Des Moines vs Dubuque leftover
You'd keep $81 more a month in Dubuque
$2,988/mo leftover in Dubuque vs $2,907 in Des Moines after tax and rent ($81 more). +$972 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
Dubuque leftover
$2,988
+$81 vs Des Moines
Compare Des Moines to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Des Moines.
Monthly gap
Des Moines → Dubuque
$81
more / month in Dubuque
$2,988 in Dubuque · $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, 39 households moved Des Moines → Dubuque (avg AGI $60,385). 66 went the other way. The whole move →
+$81 / mo
| Per month | Des Moines | Dubuque | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,500 | $7,219 | −$281 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,764 | $1,670 | −$94 |
| Take-home pay | $5,736 | $5,549 | −$187 |
| Rent | $991 | $806 | −$185 |
| Getting around | $533 | $496 | −$37 |
| Groceries | $360 | $347 | −$13 |
| Healthcare | $405 | $391 | −$14 |
| Utilities | $225 | $217 | −$8 |
| Everything else | $315 | $304 | −$11 |
| Left over | $2,907 | $2,988 | +$81 |
To break even in Dubuque, you'd need to earn
$85,000
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
+$128
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.5% in Des Moines, 23.1% in Dubuque.
More about Dubuque
Des Moines, IA in full
Insurance-sector wages against the lowest housing costs on this list.
Dubuque, IA in full
A flat 3.8% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $959 and 204 sunny days; commutes average 17 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Dubuque on Dubuque wages.
Dubuque → Des Moines →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Dubuque than Des Moines?
A one-bedroom is about $991 in Des Moines versus $806 in Dubuque. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $81 a month higher in Dubuque. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Dubuque have state income tax?
Dubuque is in Iowa, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Des Moines to Dubuque?
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 Dubuque 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.