Route comparison
Kansas City, MO vs Des Moines, IA: Cost of Living
Compare Kansas City, MO 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.
Kansas City, MO
MO
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 92.543
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 86.642
- 2024 goods RPP
- 94.12
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $1,546/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 Kansas City, MO by about 0.9% (RPP 92.543 to 91.701).
$60,000 in Kansas City, MO
-> $59,454
in Des Moines, IA
$100,000 in Kansas City, MO
-> $99,090
in Des Moines, IA
$150,000 in Kansas City, MO
-> $148,635
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: Kansas City, MO vs Des Moines, IA
IRS tax-return migration · 2022-2023Kansas City, MO
- Net people
- +1,694
- Net rank
- #26 of 65
- Top origin share
- 8%
- Top destination share
- 7%
Largest source: Douglas County, KS. Largest destination: Douglas County, KS.
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 $186/mo lower for HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR than Kansas City, MO. Housing RPP moves from 86.642 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 Kansas City, MO?
- In the BEA 2024 benchmark, Des Moines, IA (RPP 91.701) has an overall price level about 0.9% lower than Kansas City, MO (RPP 92.543). This does not measure your current household costs.
- What salary do I need in Des Moines, IA if I earn $100,000 in Kansas City, MO?
- The historical RPP illustration is approximately $99,090 in Des Moines, IA, using $100,000 x (91.701 / 92.543). 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, Kansas City, MO or Des Moines, IA?
- For 2022-2023, Kansas City, MO had a net gain of 1,694 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.