Nashville, TN vs Des Moines, IA
Moving from Nashville to Des Moines? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $296,070 median home) and taxes.
Nashville 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 Nashville, TN, you'd need about $95,597 in Des Moines, IA (−$4,403).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Des Moines, IA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 2,787 sqft in Des Moines ($228 vs $179 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Des Moines, IA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $15,516 | −$6,060 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,831 | +$117 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,150 | +$20 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,500 | −$108 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,700 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $10,265 | +$5,035 |
| Total | $38,459 | $36,962 | −$1,497 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Des Moines, IA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 92.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 4.14% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 14.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 45 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.28 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $296,070 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $179 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $1,293 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 6.94% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.00% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 13.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 12 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |