Cost of living comparison

United States

compared to

Poland

Krakow (Cracow) vs. Des Moines Cost of Living Summary

Krakow (Cracow) is 20.3% cheaper than Des Moines.

Restaurants: pay 27.7% less in Krakow (Cracow)
Groceries: pay 36.5% less in Krakow (Cracow)
Transportation: pay 0.7% more in Krakow (Cracow)
Housing: pay 13.4% less in Krakow (Cracow)
Childcare: pay 43.6% less in Krakow (Cracow)
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.2% less in Krakow (Cracow)
Clothing: pay 2.1% more in Krakow (Cracow)

The cost of clothing and transportation in Krakow (Cracow) are more expensive than in Des Moines. Expenses including childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and housing are lower in Krakow (Cracow).

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Krakow (Cracow) vs. Des Moines Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Krakow (Cracow) instead of Des Moines, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 27.7% less for restaurants

	Des Moines	Krakow (Cracow)
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$20.00	$12.02 PLN47.43	-39.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.00	$9.72 PLN38.35	-19.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.00	$2.53 PLN10.00	-15.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.49	$2.38 PLN9.40	-4.3%
Average			-27.7%

Des Moines vs. Krakow (Cracow) - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.5% less for groceries

	Des Moines	Krakow (Cracow)
Bread 1 loaf	$2.95	$1.49 PLN5.90	-49.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.77	$4.63 PLN18.26	-3.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.38	$4.10 PLN16.19	+21.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.93	$3.89 PLN15.37	-0.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.39	$3.52 PLN13.91	-19.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.01	$0.60 PLN2.37	-70.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70	$0.78 PLN3.08	+12.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.01	$0.80 PLN3.17	-60.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70	$1.39 PLN5.49	-18.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.43	$0.41 PLN1.63	-71.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.00	$0.45 PLN1.79	-54.4%
Average			-36.5%

Des Moines vs. Krakow (Cracow) - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.7% more for transportation

	Des Moines	Krakow (Cracow)
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.71	$6.53 PLN25.78	+76.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$58.00	$33.49 PLN132.21	-42.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,052.00	$30,576.90 PLN121K	-12.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.94	$10.48 PLN41.38	-12.2%
Average			+0.7%

Des Moines vs. Krakow (Cracow) - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.4% less for housing

	Des Moines	Krakow (Cracow)
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$71.15	$17.57 PLN69.35	-75.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,161.80	$926.42 PLN3,656.83	-20.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$864.75	$727.94 PLN2,873.38	-15.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$143.28	$252.82 PLN997.96	+76.5%
Average			-13.4%

Des Moines vs. Krakow (Cracow) - Cost of housing

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pay 43.6% less for childcare

	Des Moines	Krakow (Cracow)
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,183.50	$458.26 PLN1,808.88	-61.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,812.00	$9,687.47 PLN38,239.19	-18.0%
Average			-43.6%

Des Moines vs. Krakow (Cracow) - Cost of childcare

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pay 28.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Des Moines	Krakow (Cracow)
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.00	$4.60 PLN18.17	-8.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.00	$4.20 PLN16.59	-29.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.03	$6.39 PLN25.23	-20.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$63.75	$45.50 PLN179.58	-28.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.00	$8.69 PLN34.31	-42.0%
Average			-28.2%

Des Moines vs. Krakow (Cracow) - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.1% more for clothing

	Des Moines	Krakow (Cracow)
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.68	$97.55 PLN385.07	+60.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.33	$40.65 PLN160.47	-6.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$103.00	$89.86 PLN354.71	-12.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$145.78	$120.34 PLN475.02	-17.5%
Average			+2.1%

Des Moines vs. Krakow (Cracow) - Cost of clothing

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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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