Waterloo vs Davenport leftover
You'd keep $297 more a month in Davenport
$3,060/mo leftover in Davenport vs $2,763 in Waterloo after tax and rent ($297 more). +$3,564 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Waterloo leftover
$2,763
a month after tax and rent
Davenport leftover
$3,060
+$297 vs Waterloo
Compare Waterloo to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Waterloo.
Monthly gap
Waterloo → Davenport
$297
more / month in Davenport
$3,060 in Davenport · $2,763 in Waterloo · 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, 34 households moved Waterloo → Davenport (avg AGI $50,441). 29 went the other way. The whole move →
+$297 / mo
| Per month | Waterloo | Davenport | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,875 | $7,305 | +$430 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,555 | $1,698 | +$144 |
| Take-home pay | $5,320 | $5,606 | +$286 |
| Rent | $788 | $740 | −$48 |
| Getting around | $510 | $527 | +$17 |
| Groceries | $347 | $353 | +$6 |
| Healthcare | $391 | $397 | +$6 |
| Utilities | $217 | $221 | +$4 |
| Everything else | $304 | $309 | +$5 |
| Left over | $2,763 | $3,060 | +$297 |
To break even in Davenport, you'd need to earn
$82,500
Household gross, versus $82,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Waterloo does now.
The tax difference alone
−$196
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.6% in Waterloo, 23.3% in Davenport.
More about Davenport
Waterloo, IA in full
A flat 3.8% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $938 and 204 sunny days; commutes average 17 minutes.
Davenport, IA in full
A flat 3.8% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $881 and 202 sunny days; commutes average 21 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Davenport on Davenport wages.
Davenport → Waterloo →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Davenport than Waterloo?
A one-bedroom is about $788 in Waterloo versus $740 in Davenport. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $297 a month higher in Davenport. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Davenport have state income tax?
Davenport is in Iowa, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Waterloo to Davenport?
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 Waterloo and Davenport 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.