Des Moines, IA → Kansas City, MO
Moving to Kansas City costs you $301 a month
−$3,612 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 176 households moved Des Moines → Kansas City (avg AGI $83,631). 163 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Des Moines | Kansas City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,500 | $7,578 | +$78 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,764 | $1,903 | +$139 |
| Take-home pay | $5,736 | $5,675 | −$61 |
| Rent | $1,005 | $1,184 | +$179 |
| Getting around | $533 | $551 | +$18 |
| Groceries | $360 | $372 | +$12 |
| Healthcare | $405 | $419 | +$14 |
| Utilities | $225 | $233 | +$8 |
| Everything else | $315 | $326 | +$11 |
| Left over | $2,893 | $2,592 | −$301 |
To break even in Kansas City, you'd need to earn
$96,500
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
−$1,391
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.5% in Des Moines, 25.1% in Kansas City.
More about Kansas City
Des Moines, IA in full
Insurance-sector wages against the lowest housing costs on this list.
Kansas City, MO in full
Genuinely low cost of living for a metro with real amenities.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Kansas City on Kansas City wages.
Kansas City → Des Moines →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.