Overall
- Merced
- 98.3
Diff +6.6 RPP
Des Moines-West Des Moines vs Merced
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Merced is 7.2% more expensive than Des Moines-West Des Moines.
7.2% more expensive
Merced, CA is 7.2% more expensive than Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 98.3 vs 91.7). A $100,000 salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines buys about the same as $107,169 in Merced; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 91.7 (Des Moines-West Des Moines) vs 98.3 (Merced)
- $100k in Des Moines-West Des Moines ≈ $107,169 purchasing power in Merced
- Services drives the gap (+73.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:CA 91.7→98.3
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE IA × CA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- 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.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Merced
- 105.2
Diff +11.4 RPP
Services
- Merced
- 158.3
Diff +73.8 RPP
Rents
- Merced
- 78.6
Diff -6.1 RPP
| Category | Des Moines-West Des Moines | Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.7 | 98.3 | +6.6 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 105.2 | +11.4 |
| Services | 84.6 | 158.3 | +73.8 |
| Rents | 84.7 | 78.6 | -6.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Des Moines-West Des Moines 91.7
Merced 98.3
Goods
Des Moines-West Des Moines 93.7
Merced 105.2
Services
Des Moines-West Des Moines 84.6
Merced 158.3
Rents
Des Moines-West Des Moines 84.7
Merced 78.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Services creates the largest separation: Merced is 73.8 points higher. But rents move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Merced, CA is 7.2% more expensive than Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 6.6-point overall gap.
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.
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 Des Moines-West Des Moines to $107,169 in Merced, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Des Moines-West Des Moines
91.7
Cost Index
Merced
98.3
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines would need to be in Merced for the same purchasing power:
| In Des Moines-West Des Moines | In Merced | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $53,584 | +$3,584 |
| $75,000 | $80,377 | +$5,377 |
| $100,000 | $107,169 | +$7,169 |
| $150,000 | $160,753 | +$10,753 |
$ in Des Moines-West Des Moines = in Merced
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.7 → 98.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
How the Price Gap Changed
Des Moines-West Des Moines and Merced share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 0.9 to 6.6 RPP points. Merced remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 62.3 points between the first and latest shared releases (11.4 to 73.8 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Des Moines-West Des Moines RPP | Merced RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.1 | 94.3 | 0.9 points Des Moines-West Des Moines higher |
| 2012 | 95.5 | 98.6 | 3.1 points Merced higher |
| 2016 | 94.6 | 95.3 | 0.7 points Merced higher |
| 2020 | 93.8 | 98.7 | 4.9 points Merced higher |
| 2024 | 91.7 | 98.3 | 6.6 points Merced 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Merced more expensive than Des Moines-West Des Moines?
Merced is 7.2% more expensive than Des Moines-West Des Moines. The overall cost index is 98.3 vs 91.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Merced equals $100K in Des Moines-West Des Moines?
A $100,000 salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines has the same purchasing power as $107,169 in Merced. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Des Moines-West Des Moines and Merced?
Rents in Des Moines-West Des Moines are indexed at 84.7 while Merced is at 78.6 (national average = 100). Des Moines-West Des Moines 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.