Cost of living comparison
compared to
Des Moines vs. London Cost of Living Summary
Des Moines is 29.3% cheaper than London.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.0% less in Des Moines
- Groceries
-
pay 3.9% more in Des Moines
- Transportation
-
pay 57.1% less in Des Moines
- Housing
-
pay 36.0% less in Des Moines
- Childcare
-
pay 51.7% less in Des Moines
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 24.2% less in Des Moines
- Clothing
-
pay 32.1% less in Des Moines
Expenses including transportation, childcare, housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Des Moines.
Des Moines vs. London Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Des Moines instead of London, you would:
pay 8.0% less for restaurants
|
London
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$26.73
£19.99
|
$17.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.02
£8.24
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.12
£2.33
|
$2.61
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.93
£1.44
|
$2.15
|
|
London vs. Des Moines - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.9% more for groceries
|
London
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.16
£1.61
|
$3.03
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.54
£4.14
|
$6.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.58
£4.92
|
$3.56
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
£3.75
|
$3.61
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.95
£2.95
|
$3.67
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.53
£1.14
|
$1.77
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.83
£0.62
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.44
£1.07
|
$1.66
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.64
£1.23
|
$1.59
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.76
£0.57
|
$0.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.83
£0.62
|
$1.36
|
|
London vs. Des Moines - Cost of groceries
pay 57.1% less for transportation
|
London
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.12
£5.33
|
$2.93
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$240.54
£179.89
|
$58.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,798.76
£28,267.08
|
$26,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$31.75
£23.74
|
$11.94
|
|
London vs. Des Moines - Cost of transportation
pay 36.0% less for housing
|
London
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$42.83
£32.03
|
$57.86
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,083.09
£2,305.63
|
$1,214.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,340.14
£1,750.03
|
$912.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$255.85
£191.33
|
$108.83
|
|
London vs. Des Moines - Cost of housing
pay 51.7% less for childcare
|
London
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,480.84
£1,855.25
|
$1,369.17
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,512.27
£21,322.36
|
$11,812.00
|
|
London vs. Des Moines - Cost of childcare
pay 24.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
London
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.69
£6.50
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.21
£3.90
|
$5.47
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$22.72
£16.99
|
$7.14
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$64.95
£48.57
|
$71.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.05
£14.99
|
$15.00
|
|
London vs. Des Moines - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 32.1% less for clothing
|
London
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$116.11
£86.83
|
$56.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$52.02
£38.90
|
$41.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$125.96
£94.20
|
$73.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$160.88
£120.31
|
$138.33
|
|
London 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: December 2025
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