Overall
- Lancaster
- 98.3
Diff -6.6 RPP
Lancaster vs Des Moines-West Des Moines
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Des Moines-West Des Moines is 6.7% less expensive than Lancaster.
6.7% less expensive
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is 6.7% less expensive than Lancaster, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 91.7 vs 98.3). A $100,000 salary in Lancaster buys about the same as $93,328 in Des Moines-West Des Moines; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.3 (Lancaster) vs 91.7 (Des Moines-West Des Moines)
- $100k in Lancaster ≈ $93,328 purchasing power in Des Moines-West Des Moines
- Services drives the gap (-22.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:IA 98.3→91.7
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE PA × 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 6.7% less expensive than Lancaster, PA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 6.6-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Des Moines-West Des Moines 22.7 points lower than Lancaster. 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 Lancaster to $93,328 in Des Moines-West Des Moines, but it is not a personal spending weight.
How the Price Gap Changed
Lancaster and Des Moines-West Des Moines share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 5.0 to 6.6 RPP points. Lancaster remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 4.2 points between the first and latest shared releases (18.4 to 22.7 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Lancaster RPP | Des Moines-West Des Moines RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 100.2 | 95.1 | 5.0 points Lancaster higher |
| 2012 | 97.8 | 95.5 | 2.3 points Lancaster higher |
| 2016 | 99.4 | 94.6 | 4.8 points Lancaster higher |
| 2020 | 97.9 | 93.8 | 4.1 points Lancaster higher |
| 2024 | 98.3 | 91.7 | 6.6 points Lancaster 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
Goods
- Lancaster
- 100.7
Diff -7.0 RPP
Services
- Lancaster
- 107.3
Diff -22.7 RPP
Rents
- Lancaster
- 93.8
Diff -9.1 RPP
| Category | Lancaster | Des Moines-West Des Moines | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.3 | 91.7 | -6.6 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 93.7 | -7.0 |
| Services | 107.3 | 84.6 | -22.7 |
| Rents | 93.8 | 84.7 | -9.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lancaster 98.3
Des Moines-West Des Moines 91.7
Goods
Lancaster 100.7
Des Moines-West Des Moines 93.7
Services
Lancaster 107.3
Des Moines-West Des Moines 84.6
Rents
Lancaster 93.8
Des Moines-West Des Moines 84.7
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lancaster would need to be in Des Moines-West Des Moines for the same purchasing power:
| In Lancaster | In Des Moines-West Des Moines | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $46,664 | $-3,336 |
| $75,000 | $69,996 | $-5,004 |
| $100,000 | $93,328 | $-6,672 |
| $150,000 | $139,992 | $-10,008 |
$ in Lancaster = in Des Moines-West Des Moines
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.3 → 91.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Lancaster
98.3
Cost Index
Des Moines-West Des Moines
91.7
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Des Moines-West Des Moines more expensive than Lancaster?
Des Moines-West Des Moines is 6.7% less expensive than Lancaster. The overall cost index is 91.7 vs 98.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines equals $100K in Lancaster?
A $100,000 salary in Lancaster has the same purchasing power as $93,328 in Des Moines-West Des Moines. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lancaster and Des Moines-West Des Moines?
Rents in Lancaster are indexed at 93.8 while Des Moines-West Des Moines is at 84.7 (national average = 100). Lancaster 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.