New York, NY vs Des Moines, IA
Moving from New York to Des Moines? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,625 → $296,070 median home) and taxes.
New York 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 New York, NY, you'd need about $82,340 in Des Moines, IA (−$17,660).
Livability — New York, NY: 44 · Des Moines, IA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,099 sqft in New York vs 2,787 sqft in Des Moines ($455 vs $179 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New York, NY | Des Moines, IA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $42,036 | $15,516 | −$26,520 |
| Groceries | $5,415 | $4,831 | −$583 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,150 | −$745 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,500 | −$1,680 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,700 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $23,496 | $10,265 | −$13,231 |
| Total | $79,622 | $36,962 | −$42,659 |
Side by side
| Metric | New York, NY | Des Moines, IA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.6 | 92.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.55% | 4.14% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.4% | 14.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.28 |
| Median home price | $727,625 | $296,070 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.8× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $455 | $179 |
| Median rent | $3,503 | $1,293 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 6.94% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 3.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.00% |
| Avg commute (min) | 36 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 13.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $98 | $73 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $87 | $82 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $93 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 12 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.5 | 35.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 29.8 | 35.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |