Cost of living comparison

Romania

compared to

United States

Des Moines vs. Bucharest Cost of Living Summary

Des Moines is 50.1% more expensive than Bucharest.

Restaurants: pay 21.9% more in Des Moines
Groceries: pay 59.0% more in Des Moines
Transportation: pay 45.2% more in Des Moines
Housing: pay 2.5 times more in Des Moines
Childcare: pay 43.5% more in Des Moines
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.6% more in Des Moines
Clothing: pay 8.9% less in Des Moines

The cost of housing, groceries, transportation, entertainment and sports, childcare, and restaurants in Des Moines are more expensive than in Bucharest. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Des Moines.

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Des Moines vs. Bucharest Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Des Moines instead of Bucharest, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 21.9% more for restaurants

	Bucharest	Des Moines
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.80 RON65.43	$17.00	+23.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.05 RON38.17	$12.00	+49.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.27 RON10.79	$2.61	+14.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.15 RON10.18	$2.15	+0.4%
Average			+21.9%

Bucharest vs. Des Moines - Cost of restaurants

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pay 59.0% more for groceries

	Bucharest	Des Moines
Bread 1 loaf	$1.44 RON6.84	$3.03	+109.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.98 RON23.63	$6.36	+27.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.67 RON31.62	$3.56	-46.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.62 RON17.16	$3.61	-0.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.38 RON16.04	$3.67	+8.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.64 RON3.05	$1.77	+175.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 RON3.73	$0.65	-17.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 RON3.80	$1.66	+107.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.18 RON5.62	$1.59	+34.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 RON2.20	$0.75	+60.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 RON2.23	$1.36	+189.9%
Average			+59.0%

Bucharest vs. Des Moines - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.2% more for transportation

	Bucharest	Des Moines
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.36 RON30.14	$2.93	-53.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.00 RON109.05	$58.00	+152.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,745.54 RON136K	$26,000.00	-9.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.21 RON29.44	$11.94	+92.3%
Average			+45.2%

Bucharest vs. Des Moines - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.5 times more for housing

	Bucharest	Des Moines
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.39 RON54.00	$57.86	+408.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$647.24 RON3,069.20	$1,214.00	+87.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$432.85 RON2,052.57	$912.50	+110.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$139.60 RON661.97	$108.83	-22.0%
Average			+146.1%

Bucharest vs. Des Moines - Cost of housing

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pay 43.5% more for childcare

	Bucharest	Des Moines
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$664.86 RON3,152.75	$1,369.17	+105.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,582.52 RON69,149.57	$11,812.00	-19.0%
Average			+43.5%

Bucharest vs. Des Moines - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Bucharest	Des Moines
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.45 RON16.36	$5.00	+44.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.28 RON15.56	$5.47	+66.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 RON31.62	$7.14	+7.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$52.49 RON248.92	$71.67	+36.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.20 RON43.62	$15.00	+63.1%
Average			+43.6%

Bucharest vs. Des Moines - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.9% less for clothing

	Bucharest	Des Moines
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$80.54 RON381.92	$56.67	-29.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.47 RON215.63	$41.00	-9.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$93.98 RON445.63	$73.00	-22.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.75 RON520.43	$138.33	+26.0%
Average			-8.9%

Bucharest vs. Des Moines - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: October 2026

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