Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa vs. Connecticut Cost of Living Summary
Iowa is 19.6% cheaper than Connecticut.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.6% less in Iowa
- Groceries
-
pay 26.4% less in Iowa
- Transportation
-
pay 18.6% less in Iowa
- Housing
-
pay 30.1% less in Iowa
- Childcare
-
pay 25.7% less in Iowa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 15.6% less in Iowa
- Clothing
-
pay 4.4% less in Iowa
Expenses including housing, groceries, childcare, transportation, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Iowa.
Iowa vs. Connecticut Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa instead of Connecticut, you would:
pay 16.6% less for restaurants
|
Connecticut
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.15
|
$15.83
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.65
|
$10.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.08
|
$1.82
|
|
Connecticut vs. Iowa - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.4% less for groceries
|
Connecticut
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.23
|
$2.77
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.82
|
$5.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.42
|
$3.33
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.92
|
$3.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.12
|
$4.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.72
|
$1.96
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.23
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.53
|
$1.93
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.52
|
$1.30
|
|
Connecticut vs. Iowa - Cost of groceries
pay 18.6% less for transportation
|
Connecticut
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.26
|
$3.02
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$56.38
|
$38.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,569.77
|
$28,093.10
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.52
|
$15.46
|
|
Connecticut vs. Iowa - Cost of transportation
pay 30.1% less for housing
|
Connecticut
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.37
|
$65.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,310.48
|
$1,069.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,957.50
|
$852.78
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$157.89
|
$133.13
|
|
Connecticut vs. Iowa - Cost of housing
pay 25.7% less for childcare
|
Connecticut
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,606.87
|
$1,152.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,583.33
|
$18,898.50
|
|
Connecticut vs. Iowa - Cost of childcare
pay 15.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Connecticut
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.30
|
$4.44
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.07
|
$5.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.48
|
$8.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$61.90
|
$63.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.43
|
$13.58
|
|
Connecticut vs. Iowa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.4% less for clothing
|
Connecticut
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.81
|
$55.34
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.40
|
$41.65
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$80.29
|
$81.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$124.01
|
$106.86
|
|
Connecticut vs. Iowa - Cost of clothing
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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