--- title: "Chicago to Des Moines – 3 ways by car, plane, taxi | Mixroutes" description: "Chicago to Des Moines is 495 km. Fastest: undefined in 0 min. Cheapest: undefined from –. Real timetables, prices labelled live, quoted or estimated." url: "https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/chicago-to-des-moines" markdown: "https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/chicago-to-des-moines.md" image: "https://www.mixroutes.com/og.png" --- # How to get from Chicago to Des Moines [Plan it for your day](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Chicago&to=Des+Moines) [Des Moines to Chicago](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/des-moines-to-chicago) **Fastest:** –\ \ **Cheapest:** –\ \ **Distance:** 495 km\ as the crow flies\ **Departures today:** 2\ 3 ways, Sat 31 Oct\ ## 3 ways to travel 495 km apart. Times are the timetables for Sat 31 Oct, planned from 08:00; every price says whether it is live, the operator's fare or our estimate. We add nothing to any fare. best 2h 50m slower than flying but $160 cheaper; for most people that trade is worth it. - [**Drive** best 6h 34m$43–60 Estimated 537 km · fuel only](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Chicago&to=Des+Moines) - [**Fly** 3h 45m$170–300 Estimated MDW → DSM · non-stop · typical times](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Chicago&to=Des+Moines) - [**Taxi** 6h 34m$860–1,180 Estimated one-way cab](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Chicago&to=Des+Moines) Data: [Roads © OpenStreetMap contributors, routed by OSRM](https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright) · [Typical flight routes from OpenFlights (ODbL), a 2014 snapshot](https://openflights.org/data) · [Places from GeoNames, CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) · [All credits and licences](https://www.mixroutes.com/credits) ## Departures today 1. [08:04 → 11:49 3h 45m · direct$170–250](https://www.mixroutes.com/itinerary?from=Chicago&to=Des+Moines&date=2026-10-31&time=08%3A00&it=fly) 2. [08:12 → 12:33 4h 21m · direct$200–300](https://www.mixroutes.com/itinerary?from=Chicago&to=Des+Moines&date=2026-10-31&time=08%3A00&it=fly-1) Timetable data via Transitous and the operators' own GTFS feeds. Live delays arrive when an operator publishes a real-time feed. ## Questions people ask How long does it take to get from Chicago to Des Moines? The fastest way is by car: about 6h 34m door to door. The straight-line distance is 495 km. What is the cheapest way from Chicago to Des Moines? Drive is the cheapest, from $43. That figure is an estimate from the operator's fare bands, not a live quote. How long is the flight from Chicago to Des Moines? About 1h 18m in the air (MDW → DSM), about 3h 45m door to door once you add the ride to the airport, check-in and the cab at the other end. Typical fares run $170–300; live prices are on Flights70. How far is Des Moines from Chicago by road? About 537 km, roughly 6h 34m of driving in normal traffic. Fuel alone costs around $43–60; tolls and parking are extra. ## In Des Moines Capital and most populous city of Iowa, US Des Moines is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is named after the Des Moines River, likely derived from the French Rivière des Moines meaning 'River of the Monks'. The city was incorporated in 1851 as Fort Des Moines and shortened to Des Moines in 1857. Its population was 214,133 at the 2020 census. The six-county Des Moines metropolitan area has an estimated 750,000 residents, the largest metropolitan area located entirely in Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, with parts south of County Line Road extending into Warren County. [The Des Moines guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/places/des-moines) [Hotels in Des Moines Compare prices on Hotels70](https://www.hotels70.com) ## More routes - [Kochi to Bengaluru](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/kochi-to-bengaluru) - [Kochi to Chennai](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/kochi-to-chennai) - [Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/kochi-to-thiruvananthapuram) - [Kochi to Munnar](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/kochi-to-munnar) - [Kochi to Alappuzha](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/kochi-to-alappuzha) - [Kochi to Kozhikode](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/kochi-to-kozhikode) --- This is the markdown version of https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/chicago-to-des-moines, for search crawlers and AI assistants. The HTML page is the canonical copy. Mixroutes is made by Lascade LLC, Sharjah Media City, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Index of every page: https://www.mixroutes.com/llms.txt