Des Moines vs Cedar Rapids leftover
You'd keep $244 more a month in Cedar Rapids
$3,151/mo leftover in Cedar Rapids vs $2,907 in Des Moines after tax and rent ($244 more). +$2,928 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Des Moines leftover
$2,907
a month after tax and rent
Cedar Rapids leftover
$3,151
+$244 vs Des Moines
Compare Des Moines to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Des Moines.
Monthly gap
Des Moines → Cedar Rapids
$244
more / month in Cedar Rapids
$3,151 in Cedar Rapids · $2,907 in Des Moines · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 182 households moved Des Moines → Cedar Rapids (avg AGI $57,621). 329 went the other way. The whole move →
+$244 / mo
| Per month | Des Moines | Cedar Rapids | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,500 | $7,594 | +$94 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,764 | $1,795 | +$31 |
| Take-home pay | $5,736 | $5,799 | +$62 |
| Rent | $991 | $904 | −$87 |
| Getting around | $533 | $485 | −$48 |
| Groceries | $360 | $347 | −$13 |
| Healthcare | $405 | $391 | −$14 |
| Utilities | $225 | $217 | −$8 |
| Everything else | $315 | $304 | −$11 |
| Left over | $2,907 | $3,151 | +$244 |
To break even in Cedar Rapids, you'd need to earn
$86,500
Household gross, versus $90,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Des Moines does now.
The tax difference alone
−$43
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.5% in Des Moines, 23.6% in Cedar Rapids.
More about Cedar Rapids
Des Moines, IA in full
Insurance-sector wages against the lowest housing costs on this list.
Cedar Rapids, IA in full
A flat 3.8% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,076 and 202 sunny days; commutes average 20 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Cedar Rapids on Cedar Rapids wages.
Cedar Rapids → Des Moines →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Cedar Rapids than Des Moines?
A one-bedroom is about $991 in Des Moines versus $904 in Cedar Rapids. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $244 a month higher in Cedar Rapids. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Cedar Rapids have state income tax?
Cedar Rapids is in Iowa, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Des Moines to Cedar Rapids?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Iowa tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Des Moines and Cedar Rapids moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.