Kansas City, MO → Des Moines, IA
You'd keep $301 more a month in Des Moines
+$3,612 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 163 households moved Kansas City → Des Moines (avg AGI $78,571). 176 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Kansas City | Des Moines | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $7,505 | −$78 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,905 | $1,765 | −$139 |
| Take-home pay | $5,679 | $5,740 | +$61 |
| Rent | $1,184 | $1,005 | −$179 |
| Getting around | $551 | $533 | −$18 |
| Groceries | $372 | $360 | −$12 |
| Healthcare | $419 | $405 | −$14 |
| Utilities | $233 | $225 | −$8 |
| Everything else | $326 | $315 | −$11 |
| Left over | $2,596 | $2,897 | +$301 |
To break even in Des Moines, you'd need to earn
$84,500
Household gross, versus $91,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Kansas City does now.
The tax difference alone
+$1,393
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.1% in Kansas City, 23.5% in Des Moines.
More about Des Moines
Kansas City, MO in full
Genuinely low cost of living for a metro with real amenities.
Des Moines, IA in full
Insurance-sector wages against the lowest housing costs on this list.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Des Moines on Des Moines wages.
Des Moines → Kansas City →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.