Moving from Waterloo to Des Moines
Waterloo to Des Moines: $144 more leftover
$2,907/mo leftover in Des Moines vs $2,763 in Waterloo after tax and rent ($144 more). +$1,728 a year — not a moving-company quote.
Waterloo leftover
$2,763
a month after tax and rent
Des Moines leftover
$2,907
+$144 vs Waterloo
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
Leftover is not a cost-of-living index. Leftover vs a COL index
Who already made this move
In 2022-2023, 346 households moved Waterloo → Des Moines (about 510 people, average AGI $55,925). 160 households went the other way.
Source: IRS SOI county-to-county migration. Not a moving company; not a recommendation.
| Per month | Waterloo | Des Moines |
|---|---|---|
| Take-home | $5,320 | $5,736 |
| Rent | $788 | $991 |
| All other costs | $1,769 | $1,838 |
| Left over | $2,763 | $2,907 |
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 Des Moines 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.
Full line-by-line comparison →
What the move itself costs
About 112 road miles, 1 bedroom. Typical ranges, not quotes.
- Full-service mover
- $1,650–$3,100
- Container or pod
- $1,100–$2,050
- Rent a truck
- $400–$750
Dig into Des Moines
Paycheck
Take-home pay after tax and rent, and what's left at the end of the month.
Who moved
Which metros people actually left and arrived from, according to IRS tax returns.
Rent vs buy
Asking rent, the median home, property tax, and months to a down payment.
Monthly costs
Groceries, getting around, utilities, healthcare and childcare at your household size.
Daily life
Homicide and firearm death rates, heat, cars and commute.
Kids
Public-school enrollment, pupil–teacher ratio, bedrooms and childcare.
Getting there
Typical cost to get here, then leftover after tax and rent — not a moving-company directory.
Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Des Moines than Waterloo?
A one-bedroom is about $788 in Waterloo versus $991 in Des Moines. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $144 a month higher in Des Moines. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Des Moines have state income tax?
Des Moines is in Iowa, which taxes wage income.
Did people actually move from Waterloo to Des Moines?
When IRS county-to-county data covers this pair, the page lists how many households made the Waterloo → Des Moines move and their average AGI. Leftover after tax and rent is shown for the same household on both sides.