Cost of living comparison
compared to
Des Moines vs. San Francisco Cost of Living Summary
Des Moines is 43.5% cheaper than San Francisco.
Des Moines vs. San Francisco Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Des Moines instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 20.5% less for restaurants
|
San Francisco
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$27.15
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.16
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.70
|
$2.49
|
|
San Francisco vs. Des Moines - Cost of restaurants
pay 33.5% less for groceries
|
San Francisco
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.31
|
$2.95
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.16
|
$4.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.63
|
$3.38
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.93
|
$3.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.99
|
$4.39
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.78
|
$2.01
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$2.01
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.11
|
$1.70
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$1.43
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$1.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. Des Moines - Cost of groceries
pay 29.4% less for transportation
|
San Francisco
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.78
|
$3.71
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$95.00
|
$58.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,998.00
|
$35,052.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.39
|
$11.94
|
|
San Francisco vs. Des Moines - Cost of transportation
pay 60.7% less for housing
|
San Francisco
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$76.29
|
$71.15
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,735.00
|
$1,161.80
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,618.75
|
$864.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$164.32
|
$143.28
|
|
San Francisco vs. Des Moines - Cost of housing
pay 66.6% less for childcare
|
San Francisco
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,942.94
|
$1,183.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,562.50
|
$11,812.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. Des Moines - Cost of childcare
pay 28.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Francisco
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.97
|
$6.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$8.03
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$121.54
|
$63.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$15.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. Des Moines - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.1% less for clothing
|
San Francisco
|
Des Moines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.17
|
$60.68
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.67
|
$43.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$101.08
|
$103.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$138.64
|
$145.78
|
|
San Francisco vs. Des Moines - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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