Compare / Columbia to Des Moines
Columbia, SC vs Des Moines, IA
Simple answer
You'd likely save $134 a month in Columbia.
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 Fair Market Rent. The 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap is $134: Des Moines is higher at $1,360 versus $1,226.
South Carolina taxes wages at rates up to 6.00%. Iowa taxes wages at a flat 3.80%. Combined sales tax differs by 0.5 percentage points, higher in South Carolina. The effective property tax gap is 0.85 percentage points, higher in Iowa.
After a move from South Carolina 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 Columbia lines up with about $73,430 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.
Columbia
Columbia, SC
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,226
- HUD area
- Columbia, SC HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,257
- All-items price parity
- 93.7
- Goods price parity
- 96.3
- Utilities price parity
- 88.3
- Mean commute
- 25.8 min
- Median household income
- $70,788
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.
$73,430
Salary in Des Moines that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$71,533
Gross salary in Des Moines whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$83,197
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 | South Carolina | Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | up to 6.00% | 3.80% flat |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 7.5% | 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 $1,786 a year in South Carolina 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 South Carolina and once in Iowa. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Des MoinesLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Des MoinesLikely eligible
WIC
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Des MoinesLikely eligible
School meals
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Des MoinesLikely eligible
LIHEAP
ColumbiaMaybe
Des MoinesMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Des MoinesLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Des MoinesLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Des MoinesUnlikely
Lifeline phone and internet
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Des MoinesLikely eligible
SSI
ColumbiaUnlikely
Des MoinesUnlikely
| Program | Columbia | 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 Columbia 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 Columbia
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Columbia.
- Columbia and San Francisco · rent gap $2,471
- Columbia and San Jose · rent gap $2,046
- Columbia and Boston · rent gap $1,782
- Columbia and New York · rent gap $1,745
- Columbia and Los Angeles · rent gap $1,738
- Columbia and San Diego · rent gap $1,597
- Columbia and Miami · rent gap $1,338
- Columbia and Seattle · rent gap $1,323
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.