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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Young professionals don't just need cheap — they need opportunity. We scored 2 cities across Iowa on income, market size, and transport costs. Des Moines ($63,966 median income, 210,381 people) ranks #1 for 2026.
#1 Ranked: Des Moines — cost index 88, rent $1,141/mo, income $63,966
Young-professional scoring: income $63,966, population 210,381 (job market depth), transport index 83
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Young professionals don't just need cheap — they need opportunity. We scored 2 cities across Iowa on income, market size, and transport costs. Des Moines ($63,966 median income, 210,381 people) ranks #1 for 2026.
Des Moines is one of the cheaper options here. Rent is $1,141/month, which is lower than most cities in this ranking. The cost index is 88. Income sits at $63,966. It lines up with what you'd expect.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Moines | 88 | $1,141 | Details |
| 2 | Cedar Rapids | 88 | $1,158 | Details |
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. It's fine. Not great, not bad. 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
Here's Cedar Rapids by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 88. Rent: $1,158/month. Income: $67,859/year. Home price: $204,214. Population: 135,958. The strongest category is Housing at 70; the most expensive is Healthcare at 90. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $8,844 per year vs. the national median. If you're debt-free, those savings go straight to building wealth.
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 young professionals 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.