Moving to Iowa from Illinois
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Illinois to Iowa — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Illinois to Iowa, you would find that Iowa is 12.8% cheaper than Illinois. A $75,000 salary in Illinois would need to be roughly $65,400 in Iowa to maintain the same lifestyle. Chicago and Des Moines are about 310 mi apart.
Is Iowa cheaper than Illinois?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 1.5% more
Groceries
pay 7.5% less
Transportation
pay 21.0% less
Housing
pay 19.0% less
Childcare
pay 17.5% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 1.3% 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 → $65,400
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% less than cities in Illinois.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Illinois 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 Illinois 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
Illinois generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Iowa leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Iowa performs significantly better than Illinois across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Illinois generally does better on infrastructure, though Iowa leads in average commute.
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
Illinois generally does better on employment & economy, though Iowa leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Illinois generally does better on family life, though Iowa leads in life expectancy.
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 Illinois
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Chicago | Des Moines |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 38°/22°F (3°/-6°C) | 39°/21°F (4°/-6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 70°/48°F (21°/9°C) | 72°/52°F (22°/11°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 80°/60°F (27°/16°C) | 82°/62°F (28°/17°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/32°F (9°/0°C) | 48°/31°F (9°/-1°C) |
View all months
| Month | Chicago | Des Moines |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/17°F (-0.6°/-8.6°C) | 31°/14°F (-0.6°/-9.8°C) |
| Feb | 35°/20°F (1.8°/-6.6°C) | 36°/19°F (2.3°/-7.3°C) |
| Mar | 47°/29°F (8.1°/-1.6°C) | 49°/30°F (9.4°/-1.3°C) |
| Apr | 59°/39°F (15.0°/3.8°C) | 62°/41°F (16.8°/5.1°C) |
| May | 70°/48°F (21.1°/9.1°C) | 72°/52°F (22.4°/11.2°C) |
| Jun | 80°/58°F (26.5°/14.5°C) | 82°/62°F (27.6°/16.7°C) |
| Jul | 84°/64°F (28.9°/17.7°C) | 86°/67°F (29.8°/19.3°C) |
| Aug | 82°/63°F (27.7°/17.2°C) | 84°/65°F (28.8°/18.2°C) |
| Sep | 75°/54°F (23.8°/12.4°C) | 76°/55°F (24.5°/12.9°C) |
| Oct | 62°/43°F (16.8°/6.0°C) | 63°/43°F (17.3°/6.1°C) |
| Nov | 48°/32°F (9.0°/0.2°C) | 48°/31°F (8.8°/-0.8°C) |
| Dec | 35°/21°F (1.6°/-6.3°C) | 34°/18°F (1.1°/-7.8°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Iowa than Illinois?
Generally yes: Iowa runs about 13% cheaper than Illinois on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
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 $16,350 in Iowa for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Iowa safe?
Iowa performs significantly better than Illinois across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Iowa compared to Illinois?
Illinois generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Iowa leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Iowa compared to Illinois?
The average high temperature in Des Moines is 60°F, compared to 59°F in Chicago. Des Moines receives around 36.0 in of rainfall per year, while Chicago gets 36.9 in.
