on $100k a year, leaving San Diego
changea dispatch from
des moines
IA
41.59°N
93.62°W
Des Moines is the Iowa State Fair every August (think butter cows, deep-fried everything, and the political circus of every presidential cycle), insurance industry stability, and a downtown that's grown into a genuinely good food and brewery scene. The East Village neighborhood is the cool kid pocket. The whole city is bikeable. Friendly, affordable, and chronically underestimated.
in our guides
the verdict
under San Diego, every month
Des Moines is the kind of cheap that changes the math. Same salary, a different life on the other side.
a quick ledger.
$1,268/mo
56% cheaper than San Diego(vs $2,890/mo)
6%
$275/mo less in state tax than San Diego
vs 9.3% in San Diego
$6,565/mo
$1,897 more than San Diego
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$300k
70% cheaper than San Diego
vs $1010k in San Diego
737k
vs 3.3M in San Diego
field notes, weather & such.
151
pleasant days a year, in des moines.
San Diego gets 332 pleasant days a year, so you'd be trading some sunshine. Winter asks for something in return: 55 days under 20° here, 0 in San Diego.
But the calendar thins out: San Diego stays 3.8× busier.
55/100
27% lower than San Diego
vs 75/100 in San Diego
Closest outdoor draw: Rock Creek State Park, 40.2 mi.
78/100
21% lower than San Diego
vs 99/100 in San Diego
17
69% fewer than San Diego
vs 55 nonstops in San Diego
in the same ballpark as des moines:
