Overall
Diff -7.2 RPP
Atlantic City-Hammonton vs Des Moines-West Des Moines
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Des Moines-West Des Moines is 7.2% less expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton.
7.2% less expensive
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is 7.2% less expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.7 vs 98.9). A $100,000 salary in Atlantic City-Hammonton buys about the same as $92,761 in Des Moines-West Des Moines; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.9 (Atlantic City-Hammonton) vs 91.7 (Des Moines-West Des Moines)
- $100k in Atlantic City-Hammonton ≈ $92,761 purchasing power in Des Moines-West Des Moines
- Services drives the gap (-24.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NJ:IA 98.9→91.7
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE NJ × IA
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is 7.2% less expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 7.2-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Des Moines-West Des Moines 24.6 points lower than Atlantic City-Hammonton. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Atlantic City-Hammonton to $92,761 in Des Moines-West Des Moines, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
Atlantic City-Hammonton and Des Moines-West Des Moines share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 15.6 to 7.2 RPP points. Atlantic City-Hammonton remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 36.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (50.8 to 13.9 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Atlantic City-Hammonton RPP | Des Moines-West Des Moines RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 110.7 | 95.1 | 15.6 points Atlantic City-Hammonton higher |
| 2012 | 104.6 | 95.5 | 9.1 points Atlantic City-Hammonton higher |
| 2016 | 102.6 | 94.6 | 8.0 points Atlantic City-Hammonton higher |
| 2020 | 101.2 | 93.8 | 7.4 points Atlantic City-Hammonton higher |
| 2024 | 98.9 | 91.7 | 7.2 points Atlantic City-Hammonton higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Category Breakdown
| Category | Atlantic City-Hammonton | Des Moines-West Des Moines | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.9 | 91.7 | -7.2 |
| Goods | 99.8 | 93.7 | -6.1 |
| Services | 109.2 | 84.6 | -24.6 |
| Rents | 98.7 | 84.7 | -13.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Atlantic City-Hammonton 98.9
Des Moines-West Des Moines 91.7
Goods
Atlantic City-Hammonton 99.8
Des Moines-West Des Moines 93.7
Services
Atlantic City-Hammonton 109.2
Des Moines-West Des Moines 84.6
Rents
Atlantic City-Hammonton 98.7
Des Moines-West Des Moines 84.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Atlantic City-Hammonton would need to be in Des Moines-West Des Moines for the same purchasing power:
| In Atlantic City-Hammonton | In Des Moines-West Des Moines | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,381 | $-3,619 |
| $75,000 | $69,571 | $-5,429 |
| $100,000 | $92,761 | $-7,239 |
| $150,000 | $139,142 | $-10,858 |
$ in Atlantic City-Hammonton = in Des Moines-West Des Moines
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.9 → 91.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Atlantic City-Hammonton
98.9
Cost Index
Des Moines-West Des Moines
91.7
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Des Moines-West Des Moines more expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton?
Des Moines-West Des Moines is 7.2% less expensive than Atlantic City-Hammonton. The overall cost index is 91.7 vs 98.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines equals $100K in Atlantic City-Hammonton?
A $100,000 salary in Atlantic City-Hammonton has the same purchasing power as $92,761 in Des Moines-West Des Moines. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Atlantic City-Hammonton and Des Moines-West Des Moines?
Rents in Atlantic City-Hammonton are indexed at 98.7 while Des Moines-West Des Moines is at 84.7 (national average = 100). Atlantic City-Hammonton has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.