Cost of living comparison
compared to
New York City vs. Des Moines Cost of Living Summary
New York City is 91.6% more expensive than Des Moines.
- Restaurants
-
pay 23.7% more in New York City
- Groceries
-
pay 71.3% more in New York City
- Transportation
-
pay 68.3% more in New York City
- Housing
-
pay 2.2 times more in New York City
- Childcare
-
pay 3.6 times more in New York City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 74.6% more in New York City
- Clothing
-
pay 30.4% more in New York City
New York City vs. Des Moines Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New York City instead of Des Moines, you would:
pay 23.7% more for restaurants
|
Des Moines
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
|
$3.09
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.15
|
$2.61
|
|
Des Moines vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants
pay 71.3% more for groceries
|
Des Moines
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.03
|
$4.75
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.36
|
$8.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.56
|
$6.05
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.61
|
$7.20
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.67
|
$7.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.77
|
$3.29
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$1.08
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.66
|
$2.60
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.59
|
$2.68
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.75
|
$1.63
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.36
|
$1.78
|
|
Des Moines vs. New York City - Cost of groceries
pay 68.3% more for transportation
|
Des Moines
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.93
|
$3.47
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$58.00
|
$132.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,000.00
|
$36,344.69
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$11.94
|
$22.39
|
|
Des Moines vs. New York City - Cost of transportation
pay 2.2 times more for housing
|
Des Moines
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.86
|
$67.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,214.00
|
$4,037.06
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$912.50
|
$2,496.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$108.83
|
$151.98
|
|
Des Moines vs. New York City - Cost of housing
pay 3.6 times more for childcare
|
Des Moines
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,369.17
|
$3,154.10
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,812.00
|
$57,250.00
|
|
Des Moines vs. New York City - Cost of childcare
pay 74.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Des Moines
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.47
|
$5.71
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.14
|
$19.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.67
|
$150.04
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$20.00
|
|
Des Moines vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 30.4% more for clothing
|
Des Moines
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.67
|
$67.80
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.00
|
$49.94
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$73.00
|
$115.58
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$138.33
|
$168.76
|
|
Des Moines vs. New York City - 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: June 2026
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