Cost of living comparison
compared to
Cedar Rapids vs. Dayton Cost of Living Summary
Cedar Rapids is 27.3% more expensive than Dayton.
- Restaurants
-
pay 6.4% less in Cedar Rapids
- Groceries
-
pay 9.6% less in Cedar Rapids
- Transportation
-
pay 14.3% less in Cedar Rapids
- Housing
-
pay 1.1% less in Cedar Rapids
- Childcare
-
pay 2.5 times more in Cedar Rapids
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 47.5% more in Cedar Rapids
- Clothing
-
pay 28.8% more in Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids vs. Dayton Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cedar Rapids instead of Dayton, you would:
pay 6.4% less for restaurants
|
Dayton
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.35
|
$1.92
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.80
|
$1.52
|
|
Dayton vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.6% less for groceries
|
Dayton
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.60
|
$2.64
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.69
|
$7.12
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.81
|
$3.07
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.45
|
$2.83
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.50
|
$4.93
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.22
|
$2.25
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.72
|
$0.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.61
|
$2.41
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.42
|
$2.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.32
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.41
|
$1.04
|
|
Dayton vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of groceries
pay 14.3% less for transportation
|
Dayton
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.08
|
$2.98
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$60.00
|
$30.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,111.63
|
$37,383.69
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.91
|
$18.41
|
|
Dayton vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of transportation
pay 1.1% less for housing
|
Dayton
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$58.60
|
$71.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,225.00
|
$1,140.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$935.00
|
$750.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$155.72
|
$157.02
|
|
Dayton vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of housing
pay 2.5 times more for childcare
|
Dayton
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$550.00
|
$968.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$5,000.00
|
$15,795.00
|
|
Dayton vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of childcare
pay 47.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Dayton
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.25
|
$4.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.13
|
$5.46
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.29
|
$9.26
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$33.34
|
$100.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.00
|
$12.75
|
|
Dayton vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 28.8% more for clothing
|
Dayton
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.25
|
$62.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$52.00
|
$63.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$75.00
|
$128.26
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.25
|
$95.67
|
|
Dayton vs. Cedar Rapids - 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: July 2026
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