Cost of living comparison
compared to
Des Moines vs. Paris Cost of Living Summary
Des Moines is 15.2% cheaper than Paris.
- Restaurants
-
pay 22.4% less in Des Moines
- Groceries
-
pay 18.4% less in Des Moines
- Transportation
-
pay 48.0% less in Des Moines
- Housing
-
pay 10.4% less in Des Moines
- Childcare
-
pay 26.9% more in Des Moines
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.6% less in Des Moines
- Clothing
-
pay 29.3% less in Des Moines
Expenses including transportation, clothing, restaurants, groceries, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Des Moines.
Des Moines vs. Paris Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Des Moines instead of Paris, you would:
pay 22.4% less for restaurants
|
Paris
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.52
€14.93
|
$17.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.02
€11.94
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$4.24
€3.62
|
$2.61
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.24
€2.76
|
$2.15
|
|
Paris vs. Des Moines - Cost of restaurants
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pay 18.4% less for groceries
|
Paris
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.10
€1.79
|
$3.03
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$12.76
€10.87
|
$6.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.95
€5.07
|
$3.56
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.22
€4.45
|
$3.61
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.68
€5.69
|
$3.67
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.64
€1.40
|
$1.77
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.15
€0.98
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.47
€1.25
|
$1.66
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.81
€1.55
|
$1.59
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.21
€1.03
|
$0.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.47
€1.25
|
$1.36
|
|
Paris vs. Des Moines - Cost of groceries
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pay 48.0% less for transportation
|
Paris
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.06
€6.87
|
$2.93
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$103.72
€88.37
|
$58.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,904.00
€30,590.42
|
$26,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$27.70
€23.60
|
$11.94
|
|
Paris vs. Des Moines - Cost of transportation
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pay 10.4% less for housing
|
Paris
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$37.58
€32.02
|
$57.86
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,637.45
€1,395.11
|
$1,214.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,198.19
€1,020.87
|
$912.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$200.70
€171.00
|
$108.83
|
|
Paris vs. Des Moines - Cost of housing
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pay 26.9% more for childcare
|
Paris
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$798.13
€680.01
|
$1,369.17
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,327.34
€12,206.98
|
$11,812.00
|
|
Paris vs. Des Moines - Cost of childcare
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pay 4.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Paris
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.18
€6.97
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.93
€4.20
|
$5.47
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$15.18
€12.94
|
$7.14
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.12
€36.73
|
$71.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.35
€13.93
|
$15.00
|
|
Paris vs. Des Moines - Cost of entertainment and sports
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pay 29.3% less for clothing
|
Paris
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$118.15
€100.67
|
$56.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.25
€41.11
|
$41.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$123.09
€104.87
|
$73.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$152.69
€130.09
|
$138.33
|
|
Paris vs. Des Moines - Cost of clothing
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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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