$100k salary, packing up from Wichita
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
more each month than Wichita ran you
Barely costlier than Wichita. If Des Moines pulls you in, it's the life it offers, not the price tag.
a quick ledger.
$1,268/mo
8% more expensive than Wichita(vs $1,173/mo)
6%
$25/mo more in state tax than Wichita
vs 5.7% in Wichita
$6,565/mo
$120 less than Wichita
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$300k
35% more expensive than Wichita
vs $221k in Wichita
737k
vs 653k in Wichita
field notes, weather & such.
151
pleasant days a year, in des moines.
Wichita gets 164 pleasant days a year, so you'd be trading some sunshine. A real winter, not a brutal one: 55 days under 20°, vs 20 in Wichita.
156% more happening than in Wichita.
55/100
6% higher than Wichita
vs 52/100 in Wichita
Closest outdoor draw: Rock Creek State Park, 40.2 mi.
78/100
13% higher than Wichita
vs 69/100 in Wichita
17
55% more than Wichita
vs 11 nonstops in Wichita
if des moines appeals, also worth a look:
