Moving to Texas from Iowa
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Iowa to Texas — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Iowa to Texas, you would find that Texas is 10.6% more expensive than Iowa. A $75,000 salary in Iowa would need to be roughly $82,900 in Texas to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Houston averages 80°F vs 60°F in Des Moines, making it significantly warmer. Des Moines and Houston are about 820 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to Texas? Get a shortlist of towns in Texas that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is Texas cheaper than Iowa?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 2.7% more
Groceries
pay 2.5% more
Transportation
pay 20.4% more
Housing
pay 19.4% more
Childcare
pay 17.3% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.2% less
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 Texas?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $82,900
To maintain the same standard of living in Texas
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 Texas cost about 5% more than cities in Iowa.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Iowa to Texas.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Iowa performs better than Texas 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 Texas 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 performs better than Texas across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Iowa generally does better on infrastructure, though Texas 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
Iowa generally does better on employment & economy, though Texas leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Iowa performs better than Texas 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 Texas vs Iowa
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Des Moines | Houston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 39°/21°F (4°/-6°C) | 67°/48°F (20°/9°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/52°F (22°/11°C) | 86°/67°F (30°/19°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 82°/62°F (28°/17°C) | 93°/73°F (34°/23°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/31°F (9°/-1°C) | 73°/53°F (23°/11°C) |
View all months
| Month | Des Moines | Houston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/14°F (-0.6°/-9.8°C) | 63°/43°F (17.2°/6.2°C) |
| Feb | 36°/19°F (2.3°/-7.3°C) | 66°/47°F (19.1°/8.1°C) |
| Mar | 49°/30°F (9.4°/-1.3°C) | 73°/53°F (22.8°/11.4°C) |
| Apr | 62°/41°F (16.8°/5.1°C) | 80°/59°F (26.4°/15.2°C) |
| May | 72°/52°F (22.4°/11.2°C) | 86°/68°F (30.2°/19.8°C) |
| Jun | 82°/62°F (27.6°/16.7°C) | 91°/73°F (33.0°/22.9°C) |
| Jul | 86°/67°F (29.8°/19.3°C) | 94°/75°F (34.3°/23.9°C) |
| Aug | 84°/65°F (28.8°/18.2°C) | 94°/75°F (34.7°/23.8°C) |
| Sep | 76°/55°F (24.5°/12.9°C) | 90°/70°F (32.1°/21.0°C) |
| Oct | 63°/43°F (17.3°/6.1°C) | 82°/61°F (27.8°/16.1°C) |
| Nov | 48°/31°F (8.8°/-0.8°C) | 72°/52°F (22.5°/11.2°C) |
| Dec | 34°/18°F (1.1°/-7.8°C) | 64°/45°F (17.9°/7.0°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Texas than Iowa?
No — Texas is on average about 11% more expensive than Iowa. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Texas?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $20,725 in Texas on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Texas safe?
Iowa performs better than Texas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Texas compared to Iowa?
Iowa generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Texas leads in adult obesity rate.
What's the weather like in Texas compared to Iowa?
The average high temperature in Houston is 80°F, compared to 60°F in Des Moines. Houston receives around 49.8 in of rainfall per year, while Des Moines gets 36.0 in.
