Moving to Iowa from New Hampshire
What to Expect
Considering a move from New Hampshire to Iowa? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from New Hampshire to Iowa, you would find that Iowa is 22.5% cheaper than New Hampshire. A $75,000 salary in New Hampshire would need to be roughly $58,100 in Iowa to maintain the same lifestyle. Manchester and Des Moines are about 1,150 mi apart.
Is Iowa cheaper than New Hampshire?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 7.2% less
Groceries
pay 19.8% less
Transportation
pay 16.0% less
Housing
pay 39.1% less
Childcare
pay 13.1% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.5% 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 Iowa?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $58,100
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 13% less than cities in New Hampshire.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Iowa compared to New Hampshire.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
New Hampshire performs better than Iowa 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
New Hampshire 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 generally does better on what about housing?, though New Hampshire leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
New Hampshire 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
New Hampshire performs better than Iowa 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
New Hampshire performs better than Iowa 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 New Hampshire
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Manchester | Des Moines |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 38°/21°F (4°/-6°C) | 39°/21°F (4°/-6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) | 72°/52°F (22°/11°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 79°/59°F (26°/15°C) | 82°/62°F (28°/17°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 50°/32°F (10°/0°C) | 48°/31°F (9°/-1°C) |
View all months
| Month | Manchester | Des Moines |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33°/16°F (0.6°/-9.1°C) | 31°/14°F (-0.6°/-9.8°C) |
| Feb | 37°/19°F (2.7°/-7.2°C) | 36°/19°F (2.3°/-7.3°C) |
| Mar | 45°/27°F (7.2°/-2.7°C) | 49°/30°F (9.4°/-1.3°C) |
| Apr | 58°/37°F (14.2°/2.8°C) | 62°/41°F (16.8°/5.1°C) |
| May | 69°/47°F (20.4°/8.6°C) | 72°/52°F (22.4°/11.2°C) |
| Jun | 78°/57°F (25.3°/13.7°C) | 82°/62°F (27.6°/16.7°C) |
| Jul | 82°/63°F (28.0°/17.1°C) | 86°/67°F (29.8°/19.3°C) |
| Aug | 81°/61°F (27.2°/16.1°C) | 84°/65°F (28.8°/18.2°C) |
| Sep | 73°/53°F (22.6°/11.4°C) | 76°/55°F (24.5°/12.9°C) |
| Oct | 61°/41°F (16.1°/4.8°C) | 63°/43°F (17.3°/6.1°C) |
| Nov | 50°/33°F (9.9°/0.6°C) | 48°/31°F (8.8°/-0.8°C) |
| Dec | 38°/22°F (3.4°/-5.3°C) | 34°/18°F (1.1°/-7.8°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Iowa than New Hampshire?
On average Iowa is about 23% less expensive than New Hampshire, with major cities narrowing the gap.
How much money do I need to move to Iowa?
Budget about $14,525 for 3 months in Iowa (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Iowa safe?
New Hampshire performs better than Iowa across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Iowa compared to New Hampshire?
New Hampshire generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Iowa leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Iowa compared to New Hampshire?
The average high temperature in Des Moines is 60°F, compared to 59°F in Manchester. Des Moines receives around 36.0 in of rainfall per year, while Manchester gets 44.6 in.
