Boston, MA vs Des Moines, IA
Moving from Boston to Des Moines? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($741,868 → $296,070 median home) and taxes.
Boston vs Des Moines at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Boston, MA, you'd need about $84,020 in Des Moines, IA (−$15,980).
Livability — Boston, MA: 48 · Des Moines, IA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,146 sqft in Boston vs 2,787 sqft in Des Moines ($436 vs $179 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boston, MA | Des Moines, IA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $38,532 | $15,516 | −$23,016 |
| Groceries | $5,040 | $4,831 | −$208 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $3,150 | −$60 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,500 | −$1,680 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,700 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $17,694 | $10,265 | −$7,428 |
| Total | $69,455 | $36,962 | −$32,493 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boston, MA | Des Moines, IA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.4 | 92.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.02% | 4.14% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 14.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.28 | $5.28 |
| Median home price | $741,868 | $296,070 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $436 | $179 |
| Median rent | $3,211 | $1,293 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 6.94% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | 3.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | 1.00% |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 13.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $108 | $73 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $71 | $82 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $93 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 12 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 35.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.2 | 35.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |