Cost of living comparison
compared to
Des Moines vs. Lawrence Cost of Living Summary
Des Moines is 5.7% more expensive than Lawrence.
Des Moines vs. Lawrence Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Des Moines instead of Lawrence, you would:
pay 11.2% more for restaurants
|
Lawrence
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$17.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.00
|
$2.61
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.73
|
$2.15
|
|
Lawrence vs. Des Moines - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.4% less for groceries
|
Lawrence
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.87
|
$3.03
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.64
|
$6.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.15
|
$3.56
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.28
|
$3.61
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.36
|
$3.67
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.87
|
$1.77
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.03
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.22
|
$1.66
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.69
|
$1.59
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.82
|
$0.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.21
|
$1.36
|
|
Lawrence vs. Des Moines - Cost of groceries
pay 22.9% more for transportation
|
Lawrence
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.90
|
$2.93
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$25.00
|
$58.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,808.86
|
$26,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.89
|
$11.94
|
|
Lawrence vs. Des Moines - Cost of transportation
pay 14.6% less for housing
|
Lawrence
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$64.75
|
$57.86
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,080.00
|
$1,214.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,025.00
|
$912.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$214.12
|
$108.83
|
|
Lawrence vs. Des Moines - Cost of housing
pay 1.4% less for childcare
|
Lawrence
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$917.50
|
$1,369.17
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,673.50
|
$11,812.00
|
|
Lawrence vs. Des Moines - Cost of childcare
pay 14.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Lawrence
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.50
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.12
|
$5.47
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.85
|
$7.14
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$45.00
|
$71.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Lawrence vs. Des Moines - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.7% more for clothing
|
Lawrence
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.38
|
$56.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$35.00
|
$41.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$85.00
|
$73.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$90.00
|
$138.33
|
|
Lawrence vs. Des Moines - 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: July 2026
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