Des Moines, IA — Wages, Rent, Taxes & Livability by the Numbers

Des Moines is a value city with a split personality: housing is relatively approachable, and specialist pay can be strong, but the average wage and the job-market signal are less impressive. BLS May 2025 puts the metro’s mean at $31.72/hour, or about $66.0K annualized. Management averages about $135.6K; computer and math, $102.3K; healthcare practitioners and technical, $98.8K. 1

The tax picture is straightforward but not weightless: Iowa’s 2025 individual income-tax rate is 3.8%, Des Moines has a 1% local-option sales tax on top of Iowa’s 6% state rate for a typical 7% taxable-sales total, and SmartAsset lists Iowa’s statewide effective property-tax rate at 1.29%. Local property bills vary by tax district, and the local-option tax has listed exemptions. 2345

Housing varies quickly by location. Zillow’s August 18, 2026 averages run from roughly $750 for a one-bedroom in the East Village ZIP proxy to $1,188 downtown; two-bedrooms run from $995 in Drake to $1,533 downtown. Those are current ZIP-level average asking rents, not neighborhood medians. 6789

Mobility is the clearest trade-off. Census QuickFacts reports a 19.5-minute mean travel time to work for 2020–2024. Walk Score’s live snapshot gives Des Moines a 45 Walk Score, 30 Transit Score, and 39 Bike Score, and labels the city Car-Dependent. 1011

U.S. News currently scores Des Moines 5.7/10 overall, with an 8.1 Value Index and a 4.1 Job Market Index. That is the honest read: the value case is real, but it works best when your field pays near the specialist-wage numbers and your home sits near your job. Compare the exact opening, tax district, block, and commute before moving. 12

Data note: Zillow rents, Walk Score, and the U.S. News profile are current pages accessed in August 2026, not 2024–25 datasets. The cards label those vintages rather than presenting them as older data. Next up: Minneapolis, MN.