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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Families relocating within Iowa face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. We ran the numbers on 2 cities. Des Moines — index 67, rent $1,141/mo, healthcare index 93 — ranks #1 on our family-weighted model (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
#1 Ranked: Des Moines — cost index 67, rent $1,141/mo, income $63,966
Family-weighted scoring: income $63,966, healthcare index 93, population 210,381 — balancing career, care, and schools
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Families relocating within Iowa face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. We ran the numbers on 2 cities. Des Moines — index 67, rent $1,141/mo, healthcare index 93 — ranks #1 on our family-weighted model (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
Des Moines earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 67 cost index sits 44 points below the national baseline, and the $63,966 median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $204,843 — $262,527 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 67, while Healthcare trails at 93.
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 (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Moines | 67 | $1,141 | Details |
| 2 | Cedar Rapids | 68 | $1,158 | Details |
210,381 residents · Iowa
Why Des Moines ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 67 on the cost index, residents save roughly 44% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,141/month — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — while the median household pulls in $63,966/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 67, though Healthcare (93) lags behind. Home prices average $204,843 — $262,527 below the national median.
135,958 residents · Iowa
The #2 spot goes to Cedar Rapids, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,158/month — saving renters $8,844 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 68, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 94. At a 20% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to families. 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 families 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.