Moving to Delaware from Iowa
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Iowa to Delaware — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Iowa to Delaware, you would find that Delaware is 20.6% more expensive than Iowa. A $75,000 salary in Iowa would need to be roughly $90,400 in Delaware to maintain the same lifestyle. Des Moines and Wilmington are about 950 mi apart.
Is Delaware cheaper than Iowa?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 10.9% less
Groceries
pay 11.6% more
Transportation
pay 8.5% more
Housing
pay 47.7% more
Childcare
pay 62.2% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 1.5% 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 Delaware?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $90,400
To maintain the same standard of living in Delaware
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 Delaware cost about 4% less than cities in Iowa.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Iowa and Delaware 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 better than Delaware 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 Delaware leads in adult obesity rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Iowa generally does better on what about housing?, though Delaware leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Iowa generally does better on infrastructure, though Delaware leads in internet access.
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
Delaware 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
Iowa generally does better on family life, though Delaware leads in bachelor's degree or higher.
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 Delaware vs Iowa
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Des Moines | Dover |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 39°/21°F (4°/-6°C) | 48°/31°F (9°/-1°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/52°F (22°/11°C) | 75°/54°F (24°/12°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 82°/62°F (28°/17°C) | 84°/65°F (29°/18°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/31°F (9°/-1°C) | 58°/40°F (15°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Des Moines | Dover |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/14°F (-0.6°/-9.8°C) | 43°/27°F (6.3°/-2.7°C) |
| Feb | 36°/19°F (2.3°/-7.3°C) | 47°/29°F (8.3°/-1.7°C) |
| Mar | 49°/30°F (9.4°/-1.3°C) | 55°/36°F (12.7°/2.0°C) |
| Apr | 62°/41°F (16.8°/5.1°C) | 66°/44°F (18.7°/6.8°C) |
| May | 72°/52°F (22.4°/11.2°C) | 75°/54°F (23.7°/12.1°C) |
| Jun | 82°/62°F (27.6°/16.7°C) | 83°/63°F (28.4°/17.4°C) |
| Jul | 86°/67°F (29.8°/19.3°C) | 87°/68°F (30.6°/20.2°C) |
| Aug | 84°/65°F (28.8°/18.2°C) | 85°/67°F (29.6°/19.4°C) |
| Sep | 76°/55°F (24.5°/12.9°C) | 79°/60°F (26.3°/15.6°C) |
| Oct | 63°/43°F (17.3°/6.1°C) | 69°/49°F (20.4°/9.3°C) |
| Nov | 48°/31°F (8.8°/-0.8°C) | 58°/40°F (14.7°/4.3°C) |
| Dec | 34°/18°F (1.1°/-7.8°C) | 47°/31°F (8.6°/-0.6°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Delaware than Iowa?
Day-to-day costs in Delaware run about 21% higher than Iowa on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Delaware?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $22,600 in Delaware for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Delaware safe?
Iowa performs better than Delaware across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Delaware compared to Iowa?
Iowa generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Delaware leads in adult obesity rate.
What's the weather like in Delaware compared to Iowa?
The average high temperature in Dover is 66°F, compared to 60°F in Des Moines. Dover receives around 46.1 in of rainfall per year, while Des Moines gets 36.0 in.
