City comparison
Ankeny, IA is about 650 miles (1,000 km) from Dallas, TX in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 800 miles, or about 13 hours behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Ankeny, IA to Dallas, TX takes about 1 h 17 min, covering roughly 650 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Dallas has a population of 1,300,642, vs 68,392 in Ankeny — about 19.0× larger by population. By land area, Dallas covers about 340 sq mi vs 32 sq mi for Ankeny.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Ankeny | Dallas | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,289/mo | $1,305/mo | 1.2% higher in Dallas |
| Median home value | $281,700 | $270,700 | 4.1% higher in Ankeny |
| Median household income | $101,151 | $63,985 | 58.1% higher in Ankeny |
| Groceries index | 94.0 | 101.7 | 8.3% higher in Dallas |
| Utilities index | 85.2 | 89.3 | 4.7% higher in Dallas |
| Transportation index | 93.3 | 98.5 | 5.6% higher in Dallas |
| Healthcare index | 93.5 | 99.7 | 6.6% higher in Dallas |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Ankeny, you'd need $118,101 in Dallas to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Ankeny, IA is about 15.3% cheaper overall than Dallas, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 35% higher in Dallas than in Ankeny. If you earn $80,000 in Ankeny, you'd need about $94,481 in Dallas to keep the same standard of living.