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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Living alone means bearing 100% of every bill. We ranked 2 cities in Iowa for singles, weighting rent, overall costs, and city size. Des Moines leads: rent $1,141/mo, index 88, population 210,381.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Moines | 88 | $1,141 | Details |
| 2 | Cedar Rapids | 88 | $1,158 | Details |
#1 Ranked: Des Moines — cost index 88, rent $1,141/mo, income $63,966
Singles scoring: rent $1,141/mo (solo housing), cost index 88, population 210,381 — livability on one income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Living alone means bearing 100% of every bill. We ranked 2 cities in Iowa for singles, weighting rent, overall costs, and city size. Des Moines leads: rent $1,141/mo, index 88, population 210,381.
Why Des Moines ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 88 on the cost index, residents save roughly 24% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,141/month — for better or worse — while the median household pulls in $63,966/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 69, though Healthcare (90) lags behind. Home prices average $204,843 — $262,527 below the national median.
Single-income living means absorbing 100% of housing costs. And as far as the data shows, our model weights rent under $1,300 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — (20pts), cost of living (15pts), and city population (10pts) — because a social scene matters when you're on your own. Des Moines at $1,141/mo in a city of 210,381 hits the right balance. Cedar Rapids offers a larger city as a runner-up.
What you won't find on most comparison sites: State context matters: Iowa's 2 cities average a 88 cost index with $1,150/month median rent and $65,913 household income. Midwest stability with bargain-level costs. What the trend analysis reveals: one of these cities is moving in the wrong direction.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. And broadly, the difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
210,381 residents · Iowa
Dive into Des Moines's numbers: cost index 88 (24 points below national average), rent $1,141/month, income $63,966, and a home price of $204,843. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 69, while Healthcare runs 90. With 210,381 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
135,958 residents · Iowa
The #2 spot goes to Cedar Rapids, and the breakdown explains why. And from what we can tell, renters here pay $1,158/month — saving renters $8,844 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 70, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 90. At a 20% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to singles. Each factor contributes 10-25 points to a 0-100 composite score. Cities with the highest composite rank first. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Des Moines ranks #1 in Iowa for this analysis with a cost index of 88 and median income of $63,966.
Des Moines scores highest for singles due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,141/mo, and competitive median income of $63,966.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Des Moines (ranked #1) has a cost index of 88 and rent of $1,141/mo, while Cedar Rapids (ranked #2) has a cost index of 88 and rent of $1,158/mo — a 0-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Des Moines is $1,141/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $754 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Des Moines is $204,843, which is 3.2× the local median income. That's within the standard 3.5× affordability rule for most local earners. The national median home price is $467,370.
Iowa has a 5.7% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 6.94%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.43%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.