison
- Groceries
-
pay 28.2% more in Madison
- Transportation
-
pay 27.6% more in Madison
- Housing
-
pay 45.2% more in Madison
- Childcare
-
pay 63.6% more in Madison
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 12.8% more in Madison
- Clothing
-
pay 18.0% more in Madison
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, transportation, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Madison are more expensive than in Des Moines.
Madison vs. Des Moines Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Madison instead of Des Moines, you would:
pay 0.8% less for restaurants
|
Des Moines
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.00
|
$15.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
|
$2.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.15
|
$2.25
|
|
Des Moines vs. Madison - Cost of restaurants
pay 28.2% more for groceries
|
Des Moines
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.03
|
$3.90
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.36
|
$7.49
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.56
|
$3.49
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.61
|
$4.13
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.67
|
$5.56
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.77
|
$2.02
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$0.69
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.66
|
$2.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.59
|
$2.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.75
|
$1.24
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.36
|
$1.40
|
|
Des Moines vs. Madison - Cost of groceries
pay 27.6% more for transportation
|
Des Moines
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.93
|
$3.12
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$58.00
|
$62.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,000.00
|
$29,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$11.94
|
$21.90
|
|
Des Moines vs. Madison - Cost of transportation
pay 45.2% more for housing
|
Des Moines
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.86
|
$72.85
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,214.00
|
$1,713.42
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$912.50
|
$1,488.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$108.83
|
$163.91
|
|
Des Moines vs. Madison - Cost of housing
pay 63.6% more for childcare
|
Des Moines
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,369.17
|
$1,628.82
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,812.00
|
$24,601.00
|
|
Des Moines vs. Madison - Cost of childcare
pay 12.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Des Moines
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$6.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.47
|
$5.54
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.14
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.67
|
$57.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Des Moines vs. Madison - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.0% more for clothing
|
Des Moines
|
Madison
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.67
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.00
|
$48.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$73.00
|
$103.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$138.33
|
$124.00
|
|
Des Moines vs. Madison - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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