What is the cost of living in Des Moines-West Des Moines?

Des Moines-West Des Moines has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 91.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 84.7, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,318/month.

What is the median salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines?

The median salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines is $69,930 annually (mean: $72,416). Top occupations include Customer Service Representatives, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

How safe is Des Moines-West Des Moines?

The violent crime rate in the Des Moines-West Des Moines area is 238 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1286 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Des Moines-West Des Moines?

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 Des Moines-West Des Moines?

Infant center-based childcare in the Des Moines-West Des Moines area averages $8,306 per year. Preschool averages $7,157/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Des Moines-West Des Moines a good place to relocate?

Des Moines-West Des Moines has a Life Score of 57.6/100 (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, Des Moines-West Des Moines outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Des Moines-West Des Moines sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Des Moines-West Des Moines ranks #145 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

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

BEA RPP 91.7 sits mid-pack (#136 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

91.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,318
2BR rent / mo: $69,930
Median salary: 54
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Des Moines-West Des Moines ranks #145 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (54/100), with its strongest marks in safety and job market.

#145
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), Des Moines-West Des Moines ranks #145 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 91.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,318/mo, median salary $69,930; LiveAbility Score 54/100, strongest in safety and job market.

Signature: BEA RPP 91.7 sits mid-pack (#136 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 91.7 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,318/mo.

LiveAbility 54/100 keeps Des Moines-West Des Moines in the middle third (#145 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Des Moines-West Des Moines area is 394,120.

Des Moines-West Des Moines 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)

54 Top 37% higher than 63% 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

Des Moines-West Des Moines housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Des Moines-West Des Moines MSA; housing RPP 84.7 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,318/mo.

Studio

$1,063

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,109

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,318

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,794

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,841

/month

Des Moines-West Des Moines wages and employment

Des Moines-West Des Moines posts 394,120 total employment with median salary $69,930.

Median Salary

$69,930

Mean Salary

$72,416

Total Employment

394,120

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Customer Service Representatives	$48,880
Retail Salespersons	$33,430
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,140
Cashiers	$29,640
General and Operations Managers	$98,780

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Des Moines-West Des Moines area from NCES.

Schools

1,326

Enrollment

497,853

Student:Teacher

14.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Des Moines-West Des Moines area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$8,306

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,157

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,157

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Des Moines-West Des Moines's composite Life Score is 57.6/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

65/100

Strong

Wages

70/100

Strong

Rent

49/100

Average

Crime

73/100

Strong

Schools

45/100

Average

Childcare

65/100

Strong

Environment

13/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Des Moines-West Des Moines ranks #145 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 54/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (73/100)

Safety

73
Job market

71
Cost of living

65
Schools

55
Housing

49
Air quality

42
Climate

30
Low hazard

25

What this shows Des Moines-West Des Moines's strongest dimensions are safety and job market; 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 Des Moines-West Des Moines to

Norwich-New London-Willimantic Ocala Odessa Ogden Oklahoma City Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater

Metros near Des Moines-West Des Moines on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Des Moines-West Des Moines 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

Des Moines-West Des Moines cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Des Moines-West Des Moines 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 Des Moines-West Des Moines?

Des Moines-West Des Moines runs a $69,930 median salary at a 91.7 cost index, ranking #145 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Des Moines-West Des Moines's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Des Moines-West Des Moines head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Des Moines-West Des Moines
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.