Moving to Iowa from Oregon
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Oregon to Iowa — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Oregon to Iowa, you would find that Iowa is 15.1% cheaper than Oregon. A $75,000 salary in Oregon would need to be roughly $63,700 in Iowa to maintain the same lifestyle. Portland and Des Moines are about 1,450 mi apart.
Is Iowa cheaper than Oregon?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 2.7% less
Groceries
pay 9.1% less
Transportation
pay 21.8% less
Housing
pay 27.1% less
Childcare
pay 6.0% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.3% 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 → $63,700
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 9% less than cities in Oregon.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Oregon to Iowa.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Iowa performs significantly better than Oregon 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
Oregon 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 Oregon across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Oregon 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
Iowa generally does better on employment & economy, though Oregon leads in median household income.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Oregon 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 Oregon
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Portland | Des Moines |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 36°/18°F (2°/-8°C) | 39°/21°F (4°/-6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 63°/44°F (17°/7°C) | 72°/52°F (22°/11°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 76°/56°F (24°/13°C) | 82°/62°F (28°/17°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 48°/30°F (9°/-1°C) | 48°/31°F (9°/-1°C) |
View all months
| Month | Portland | Des Moines |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/13°F (-0.4°/-10.3°C) | 31°/14°F (-0.6°/-9.8°C) |
| Feb | 35°/16°F (1.4°/-8.7°C) | 36°/19°F (2.3°/-7.3°C) |
| Mar | 42°/25°F (5.6°/-3.9°C) | 49°/30°F (9.4°/-1.3°C) |
| Apr | 53°/35°F (11.8°/1.5°C) | 62°/41°F (16.8°/5.1°C) |
| May | 64°/44°F (17.5°/6.8°C) | 72°/52°F (22.4°/11.2°C) |
| Jun | 73°/54°F (22.9°/12.0°C) | 82°/62°F (27.6°/16.7°C) |
| Jul | 79°/59°F (26.0°/15.2°C) | 86°/67°F (29.8°/19.3°C) |
| Aug | 78°/58°F (25.4°/14.6°C) | 84°/65°F (28.8°/18.2°C) |
| Sep | 70°/50°F (21.1°/10.2°C) | 76°/55°F (24.5°/12.9°C) |
| Oct | 59°/39°F (14.8°/3.8°C) | 63°/43°F (17.3°/6.1°C) |
| Nov | 48°/31°F (8.9°/-0.6°C) | 48°/31°F (8.8°/-0.8°C) |
| Dec | 37°/20°F (2.9°/-6.4°C) | 34°/18°F (1.1°/-7.8°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Iowa than Oregon?
Yes — Iowa is on average about 15% cheaper than Oregon. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Iowa?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $15,925 in Iowa on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Iowa safe?
Iowa performs significantly better than Oregon across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Iowa compared to Oregon?
Oregon generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Iowa leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Iowa compared to Oregon?
The average high temperature in Des Moines is 60°F, compared to 56°F in Portland. Des Moines receives around 36.0 in of rainfall per year, while Portland gets 47.2 in.
