Cost of living comparison
compared to
Iowa vs. Finland Cost of Living Summary
Iowa is 25.5% more expensive than Finland overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.4% less in Iowa
- Groceries
-
pay 23.1% more in Iowa
- Transportation
-
pay 37.9% less in Iowa
- Housing
-
pay 66.7% more in Iowa
- Childcare
-
pay 2.6 times more in Iowa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.5% less in Iowa
- Clothing
-
pay 17.0% less in Iowa
The cost of childcare, housing, and groceries in Iowa are more expensive than in Finland. Expenses including transportation, clothing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Iowa. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Iowa.
Iowa vs. Finland Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Iowa instead of Finland, you would:
pay 7.4% less for restaurants
|
Finland
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.68
€13.46
|
$15.83
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.56
€9.93
|
$10.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.65
€2.28
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.14
€1.83
|
$1.82
|
|
Finland vs. Iowa - Cost of restaurants
pay 23.1% more for groceries
|
Finland
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.47
€2.12
|
$2.77
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.19
€3.60
|
$5.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.85
€4.17
|
$3.33
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.24
€2.79
|
$3.30
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.13
€5.26
|
$4.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.13
€0.97
|
$1.96
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$0.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.05
€0.90
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.90
€1.63
|
$1.93
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
€0.50
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.83
€0.71
|
$1.30
|
|
Finland vs. Iowa - Cost of groceries
pay 37.9% less for transportation
|
Finland
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.96
€6.84
|
$3.02
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$69.84
€59.98
|
$38.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,910.15
€29,981.22
|
$28,093.10
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.49
€17.60
|
$15.46
|
|
Finland vs. Iowa - Cost of transportation
pay 66.7% more for housing
|
Finland
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$23.03
€19.77
|
$65.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$801.83
€688.62
|
$1,069.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$658.48
€565.51
|
$852.78
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$112.00
€96.18
|
$133.13
|
|
Finland vs. Iowa - Cost of housing
pay 2.6 times more for childcare
|
Finland
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$333.41
€286.34
|
$1,152.45
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,057.05
€9,495.91
|
$18,898.50
|
|
Finland vs. Iowa - Cost of childcare
pay 7.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Finland
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.87
€6.76
|
$4.44
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.79
€4.12
|
$5.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.15
€10.44
|
$8.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.75
€38.43
|
$63.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.99
€14.59
|
$13.58
|
|
Finland vs. Iowa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 17.0% less for clothing
|
Finland
|
Iowa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$93.32
€80.14
|
$55.34
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.73
€32.40
|
$41.65
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$96.29
€82.70
|
$81.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$137.67
€118.23
|
$106.86
|
|
Finland 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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