2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Iowa City, IA vs Des Moines, IA

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Highlights
- Household income in Des Moines, is 13% more than it is in Iowa City and is 18% below the National Average.
- Iowa City unemployment rate is 3.5%.
- Des Moines unemployment rate is 5.9%.
 Iowa City, IADes Moines, IAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock5.9%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock2.7%1.6%
 Future Job Growth29.5%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes6.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock7.4%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$32,203  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$58,444$69,021
 Family Median Income$95,422  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Iowa City, IADes Moines, IAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock10.0%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K5.4%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock8.5%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K8.5%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock9.7%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K7.5%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock11.9%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K10.3%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock13.6%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K6.8%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock4.0%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Iowa City, IADes Moines, IAUnited States
 Management, business, finance11.2%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock6.4%6.5%
 Community, social services2.2%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.2%1.2%
 Education, library14.5%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.0%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology9.9%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.2%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.0%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.6%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.6%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.6%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support17.0%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.3%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair3.1%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock16.1%13.1%
Reviews for Iowa City    24 Reviews

Over 5 years ago

I was there 5 years. Nothing to do but we’ll go shopping... at Walmart. It lacks so many things. There is no experience here, it jumps on any political band wagon and  More

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Over 5 years ago

Entertainment lacks greatly - especially the Hancher shows. I was hoping after they rebuilt they would be getting better shows there, that didn't happen. One has to  More

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Over 7 years ago

Iowa City is great. It's diverse and never boring. There always a variety of new shops and restaurants to explore and try out. Also watching college kids do stupid  More

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Reviews for Des Moines    53 Reviews

Des Moines is a ok and pretty quiet place but as a teen it could be dramatic because Des Moines do have is fair or violents places to avoid in Des Moines would be the  More

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Dude · 
Over 5 years ago

This city is violent, there are too many gangs especially on the north  More

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Over 6 years ago

Good for the old that like slow pace and cheap buffets. Also good for non-descript mid-westerners that don't like a lot of action. No nightlife or mountains to hike  More

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