Route comparison
Chicago, IL vs Des Moines, IA: Cost of Living
Compare Chicago, IL and Des Moines, IA using historical BEA 2024 price indexes and HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR benchmarks. Add your own salary, lease and moving quote to a budget summary.
Chicago, IL
IL
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 103.595
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 112.01
- 2024 goods RPP
- 107.258
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $2,011/mo
City name is shorthand for an area benchmark. This September 2026 review did not recheck this area's full BEA/HUD geographic mapping.
Income tax and payroll deductions are not calculated. Confirm take-home pay for your work and home addresses separately.
Des Moines, IA
IA
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 91.701
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 84.741
- 2024 goods RPP
- 93.73
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $1,360/mo
City name is shorthand for an area benchmark. This September 2026 review did not recheck this area's full BEA/HUD geographic mapping.
Income tax and payroll deductions are not calculated. Confirm take-home pay for your work and home addresses separately.
Historical RPP salary illustration
In the BEA 2024 benchmark, Des Moines, IA has a lower overall price level than Chicago, IL by about 11.5% (RPP 103.595 to 91.701).
$60,000 in Chicago, IL
-> $53,111
in Des Moines, IA
$100,000 in Chicago, IL
-> $88,519
in Des Moines, IA
$150,000 in Chicago, IL
-> $132,778
in Des Moines, IA
Salary illustrations use BEA 2024 overall Regional Price Parities (RPP) only, before tax and household-specific adjustments. Overall RPP already includes housing. HUD FY2027 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent is a separate historical gross-rent benchmark, not a current lease or median rent. Do not add rent to the RPP salary figure. Your lease and moving quote belong in a separate budget. Not financial advice.
Step 2: what will the move itself cost?
Put your actual lease, deposit, overlap rent and mover quote beside the historical salary illustration. Leave amounts you do not yet know blank.
Migration signal: Chicago, IL vs Des Moines, IA
IRS tax-return migration · 2022-2023Chicago, IL
- Net people
- −34,215
- Net rank
- #62 of 65
- Top origin share
- 3%
- Top destination share
- 4%
Largest source: Maricopa County, AZ. Largest destination: Maricopa County, AZ.
Des Moines, IA
- Net people
- +2,250
- Net rank
- #24 of 65
- Top origin share
- 14%
- Top destination share
- 14%
Largest source: Story County, IA. Largest destination: Story County, IA.
Rent delta: Des Moines, IA is $651/mo lower for HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR than Chicago, IL. Housing RPP moves from 112.01 to 84.741.
Migration figures are derived from IRS SOI county-to-county migration data for 2022-2023, mapped to metros via Census CBSA delineation. Small county-to-county flows are IRS-suppressed, so per-metro totals are lower bounds. Source: IRS SOI migration data.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Des Moines, IA cheaper or more expensive than Chicago, IL?
- In the BEA 2024 benchmark, Des Moines, IA (RPP 91.701) has an overall price level about 11.5% lower than Chicago, IL (RPP 103.595). This does not measure your current household costs.
- What salary do I need in Des Moines, IA if I earn $100,000 in Chicago, IL?
- The historical RPP illustration is approximately $88,519 in Des Moines, IA, using $100,000 x (91.701 / 103.595). It uses BEA 2024 overall price indexes before tax and household adjustments; HUD rent is not added to this figure.
- Which metro had stronger net migration, Chicago, IL or Des Moines, IA?
- For 2022-2023, Chicago, IL had a net loss of 34,215 people, while Des Moines, IA had a net gain of 2,250 people. IRS small-flow suppression means these are lower-bound research signals, not complete population-change totals.