Moving from Pennsylvania to Iowa
Everyone compares rent and groceries. Almost nobody compares the two numbers that actually decide whether a move works: state income tax and property tax. Here is Pennsylvania and Iowa, side by side.
Moving to Iowa costs about
-$530/mo
less than Pennsylvania each month, renting
Worth knowing
The move pays for itself in about 6 months
Moving costs somewhere around $2,693, and Iowa runs about $530 a month cheaper. After roughly 6 months you are ahead.
Pennsylvania vs Iowa at a glance
| Pennsylvania | Iowa | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $254,500 | $208,000 |
| Median rent | $1,209/mo | $972/mo |
| State income tax | Flat 3.07% | Flat 3.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.30% | 1.39% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 99 | 94 |
| Utilities | 109 | 83 |
Price levels are indexes where 100 is the national average. They cover everyday spending only; housing is the two rows above.
What changes each month
| Monthly | PA | IA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent)Biggest factor | $1,209 | $972 | -$237 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $205 | $202 | -$2 |
| Local income tax (state average) | $82 | $7 | -$75 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $91 | $84 | -$7 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,822 | $1,718 | -$103 |
| Utilities | $446 | $340 | -$106 |
| Total | -$530 | ||
What the move itself costs
$2,300 to $5,100
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $600 to $850, against roughly $250 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 2-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Philadelphia is not Pennsylvania-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
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.