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After reading a forum poster's complaints on income taxes in Iowa, which later went on to include property taxes as well, which seemed to be higher than some communities in Virginia that another poster lived in, which led me to wonder, how do Iowa and Indiana compare when matched up? Overall the landscape and topography is very similar throughout most of the state, v with the exception of the Mississippi River valley in Iowa and the limestone caverns and the shoreline of lake Michigan in Indiana. It sounds to me that property taxes and income taxes are much lower in Indiana compared with Iowa. So if these two states went head to head which one gets your vote and why?
Compare:
-Business climate and job growth forecast
-state government and taxes
-quality of public schools and universities
-climate and assortment of outdoor activities and state parks
-health and wellness and accessibility of quality healthcare
-rural fabric of Iowa vs rural fabric of Indiana, are small towns and their issues similar?
-urban vs Urban, poverty, crime, opiod and other drug crisis?
-overall desirability and livability factors
Please share your thoughts! I've only visited Iowa City, Davenport and Bettemdorf in Iowa, Indiana on the other hand I've traveled pretty extensively.
Southern Indiana is more Hilly & Rugged than anything in Iowa and Indiana has the dunes & beaches. Outside of that topography wise they will be similar.
Iowa is known for having excellent education and health care. Iowa is colder in winter than Indiana. Iowa has a smaller population. Both states are centers of meth production in small towns.
1) Des Moines has really great growth and amenities...for a metro of its size. Indy is just much larger and generates more overall. Des Moines is safer and doesn't have areas that are anywhere near as rough as the east side of Indy.
2) Iowa is a bit of a different flavor. It's more moderate overall. Roads and infrastructure, IMO, are better in Iowa. Taxes, particularly income and property taxes, are going to be more in Iowa. Iowa also offers the "attraction" of being a heavy campaign state every four years. I was there during the 2012 election, and there was more going on politically than you could shake a stick at.
3) Probably Iowa overall, especially in rural areas. Of course, most of this is specific to your local area.
4) Indiana wins on climate and scenery. Neither are great IMO.
5) I would say Indianapolis and NWI will have better healthcare than what is seen in Iowa. For very rural areas, it's probably a toss-up.
6) Iowa is less industrial. Many small towns and rural areas across the country are struggling. You're not going to see as many hardcore Rust Belt towns in Iowa.
7) Des Moines is great for the size of city it is. However, Indy completely eclipses in terms of amenities, and Indy is likely cheaper. In turn, Indy has much worse crime, traffic, etc. I lived in West Des Moines and never locked my doors, and never had a problem.
I don't know if it was just my specific work group or what, but I was treated poorly in Iowa because I had a Southern accident. Not everyone was like that, but a bad group of coworkers kind of ruined it for me. It's also extremely isolated, much more so than Indiana.
I was born in and grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, but that was many decades ago. However, I do still visit periodically. I have lived in Ames, Iowa City, and Oskaloosa Iowa. I also lived in Southern MN just north of Decorah, IA and that was my "shopping and fun" town. So, here are my thoughts based on my own life experiences:
Compare:
-Business climate and job growth forecast All I know about this is what I read, and Des Moines constantly makes the "best" lists for low employment and job growth. Indianapolis also shows up just a little lower on these lists. On a personal level, I was job hunting in 2002. I couldn't find a job in Indiana (and I did look hard there), but I was offered a job in Iowa, and that's why and when I moved to Iowa. So, Iowa for the win here, but not by a lot.
-state government and taxes I never felt over taxed in Iowa. Since I have lived in (and paid taxes in) many different states, I do feel that I have a pretty good perspective on this. But I didn't pay taxes in Indiana, so don't have a feeling about that. I do know that Iowa's infrastructure SEEMS in much better condition than Indiana's infrastructure (roads, water systems.) Indiana's gov't seems to always be full of revolting republicans, but then so does Iowa's statehouse. In terms of politics, Iowa is more or less Democrat on the east side and revolting republican on the west side of the state. Would you all say that in general Indiana is Democrat in Indianapolis and the northern part of the state and revolting republican in the southern part? Most sources do say that Iowa has a higher individual tax burden than Iowa, though, so I'll give Indiana the win.
-quality of public schools and universities My father was a professor at IU, so I grew up thinking it was a great university. My friends went to a variety of universities and colleges in Indiana and have all done well. All of Iowa's universities also have good reputations. So again, all I know is what I read, and it seems that most websites rate Iowa's public schools just slightly higher than Indiana's. Public spending on education is higher in Iowa, but the difference in spending isn't huge. Source: https://education.cu-portland.edu/bl...tate-rankings/ I'm giving Iowa a slight advantage here.
-climate and assortment of outdoor activities and state parks Both states have nice state parks and pretty areas. I would give Indiana big win on natural beauty, though northeast Iowa equates to Southern Indiana in hilliness and tree cover and beauty. Something that Iowa has that Indiana and other states don't have, however, is a conservation center in every single county, staffed by state paid year round naturalists who conduct educational programming throughout the year. I WISH every county in America had one of these great resources! So, I'm calling it a draw. Indiana is naturally prettier, but Iowa has better public funding and education about the environment.
-health and wellness and accessibility of quality healthcare The medical school and medical center in Iowa city is excellent and of world renown, and the Mayo clinic is just a jump over the border and there are Mayo satellite clinics in several small Iowa towns. I don't know of any similar resource in Indiana, so I'm giving Iowa the win in this category.
-rural fabric of Iowa vs rural fabric of Indiana, are small towns and their issues similar? Iowa feels like a more rural state - there's just more room to spread your elbows out in Iowa. Both have issues with drugs and related drug crimes in rural areas. However, Iowa ranks 3rd in agricultural productivity, while Indiana is 13th, so I'm giving Iowa a slight edge in this category.
-urban vs Urban, poverty, crime, opiod and other drug crisis? Indiana has a more urban population than Iowa. Des Moines is in better financial shape than Indianapolis. That's all I really know about this. US News and World report ranks Iowa 12th lowest in the crime index, while Indiana is 26th (so higher crime.) I'm giving Iowa a win in this category.
-overall desirability and livability factors To me, Indiana feels overcrowded now. It makes me sad to see the urban sprawl around Indianapolis, and many pretty areas I remember around Bloomington are now built up, too. Of course, this is because I'm an old lady. I prefer rural to urban areas, so that's my bias. Iowa has more wide open spaces.
So based on the above, I'm giving Iowa the win, though not by a huge margin. The states are fairly comparable.
Last edited by 601halfdozen0theother; 07-12-2018 at 09:06 AM..
What I've noticed about the towns in Indiana, there are alot of small towns, but the towns are close together. Thru out most of the state, most of the towns are less than 10 miles apart. In Central Indiana, seems like the towns are about 6 miles apart.
It's about 16 miles from the west side city limits of Muncie to the east side city limits of Anderson, but you go thru Yorktown, Daleville and Chesterfield. They use to be little country towns, but now they are more like suburbs of Muncie and Anderson.
Muncie to Winchester is about 20 miles and you go thru Selma, Parker, and Farmland. Those towns are around a thousand people, or maybe less. And they are still as small as they've always been. I think they are still pretty much agricultural towns, but also more suburban to Muncie than they use to be.
Another thing I've noticed about small towns in Indiana, it use to be almost every incorporated town over 500 people had a factory that paid pretty good wages. I'm sure it's different now, but in 1960's and 70's, Hartford City had Overhead Door, Dunkirk had Kerr Glass and another glass factory, the name I don't recall, Winchester had Anchor Hocking, Eaton use to have a factory. I forget what it was called, but they paid good, and people drove from Muncie to work there. Cowan had a factory that made tow motors. I think it might have been Catepillar, but I can't say with absolute certainty. Back in the day, the little towns were not strictly agricultural.
Last edited by Ivory Lee Spurlock; 07-12-2018 at 10:53 AM..
1) Des Moines has really great growth and amenities...for a metro of its size. Indy is just much larger and generates more overall. Des Moines is safer and doesn't have areas that are anywhere near as rough as the east side of Indy.
2) Iowa is a bit of a different flavor. It's more moderate overall. Roads and infrastructure, IMO, are better in Iowa. Taxes, particularly income and property taxes, are going to be more in Iowa. Iowa also offers the "attraction" of being a heavy campaign state every four years. I was there during the 2012 election, and there was more going on politically than you could shake a stick at.
3) Probably Iowa overall, especially in rural areas. Of course, most of this is specific to your local area.
4) Indiana wins on climate and scenery. Neither are great IMO.
5) I would say Indianapolis and NWI will have better healthcare than what is seen in Iowa. For very rural areas, it's probably a toss-up.
6) Iowa is less industrial. Many small towns and rural areas across the country are struggling. You're not going to see as many hardcore Rust Belt towns in Iowa.
7) Des Moines is great for the size of city it is. However, Indy completely eclipses in terms of amenities, and Indy is likely cheaper. In turn, Indy has much worse crime, traffic, etc. I lived in West Des Moines and never locked my doors, and never had a problem.
I don't know if it was just my specific work group or what, but I was treated poorly in Iowa because I had a Southern accident. Not everyone was like that, but a bad group of coworkers kind of ruined it for me. It's also extremely isolated, much more so than Indiana.
All things considered, I'd still choose Indiana.
My wife was born and raised in the South. She never has had anyone in Indiana give her a hard time about her accent. When she was a school teacher in Cincinnati, some of her sixth grade students did. When we were much younger, she wanted to visit some classmates she knew in Lexington Ky. We drove through a McDonalds drive through, and the girl asked us if we wanted a cherry pie in a typical southern accent. My wife said she was so glad to be someplace where they pronounced pie correctly.
I have always enjoyed accents. The last 12 years of my career, I worked for a New England company. On my bosses conference call meetings, it sounded like Car Talk.
1) Des Moines has really great growth and amenities...for a metro of its size. Indy is just much larger and generates more overall. Des Moines is safer and doesn't have areas that are anywhere near as rough as the east side of Indy.
2) Iowa is a bit of a different flavor. It's more moderate overall. Roads and infrastructure, IMO, are better in Iowa. Taxes, particularly income and property taxes, are going to be more in Iowa. Iowa also offers the "attraction" of being a heavy campaign state every four years. I was there during the 2012 election, and there was more going on politically than you could shake a stick at.
3) Probably Iowa overall, especially in rural areas. Of course, most of this is specific to your local area.
4) Indiana wins on climate and scenery. Neither are great IMO.
5) I would say Indianapolis and NWI will have better healthcare than what is seen in Iowa. For very rural areas, it's probably a toss-up.
6) Iowa is less industrial. Many small towns and rural areas across the country are struggling. You're not going to see as many hardcore Rust Belt towns in Iowa.
7) Des Moines is great for the size of city it is. However, Indy completely eclipses in terms of amenities, and Indy is likely cheaper. In turn, Indy has much worse crime, traffic, etc. I lived in West Des Moines and never locked my doors, and never had a problem.
I don't know if it was just my specific work group or what, but I was treated poorly in Iowa because I had a Southern accident. Not everyone was like that, but a bad group of coworkers kind of ruined it for me. It's also extremely isolated, much more so than Indiana.
All things considered, I'd still choose Indiana.
It sounds like Iowa overall is a more northern state than Indiana, maybe because it doesn't have the blended culture that southern and central Indiana where there is a large influx of southerners living in the state. You aren't the first poster I have read about that had issues with having a southern accent in Iowa.
I'm not sure how much you keep up with news from Indiana, but I know just this past year they passed a 10 cent gallon gas tax increase, and they're increasing car registrations across the boards in an effort to raise more money for road surfacing. Apparently they haven't raised the gas tax in 20-30 years, and Holcomb and other state leaders are aware that Indiana's infrastructure needs some serious investment. I haven't had the pleasure of driving on many Iowa roads, but from what I do remember I never had any complaints.
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