--- title: "Des Moines to Chicago – 3 ways by car, plane, taxi | Mixroutes" description: "Des Moines to Chicago 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/des-moines-to-chicago" markdown: "https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/des-moines-to-chicago.md" image: "https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Chicago_River_Morning_%2844455011711%29.jpg/1920px-Chicago_River_Morning_%2844455011711%29.jpg" --- ![Chicago](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Chicago_River_Morning_%2844455011711%29.jpg/1920px-Chicago_River_Morning_%2844455011711%29.jpg) # How to get from Des Moines to Chicago [Plan it for your day](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Des+Moines&to=Chicago) [Chicago to Des Moines](https://www.mixroutes.com/routes/chicago-to-des-moines) Roman Boed from The Netherlands (CC BY 2.0) **Fastest:** –\ \ **Cheapest:** –\ \ **Distance:** 495 km\ as the crow flies\ **Departures today:** 1\ 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 35m$43–60 Estimated 538 km · fuel only](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Des+Moines&to=Chicago) - [**Fly** 3h 46m$170–250 Estimated DSM → MDW · non-stop · typical times](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Des+Moines&to=Chicago) - [**Taxi** 6h 35m$860–1,180 Estimated one-way cab](https://www.mixroutes.com/results?from=Des+Moines&to=Chicago) 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. [08:14 → 12:00 3h 46m · direct$170–250](https://www.mixroutes.com/itinerary?from=Des+Moines&to=Chicago&date=2026-10-31&time=08%3A00&it=fly) 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 Des Moines to Chicago? The fastest way is by car: about 6h 35m door to door. The straight-line distance is 495 km. What is the cheapest way from Des Moines to Chicago? 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 Des Moines to Chicago? About 1h 18m in the air (DSM → MDW), about 3h 46m door to door once you add the ride to the airport, check-in and the cab at the other end. Typical fares run $170–250; live prices are on Flights70. How far is Chicago from Des Moines by road? About 538 km, roughly 6h 35m of driving in normal traffic. Fuel alone costs around $43–60; tolls and parking are extra. ## In Chicago Most populous city in Illinois, US Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the third-most populous city in the United States and the fifth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2.74 million at the 2020 census. The Chicago metropolitan area has approximately 9.62 million residents according to the 2020 census and is the third-largest metropolitan statistical area in the country and part of the fourth-largest combined statistical area in the United States, spanning 19 counties in three states and with a population of nearly 10 million. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, the second-most populous county in the U.S. [The Chicago guide](https://www.mixroutes.com/places/chicago) [Hotels in Chicago 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/des-moines-to-chicago, 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