Moving from Kentucky to Iowa
Kentucky to Iowa is a move of about 673 miles. Median rent is $972 a month in Iowa and $967 in Kentucky, and the median home is $208,000 against $205,600. State income tax is a flat 3.80% in Iowa and a flat 3.50% in Kentucky. Property tax runs 1.39% of home value in Iowa and 0.75% in Kentucky.
Moving to Iowa costs about
$110/mo
less than Kentucky each month, renting on a $80,000 household income
Not your income? Run it on your own numbers
Worth knowing
Iowa costs less overall, even though housing costs more
Housing runs about $5 a month more in Iowa, yet the move still works out roughly $110 a month cheaper once taxes and everyday costs are counted. The house is the expensive part; everything else is not.
Kentucky vs Iowa at a glance
| Kentucky | Iowa | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home value | $205,600 | $208,000 |
| Median rent | $967/mo | $972/mo |
| State income tax | Flat 3.50% | Flat 3.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.75% | 1.39% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 96 | 94 |
| Utilities | 75 | 83 |
Price levels are indexes where 100 is the national average. They cover everyday spending only; housing is the two rows above.
Monthly cost of living: Kentucky vs Iowa
| Monthly | KY | IA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $967 | $972 | +$5 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $224 | $202 | -$22 |
| Local income tax (state average)Biggest factor | $89 | $7 | -$82 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $86 | $84 | -$2 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,759 | $1,718 | -$41 |
| Utilities | $308 | $340 | +$32 |
| Total | -$110 | ||
Cost to move from Kentucky to Iowa
$1,900 to $4,300
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $450 to $700, against roughly $200 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 2-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Louisville is not Kentucky-average and Des Moines is not Iowa-average, so a specific city can look nothing like its state. Compare metro areas instead to narrow it to 387 real places, including which side of a state line you would live on.
Run this with your own numbers
What jobs pay in Iowa, after the cost of living
Estimates only, not advice. Housing and income figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2024); price levels from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024); tax rates are for the 2026 tax year, compiled from state revenue departments and the Tax Foundation. Moving costs are modelled from published ranges rather than quoted. Every figure is a statewide median or average and will not match any particular household.