Houston, TX vs Des Moines, IA
Moving from Houston to Des Moines? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $296,070 median home) and taxes.
Houston 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 Houston, TX, you'd need about $92,999 in Des Moines, IA (−$7,001).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Des Moines, IA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 2,787 sqft in Des Moines ($147 vs $179 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Des Moines, IA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $15,516 | −$4,152 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $4,831 | −$253 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,150 | −$525 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,500 | −$336 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,700 | −$1,900 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $10,265 | +$2,866 |
| Total | $41,263 | $36,962 | −$4,300 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Des Moines, IA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 92.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 4.14% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 14.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.28 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $296,070 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $179 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,293 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 6.94% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.00% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 13.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $73 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $82 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $93 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 12 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 55.6 | 35.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.1 | 35.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 59% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |