WhereDoIMove?

Midwest · Iowa · pop 212K

Des Moines, IA

Fit score

Good match

at the reference profile: one person earning $6,700/mo gross, default weights.

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After estimated taxes in IA, your $6,700/mo income nets about $5,158 — covering estimated essentials here (about $918 rent plus everyday costs incl. local sales tax) with roughly $1,931 left over.

Home prices are within reach relative to local pay — the median home ($200,000) is about 3.2× the median household income.

Expect summer highs near 86°F, winter lows around 14°F, and about 204 sunny days a year.

Tradeoff: this is a quieter market with fewer restaurants and entertainment options per resident.

AFFORD 100HOUSIN 96JOBS 68SAFETY 47CLIMAT 81AMENIT 33

The Des Moines fit print

Est. monthly cost

$3,227/mo

Typical rent

$1,080/mo

Home value ÷ income

3.2×

Score breakdown

Affordability
100
Housing
96
Jobs
68
Safety
47
Climate
81
Amenities
33

The data behind the score

Money (Census ACS · HUD)

Median gross rent
$1,020/mo
HUD fair market rent (2BR)
$1,080/mo
Median home value
$200,000
Median household income
$63,000
Population
212,000

Work (BLS)

Unemployment rate
2.9%
Job growth (1yr)
1.0%

Safety (FBI CDE, per 100k)

Violent crime rate
640
Property crime rate
3,400

Climate (NOAA normals)

Avg. summer high
86°F
Avg. winter low
14°F
Sunny days / year
204
Days ≥100°F by 2050 (air temp)
≈11/yr
Dangerous humid days by 2050 (feels-like)
≈50/yr
Unhealthy air days
≈4/yr
Annual rain
36"
Annual snow
33"

Community & access (approx.)

2024 county margin
D+12
Int'l airport
≈6 mi
Walkability
44/100
Disaster risk
48/100
Buying instead of renting? Iowa's effective property tax runs about 1.49% of home value per year (≈$248/mo on the median $200,000 home). Our affordability score is rent-based, so this isn't double-counted.
A citywide number is an average. Rent, safety, and everything else vary block by block — treat these figures as a starting point and research specific neighborhoods before committing.

Data vintage: sample-approx-2024. Sources & methodology — this deployment is running the bundled sample dataset; figures are approximate.

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