What is the cost of living in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island?

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 89.1, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 68.3, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,143/month.

What is the median salary in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island?

The median salary in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island is $63,304 annually (mean: $66,965). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand.

How safe is Davenport-Moline-Rock Island?

The violent crime rate in the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island area is 238 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1286 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island?

The state of IA has 1,326 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.8:1. Charter schools make up 0.3% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island?

Infant center-based childcare in the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island area averages $8,306 per year. Preschool averages $7,157/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Davenport-Moline-Rock Island a good place to relocate?

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island has a Life Score of 60.8/100 (C), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is an above-average score, Davenport-Moline-Rock Island outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Davenport-Moline-Rock Island sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Davenport-Moline-Rock Island ranks #78 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL

LiveAbility 58.6/100 places Davenport-Moline-Rock Island #78 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

89.1
Cost index (US=100): $1,143
2BR rent / mo: $63,304
Median salary: 58.6
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Davenport-Moline-Rock Island ranks #78 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (58.6/100), with its strongest marks in cost of living and housing.

#78
of 387 US metros · Above median: 3,241,488
metro-area population: 238
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,326
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: low hazard (25/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Davenport-Moline-Rock Island ranks #78 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 89.1 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,143/mo, median salary $63,304; LiveAbility Score 58.6/100, strongest in cost of living and housing.

Signature: LiveAbility 58.6/100 places Davenport-Moline-Rock Island #78 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 89.1 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,143/mo.

LiveAbility 58.6/100 puts Davenport-Moline-Rock Island in the top third (#78 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island area is 172,000.

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

59 Top 20% higher than 80% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island MSA; housing RPP 68.3 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,143/mo.

Studio

$817

/month

1 Bedroom

$928

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,143

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,498

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,819

/month

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island wages and employment

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island posts 172,000 total employment with median salary $63,304 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$63,304

Mean Salary

$66,965

Total Employment

172,000

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$31,200
Retail Salespersons	$32,030
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$42,980
Cashiers	$31,200
General and Operations Managers	$91,140

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island area from NCES.

Schools

1,326

Enrollment

497,853

Student:Teacher

14.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$8,306

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,157

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,157

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island's composite Life Score is 60.8/100 (C), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

80/100

Elite

Wages

53/100

Average

Rent

74/100

Strong

Crime

73/100

Strong

Schools

44/100

Below average

Childcare

65/100

Strong

Environment

13/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island ranks #78 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 58.6/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Cost of living (80/100)

Cost of living

80
Housing

74
Safety

73
Schools

56
Job market

53
Climate

44
Air quality

38
Low hazard

25

What this shows Davenport-Moline-Rock Island's strongest dimensions are cost of living and housing; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 25/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Davenport-Moline-Rock Island to

Carson City Casper Cedar Rapids Chambersburg Champaign-Urbana Charleston-North Charleston

Metros near Davenport-Moline-Rock Island on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Davenport-Moline-Rock Island on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Davenport-Moline-Rock Island wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Davenport-Moline-Rock Island?

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island runs a $63,304 median salary at a 89.1 cost index, ranking #78 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Davenport-Moline-Rock Island's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Davenport-Moline-Rock Island head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Davenport-Moline-Rock Island
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.