Compare / Chattanooga to Des Moines
Chattanooga, TN vs Des Moines, IA
Simple answer
You'd likely save $20 a month in Chattanooga.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is housing prices. The BEA housing price parity differs by 8.2 points (Chattanooga 76.5, Des Moines 84.7).
Tennessee has no tax on wages. Iowa taxes wages at a flat 3.80%. Combined sales tax differs by 2.7 percentage points, higher in Tennessee. The effective property tax gap is 0.84 percentage points, higher in Iowa.
After a move from Tennessee to Iowa, these benefit results change for a family of four at $40,000 and a single adult at $18,000: Marketplace premium tax credits, Medicaid and CHIP.
A $75,000 salary in Chattanooga lines up with about $75,194 in Des Moines on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
Chattanooga
Chattanooga, TN-GA
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,340
- HUD area
- Chattanooga, TN-GA MSA
- Census median gross rent
- $1,265
- All-items price parity
- 91.5
- Goods price parity
- 96.0
- Utilities price parity
- 74.2
- Mean commute
- 24.5 min
- Median household income
- $75,076
Des Moines
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,360
- HUD area
- Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,178
- All-items price parity
- 91.7
- Goods price parity
- 93.7
- Utilities price parity
- 84.6
- Mean commute
- 21.4 min
- Median household income
- $85,446
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$75,194
Salary in Des Moines that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$78,637
Gross salary in Des Moines whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$76,119
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | Tennessee | Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | No wage tax | 3.80% flat |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 9.6% | 6.9% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 0.45% | 1.29% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $1,790 a year in Tennessee and $5,168 in Iowa. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in Iowa
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Tennessee and once in Iowa. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
Des MoinesLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
Des MoinesLikely eligible
WIC
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
Des MoinesLikely eligible
School meals
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
Des MoinesLikely eligible
LIHEAP
ChattanoogaMaybe
Des MoinesMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
Des MoinesLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
Des MoinesLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
Des MoinesUnlikely
Lifeline phone and internet
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
Des MoinesLikely eligible
SSI
ChattanoogaUnlikely
Des MoinesUnlikely
| Program | Chattanooga | Des Moines |
|---|---|---|
| Food stamps (SNAP) | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Likely eligible | Unlikely |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
Marketplace premium tax credits changes. In Chattanooga the result is “Likely inside the 2026 subsidy range.” In Des Moines it is “Unlikely — Medicaid is the closer program.” Iowa expanded Medicaid, and this income is in the Medicaid range. Marketplace subsidies are usually not the program in that case.
Related comparisons
From Chattanooga
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Chattanooga.
- Chattanooga and San Francisco · rent gap $2,357
- Chattanooga and San Jose · rent gap $1,932
- Chattanooga and Boston · rent gap $1,668
- Chattanooga and New York · rent gap $1,631
- Chattanooga and Los Angeles · rent gap $1,624
- Chattanooga and San Diego · rent gap $1,483
- Chattanooga and Miami · rent gap $1,224
- Chattanooga and Seattle · rent gap $1,209
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.