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Thursday, August 6, 2026

Des Moines vs Cedar Rapids

Des Moines, IA compared with Cedar Rapids, IA · 103 miles apart

Des Moines has 212,086 residents to Cedar Rapids’s 137,935. Cedar Rapids does better on median household income, median rent, homeownership.

Des Moines, IA Cedar Rapids, IA
Population 212,086 137,935
Density (per sq mi) 2,406 1,844
Median household income $65,932 $70,424
Median home value $194,700 $187,100
Median rent $1,090 $967
Homeownership 60.5% 68.5%
Average commute 19.5 min 18.6 min
Median age 34.6 37.3
Bachelor's degree + 29.7% 33.1%
Poverty rate 15% 10.8%
Unemployment 5.6% 3.6%
Price to income 2.7×
Clear days a year 28
Days above 90°F 8

Highlighted where one city is clearly better on that measure. Population, density, home value and median age carry no highlight — a higher number there is good or bad depending on what you want.

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