City comparison
Dallas, TX is about 650 miles (1,000 km) from Des Moines, IA 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 Dallas, TX to Des Moines, IA takes about 1 h 16 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 213,164 in Des Moines — about 6.1× larger by population. By land area, Dallas covers about 340 sq mi vs 88 sq mi for Des Moines.
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 | Dallas | Des Moines | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,305/mo | $995/mo | 31.2% higher in Dallas |
| Median home value | $270,700 | $170,700 | 58.6% higher in Dallas |
| Median household income | $63,985 | $62,378 | 2.6% higher in Dallas |
| Groceries index | 101.7 | 94.0 | 8.3% higher in Dallas |
| Utilities index | 89.3 | 85.2 | 4.7% higher in Dallas |
| Transportation index | 98.5 | 93.3 | 5.6% higher in Dallas |
| Healthcare index | 99.7 | 93.5 | 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 Dallas, you'd need $83,843 in Des Moines to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Des Moines, IA is about 16.2% cheaper overall than Dallas, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 38% higher in Dallas than in Des Moines. If you earn $80,000 in Dallas, you'd need about $67,074 in Des Moines to keep the same standard of living.