Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iowa City vs. Cairo Cost of Living Summary

Iowa City is 5.5 times more expensive than Cairo.

Restaurants: pay 6.2 times more in Iowa City
Groceries: pay 4.6 times more in Iowa City
Transportation: pay 3.4 times more in Iowa City
Housing: pay 7.0 times more in Iowa City
Childcare: pay 12.4 times more in Iowa City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.5 times more in Iowa City
Clothing: pay 46.1% more in Iowa City

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Iowa City are more expensive than in Cairo. Notably, childcare, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Iowa City.

Iowa City vs. Cairo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iowa City instead of Cairo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 6.2 times more for restaurants

	Cairo	Iowa City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.16 EGP198.00	$15.00	+261.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.19 EGP247.51	$9.00	+73.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.38 EGP18.15	$2.62	+589.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.14 EGP6.85	$1.81	+1161.6%
Average			+521.2%

Cairo vs. Iowa City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.6 times more for groceries

	Cairo	Iowa City
Bread 1 loaf	$0.60 EGP28.55	$2.68	+347.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.88 EGP89.38	$4.65	+148.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.73 EGP177.64	$3.27	-12.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.45 EGP68.95	$4.13	+185.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.06 EGP98.36	$4.77	+131.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.74 EGP35.43	$1.52	+104.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.34 EGP15.97	$0.54	+61.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.28 EGP13.55	$1.24	+336.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.13 EGP6.01	$2.23	+1664.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.19 EGP8.97	$0.92	+386.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.19 EGP8.88	$1.29	+590.6%
Average			+358.5%

Cairo vs. Iowa City - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.4 times more for transportation

	Cairo	Iowa City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.36 EGP64.90	$3.01	+120.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.44 EGP306.91	$16.00	+148.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,398.47 EGP1,782,036.92	$29,454.22	-21.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.66 EGP126.72	$21.90	+723.4%
Average			+242.8%

Cairo vs. Iowa City - Cost of transportation

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pay 7.0 times more for housing

	Cairo	Iowa City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.92 EGP615.43	$72.85	+464.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$213.48 EGP10,172.29	$1,231.25	+476.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$137.13 EGP6,534.14	$1,100.00	+702.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$19.12 EGP911.30	$163.91	+757.1%
Average			+600.0%

Cairo vs. Iowa City - Cost of housing

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pay 12.4 times more for childcare

	Cairo	Iowa City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$92.85 EGP4,424.15	$1,266.67	+1264.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,210.79 EGP105,344.37	$24,601.00	+1012.8%
Average			+1138.5%

Cairo vs. Iowa City - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.5 times more for entertainment and sports

	Cairo	Iowa City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.45 EGP69.30	$5.00	+243.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.62 EGP76.99	$5.38	+232.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.08 EGP99.00	$9.00	+333.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$17.31 EGP825.00	$49.33	+184.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.74 EGP178.20	$13.50	+261.0%
Average			+251.1%

Cairo vs. Iowa City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 46.1% more for clothing

	Cairo	Iowa City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$33.96 EGP1,618.06	$70.00	+106.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.38 EGP2,162.58	$48.33	+6.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$117.30 EGP5,589.12	$100.00	-14.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$61.59 EGP2,934.70	$115.00	+86.7%
Average			+46.1%

Cairo vs. Iowa City - 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: December 2025

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