Des Moines, IA → Phoenix, AZ
Moving to Phoenix costs you $320 a month
−$3,840 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 269 households moved Des Moines → Phoenix (avg AGI $81,100). 214 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Des Moines | Phoenix | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,500 | $7,578 | +$78 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,764 | $1,707 | −$57 |
| Take-home pay | $5,736 | $5,871 | +$135 |
| Rent | $1,005 | $1,276 | +$271 |
| Getting around | $533 | $586 | +$53 |
| Groceries | $360 | $396 | +$36 |
| Healthcare | $405 | $446 | +$41 |
| Utilities | $225 | $248 | +$23 |
| Everything else | $315 | $347 | +$32 |
| Left over | $2,893 | $2,573 | −$320 |
To break even in Phoenix, 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
+$957
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.5% in Des Moines, 22.5% in Phoenix.
More about Phoenix
Des Moines, IA in full
Insurance-sector wages against the lowest housing costs on this list.
Phoenix, AZ in full
A 2.5% flat income tax, cheap housing for a big metro, and a genuinely dangerous July.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Phoenix on Phoenix wages.
Phoenix → 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.