San Francisco, CA vs Des Moines, IA
Moving from San Francisco to Des Moines? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,149,215 → $296,070 median home) and taxes.
San Francisco 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 San Francisco, CA, you'd need about $78,904 in Des Moines, IA (−$21,096).
Livability — San Francisco, CA: 35 · Des Moines, IA: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 653 sqft in San Francisco vs 2,787 sqft in Des Moines ($766 vs $179 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Francisco, CA | Des Moines, IA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $39,096 | $15,516 | −$23,580 |
| Groceries | $5,761 | $4,831 | −$930 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,150 | −$1,975 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,500 | −$2,304 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,700 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $24,108 | $10,265 | −$13,843 |
| Total | $79,394 | $36,962 | −$42,432 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Francisco, CA | Des Moines, IA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 117.6 | 92.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.22% | 4.14% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.1% | 14.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 45 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.69 | $5.28 |
| Median home price | $1,149,215 | $296,070 |
| Home price ÷ income | 8.9× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.8% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $766 | $179 |
| Median rent | $3,258 | $1,293 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 6.94% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 3.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 1.00% |
| Avg commute (min) | 33 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 13.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.10 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 12 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |