Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa vs. Canada Cost of Living Summary
Iowa is 2.2% cheaper than Canada overall.
Iowa vs. Canada Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa instead of Canada, you would:
pay 7.2% more for restaurants
|
Canada
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.02
CA$24.10
|
$17.44
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.30
CA$14.58
|
$10.71
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.01
CA$2.84
|
$2.66
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.64
CA$2.32
|
$1.93
|
|
Canada vs. Iowa - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.1% less for groceries
|
Canada
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.51
CA$3.56
|
$2.86
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.21
CA$7.37
|
$5.29
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.08
CA$11.44
|
$3.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.50
CA$4.95
|
$3.35
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.39
CA$7.62
|
$4.87
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.80
CA$2.54
|
$2.11
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.63
CA$0.90
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.65
CA$2.34
|
$2.01
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.77
CA$2.50
|
$1.93
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.15
CA$1.63
|
$1.07
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.08
CA$1.53
|
$1.29
|
|
Canada vs. Iowa - Cost of groceries
pay 17.1% less for transportation
|
Canada
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.47
CA$6.33
|
$3.52
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.05
CA$92.09
|
$34.83
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,172.47
CA$38,469.42
|
$32,592.26
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.38
CA$21.77
|
$15.02
|
|
Canada vs. Iowa - Cost of transportation
pay 7.6% less for housing
|
Canada
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.08
CA$80.80
|
$67.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,206.12
CA$1,707.57
|
$1,095.70
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,084.12
CA$1,534.84
|
$867.32
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$109.92
CA$155.62
|
$143.75
|
|
Canada vs. Iowa - Cost of housing
pay 45.1% more for childcare
|
Canada
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$708.00
CA$1,002.35
|
$1,080.37
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,065.57
CA$19,913.32
|
$19,409.87
|
|
Canada vs. Iowa - Cost of childcare
pay 18.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Canada
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.10
CA$7.22
|
$4.61
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.67
CA$5.19
|
$5.52
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.41
CA$18.98
|
$9.16
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$42.22
CA$59.77
|
$61.55
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.12
CA$15.74
|
$13.85
|
|
Canada vs. Iowa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.5% more for clothing
|
Canada
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.28
CA$75.43
|
$51.95
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.15
CA$56.84
|
$38.14
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$86.30
CA$122.18
|
$88.30
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$99.70
CA$141.15
|
$107.49
|
|
Canada vs. Iowa - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this
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cost of living in Canada vs. United States.
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