Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Des Moines Cost of Living Summary
United States is 19.8% more expensive than Des Moines.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.5% less in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 26.8% more in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 25.4% more in United States
- Housing
-
pay 37.4% more in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 48.9% more in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.4% more in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 1.8% less in United States
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, transportation, and entertainment and sports in United States are more expensive than in Des Moines. Expenses including clothing and restaurants are lower in United States.
United States vs. Des Moines Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Des Moines, you would:
pay 0.5% less for restaurants
|
Des Moines
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.00
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.15
|
$2.00
|
|
Des Moines vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.8% more for groceries
|
Des Moines
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.03
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.36
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.56
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.61
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.67
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.77
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.66
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.59
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.75
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.36
|
$1.38
|
|
Des Moines vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 25.4% more for transportation
|
Des Moines
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.93
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$58.00
|
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,000.00
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$11.94
|
$17.61
|
|
Des Moines vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 37.4% more for housing
|
Des Moines
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.86
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,214.00
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$912.50
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$108.83
|
$150.19
|
|
Des Moines vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 48.9% more for childcare
|
Des Moines
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,369.17
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,812.00
|
$23,196.46
|
|
Des Moines vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 2.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Des Moines
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.47
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.14
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.67
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$13.64
|
|
Des Moines vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.8% less for clothing
|
Des Moines
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.67
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.00
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$73.00
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$138.33
|
$112.04
|
|
Des Moines vs. United States - 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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