Overall
- Toledo
- 91.5
Diff -0.2 RPP
Des Moines-West Des Moines vs Toledo
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Toledo is 0.3% less expensive than Des Moines-West Des Moines.
0.3% less expensive
Toledo, OH is 0.3% less expensive than Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.5 vs 91.7). A $100,000 salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines buys about the same as $99,732 in Toledo; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 91.7 (Des Moines-West Des Moines) vs 91.5 (Toledo)
- $100k in Des Moines-West Des Moines ≈ $99,732 purchasing power in Toledo
- Rents drives the gap (-17.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IA:OH 91.7→91.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IA × OH
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
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.
Des Moines-West Des Moines
91.7
Cost Index
Toledo
91.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA and Toledo, OH are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Toledo is 17.4 points lower. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Des Moines-West Des Moines corresponds to $99,732 in Toledo.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Toledo
- 93.6
Diff -0.1 RPP
Services
- Toledo
- 96.3
Diff +11.7 RPP
Rents
- Toledo
- 67.3
Diff -17.4 RPP
| Category | Des Moines-West Des Moines | Toledo | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.7 | 91.5 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 93.6 | -0.1 |
| Services | 84.6 | 96.3 | +11.7 |
| Rents | 84.7 | 67.3 | -17.4 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Des Moines-West Des Moines 91.7
Toledo 91.5
Goods
Des Moines-West Des Moines 93.7
Toledo 93.6
Services
Des Moines-West Des Moines 84.6
Toledo 96.3
Rents
Des Moines-West Des Moines 84.7
Toledo 67.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Des Moines-West Des Moines and Toledo share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap held broadly steady, moving from 0.7 to 0.2 RPP points. Des Moines-West Des Moines remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 14.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (2.6 to 17.4 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Des Moines-West Des Moines RPP | Toledo RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 95.1 | 95.9 | 0.7 points Toledo higher |
| 2012 | 95.5 | 92.5 | 3.0 points Des Moines-West Des Moines higher |
| 2016 | 94.6 | 92.6 | 2.0 points Des Moines-West Des Moines higher |
| 2020 | 93.8 | 90.9 | 2.9 points Des Moines-West Des Moines higher |
| 2024 | 91.7 | 91.5 | 0.2 points Des Moines-West Des Moines 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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines would need to be in Toledo for the same purchasing power:
| In Des Moines-West Des Moines | In Toledo | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,866 | $-134 |
| $75,000 | $74,799 | $-201 |
| $100,000 | $99,732 | $-268 |
| $150,000 | $149,598 | $-402 |
$ in Des Moines-West Des Moines = in Toledo
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.7 → 91.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Toledo more expensive than Des Moines-West Des Moines?
Toledo is 0.3% less expensive than Des Moines-West Des Moines. The overall cost index is 91.5 vs 91.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Toledo equals $100K in Des Moines-West Des Moines?
A $100,000 salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines has the same purchasing power as $99,732 in Toledo. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Des Moines-West Des Moines and Toledo?
Rents in Des Moines-West Des Moines are indexed at 84.7 while Toledo is at 67.3 (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.