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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The nomad equation: maximize runway between payments. We scored 2 cities across Iowa for cost, utilities, and rent. Des Moines (index 67, rent $1,141/mo) is the top pick for 2026.
The nomad equation: maximize runway between payments. We scored 2 cities across Iowa for cost, utilities, and rent. Des Moines (index 67, rent $1,141/mo) is the top pick for 2026.
In plain English: Dive into Des Moines's numbers: cost index 67 (44 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 67, while Healthcare runs 93. With 210,381 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs. There's an argument to be made — and I think the data supports it — that the cities getting all the attention right now are exactly the wrong places to move. The spotlight drives migration, migration drives demand, demand drives costs, and eventually the value proposition disappears. Meanwhile, cities like this one keep quietly being affordable, and the people who find them early are the ones who benefit most.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. 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 (that's pre-tax, of course).
#1 Ranked: Des Moines — cost index 67, rent $1,141/mo, income $63,966
Digital-nomad scoring: cost index 67, utilities 90, rent $1,141/mo — minimum monthly burn rate
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Moines | 67 | $1,141 | Details |
| 2 | Cedar Rapids | 68 | $1,158 | Details |
210,381 residents · Iowa
Here's Des Moines by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). And roughly speaking, cost index: 67. Rent: $1,141/month. Income: $63,966/year. Home price: $204,843. Population: 210,381. The strongest category is Housing at 67; the most expensive is Healthcare at 93. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $9,048 per year vs. the national median. When healthcare costs are this low, the savings ripple across every other category.
135,958 residents · Iowa
At $1,158/month for rent and a cost index of 68, Cedar Rapids is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. Income is $67,859. It lines up with what you'd expect.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to digital nomads. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Iowa by this personalized metric. 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 67 and median income of $63,966.
Des Moines scores highest for digital nomads 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 67 and rent of $1,141/mo, while Cedar Rapids (ranked #2) has a cost index of 68 and rent of $1,158/mo — a 1-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.