Cost of living comparison
compared to
Milwaukee vs. Des Moines Cost of Living Summary
Milwaukee is 19.1% more expensive than Des Moines.
Milwaukee vs. Des Moines Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Milwaukee instead of Des Moines, you would:
pay 3.2% more for restaurants
|
Des Moines
|
Milwaukee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.00
|
$18.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
|
$3.12
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.15
|
$2.17
|
|
Des Moines vs. Milwaukee - Cost of restaurants
pay 13.0% more for groceries
|
Des Moines
|
Milwaukee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.03
|
$3.84
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.36
|
$4.79
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.56
|
$3.04
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.61
|
$4.41
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.67
|
$5.99
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.77
|
$2.20
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$0.52
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.66
|
$2.08
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.59
|
$2.20
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.75
|
$0.98
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.36
|
$0.97
|
|
Des Moines vs. Milwaukee - Cost of groceries
pay 23.5% more for transportation
|
Des Moines
|
Milwaukee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.93
|
$3.01
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$58.00
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,000.00
|
$35,524.95
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$11.94
|
$15.60
|
|
Des Moines vs. Milwaukee - Cost of transportation
pay 26.6% more for housing
|
Des Moines
|
Milwaukee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.86
|
$69.43
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,214.00
|
$1,578.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$912.50
|
$1,210.60
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$108.83
|
$134.38
|
|
Des Moines vs. Milwaukee - Cost of housing
pay 69.0% more for childcare
|
Des Moines
|
Milwaukee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,369.17
|
$1,821.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,812.00
|
$24,200.00
|
|
Des Moines vs. Milwaukee - Cost of childcare
pay 5.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Des Moines
|
Milwaukee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.47
|
$5.09
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.14
|
$10.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.67
|
$59.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$14.72
|
|
Des Moines vs. Milwaukee - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.9% less for clothing
|
Des Moines
|
Milwaukee
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.67
|
$43.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.00
|
$45.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$73.00
|
$80.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$138.33
|
$105.00
|
|
Des Moines vs. Milwaukee - 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: October 2026
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