Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Tonga instead of Iowa, you would:

Economy

be 30.3% less likely to be unemployed

In Iowa, 3.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2025. In Tonga, that number is 2.3% as of 2023.

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make 89.6% less money

Iowa has a GDP per capita of $63,747 as of 2024, while in Tonga, the GDP per capita is $6,600 as of 2022.

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be 96.2% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Iowa, 10.5% live below the poverty line as of 2023. In Tonga, however, that number is 20.6% as of 2021.

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Basic Needs

be 23.8% less likely to have internet access

In Iowa, approximately 87.9% of the population has internet access as of 2023. In Tonga, about 67.0% do as of 2021.

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The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey), Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Compare further: Iowa vs. Tonga

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Tonga is 15.7% cheaper than Iowa
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Size Comparison · See true size
Iowa is about 194 times bigger than Tonga.
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Tonga: At a glance

Tonga is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 717 sq km. Tonga - unique among Pacific nations - never completely lost its indigenous governance. The archipelagos of "The Friendly Islands" were united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. Tonga became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900; it withdrew from the protectorate and joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. Tonga remains the only monarchy in the Pacific.
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How big is Tonga compared to Iowa? See an in-depth size comparison.

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