Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iraq vs. California Cost of Living Summary
Iraq is 75.7% cheaper than California.
Iraq vs. California Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iraq instead of California, you would:
pay 73.5% less for restaurants
|
California
|
Iraq
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.31
|
$4.69
IQD7,097
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.78
|
$6.78
IQD10,264
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$0.46
IQD694
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.26
|
$0.25
IQD386
|
|
California vs. Iraq - Cost of restaurants
pay 72.8% less for groceries
|
California
|
Iraq
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.33
|
$0.77
IQD1,168
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.51
|
$2.50
IQD3,793
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.92
|
$4.14
IQD6,268
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.18
|
$1.73
IQD2,620
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.10
|
$2.04
IQD3,086
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.32
|
$0.46
IQD695
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
|
$0.50
IQD762
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.02
|
$0.45
IQD678
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$0.31
IQD472
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.61
|
$0.30
IQD453
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.39
|
$0.28
IQD430
|
|
California vs. Iraq - Cost of groceries
pay 52.8% less for transportation
|
California
|
Iraq
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.53
|
$2.18
IQD3,301
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$64.45
|
$35.81
IQD54,221
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,604.61
|
$15,719.55
IQD24M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.97
|
$14.95
IQD22,633
|
|
California vs. Iraq - Cost of transportation
pay 85.4% less for housing
|
California
|
Iraq
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.16
|
$35.82
IQD54,239
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,414.89
|
$299.18
IQD453K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,061.17
|
$206.21
IQD312K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$172.98
|
$69.07
IQD105K
|
|
California vs. Iraq - Cost of housing
pay 90.5% less for childcare
|
California
|
Iraq
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,659.26
|
$167.07
IQD253K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,706.19
|
$2,726.78
IQD4M
|
|
California vs. Iraq - Cost of childcare
pay 53.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
California
|
Iraq
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.15
|
$3.16
IQD4,791
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.63
|
$2.65
IQD4,009
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.42
|
$1.96
IQD2,967
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$65.06
|
$34.60
IQD52,393
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.07
|
$9.36
IQD14,179
|
|
California vs. Iraq - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 53.2% less for clothing
|
California
|
Iraq
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.89
|
$24.05
IQD36,414
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.96
|
$24.78
IQD37,519
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.63
|
$56.42
IQD85,419
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.37
|
$44.01
IQD66,634
|
|
California vs. Iraq - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: California vs. Iraq
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Moving from California to Iraq · Cost, visas & climate
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Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in United States vs. Iraq.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and Iraq.
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