Dayton vs Des Moines
Metro-area medians — Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH Metro Area vs Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Des Moines comes out ahead, winning 6 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.
Dayton and Des Moines cost about the same to live in, but Des Moines households earn about 18% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Des Moines.
Their widest everyday difference: Des Moines has the tighter job market — 3.6% unemployment versus 4.9%.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you, Dayton leaves you about $939/yr better off after tax and local prices.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
Choose Des Moines for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
- + Median household income
- + Unemployment
- + Bachelor's degree or higher
- + Average commute
More comparisons
Metros closest to Dayton and Des Moines on cost, income, size, and education.
Dayton vs Des Moines — frequently asked
- Is Dayton cheaper than Des Moines?
- They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Dayton and Des Moines metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
- Which has higher household income, Dayton or Des Moines?
- Des Moines has the higher median household income — $85,446 versus $72,711 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 18% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Dayton or Des Moines?
- A paycheck stretches further in Des Moines. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $93,179 there versus $78,442 in Dayton.
- Which has cheaper rent, Dayton or Des Moines?
- Dayton has cheaper rent — a median of $1,119/mo versus $1,178/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).