Moving to Iowa from Arkansas
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Arkansas to Iowa — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Arkansas to Iowa, you would find that Iowa is 0.6% more expensive than Arkansas. A $75,000 salary in Arkansas would need to be roughly $75,500 in Iowa to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Des Moines averages 60°F vs 72°F in Little Rock, making it significantly cooler. Little Rock and Des Moines are about 480 mi apart.
Is Iowa cheaper than Arkansas?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 4.5% less
Groceries
pay 6.4% more
Transportation
pay 5.2% more
Housing
pay 7.1% less
Childcare
pay 10.3% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 15.7% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Iowa?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $75,500
To maintain the same standard of living in Iowa
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Iowa cost about 3% more than cities in Arkansas.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Arkansas and Iowa stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Iowa performs significantly better than Arkansas across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Iowa generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Arkansas leads in adult obesity rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Arkansas generally does better on what about housing?, though Iowa leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Iowa performs significantly better than Arkansas across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Iowa performs significantly better than Arkansas across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Iowa performs significantly better than Arkansas across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Iowa vs Arkansas
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Little Rock | Des Moines |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 56°/38°F (13°/3°C) | 39°/21°F (4°/-6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 80°/61°F (27°/16°C) | 72°/52°F (22°/11°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/70°F (32°/21°C) | 82°/62°F (28°/17°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 62°/44°F (17°/7°C) | 48°/31°F (9°/-1°C) |
View all months
| Month | Little Rock | Des Moines |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49°/33°F (9.7°/0.4°C) | 31°/14°F (-0.6°/-9.8°C) |
| Feb | 54°/36°F (12.4°/2.4°C) | 36°/19°F (2.3°/-7.3°C) |
| Mar | 64°/44°F (17.6°/6.8°C) | 49°/30°F (9.4°/-1.3°C) |
| Apr | 73°/53°F (22.7°/11.6°C) | 62°/41°F (16.8°/5.1°C) |
| May | 80°/62°F (26.8°/16.4°C) | 72°/52°F (22.4°/11.2°C) |
| Jun | 88°/69°F (31.2°/20.7°C) | 82°/62°F (27.6°/16.7°C) |
| Jul | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) | 86°/67°F (29.8°/19.3°C) |
| Aug | 92°/72°F (33.3°/22.2°C) | 84°/65°F (28.8°/18.2°C) |
| Sep | 84°/65°F (29.1°/18.1°C) | 76°/55°F (24.5°/12.9°C) |
| Oct | 73°/54°F (23.0°/12.3°C) | 63°/43°F (17.3°/6.1°C) |
| Nov | 62°/44°F (16.5°/6.6°C) | 48°/31°F (8.8°/-0.8°C) |
| Dec | 51°/35°F (10.7°/1.7°C) | 34°/18°F (1.1°/-7.8°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Iowa than Arkansas?
Headline costs are within a few percent between Iowa and Arkansas; rent and dining are where you'll actually feel differences.
How much money do I need to move to Iowa?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $18,875 in Iowa for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Iowa safe?
Iowa performs significantly better than Arkansas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Iowa compared to Arkansas?
Iowa generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Arkansas leads in adult obesity rate.
What's the weather like in Iowa compared to Arkansas?
The average high temperature in Des Moines is 60°F, compared to 72°F in Little Rock. Des Moines receives around 36.0 in of rainfall per year, while Little Rock gets 50.0 in.
