Des Moines vs. Naperville Cost of Living Summary

Des Moines is 13.7% cheaper than Naperville.

Restaurants
pay 18.4% more in Des Moines
Groceries
pay 0.3% more in Des Moines
Transportation
pay 18.6% less in Des Moines
Housing
pay 36.0% less in Des Moines
Childcare
pay 14.1% less in Des Moines
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.0% less in Des Moines
Clothing
pay 58.4% more in Des Moines

The cost of clothing, restaurants, and groceries in Des Moines are more expensive than in Naperville. Expenses including housing, transportation, childcare, and entertainment and sports are lower in Des Moines.

Des Moines vs. Naperville Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Des Moines instead of Naperville, you would:

pay 18.4% more for restaurants

 
Naperville
Des Moines
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.00
 
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.00
 
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.95
 
$3.00
 

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pay 0.3% more for groceries

 
Naperville
Des Moines
Bread
1 loaf
$2.81
 
$2.95
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.86
 
$4.77
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.02
 
$3.38
 

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pay 18.6% less for transportation

 
Naperville
Des Moines
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.99
 
$3.71
 
Monthly public transit pass $129.00
 
$58.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $24,500.00
 
$35,052.00
 

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pay 36.0% less for housing

 
Naperville
Des Moines
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$51.25
 
$71.15
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,012.25
 
$1,161.80
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,637.50
 
$864.75
 

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pay 14.1% less for childcare

 
Naperville
Des Moines
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,500.00
 
$1,183.50
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,631.67
 
$11,812.00
 

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pay 2.0% less for entertainment and sports

 
Naperville
Des Moines
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.00
 
$5.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.33
 
$6.00
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.99
 
$8.03
 

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pay 58.4% more for clothing

 
Naperville
Des Moines
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$56.67
 
$60.68
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$25.00
 
$43.33
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$88.50
 
$103.00
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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