Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iowa vs. Guatemala Cost of Living Summary

Iowa is 91.8% more expensive than Guatemala overall.

Restaurants
pay 2.2 times more in Iowa
Groceries
pay 24.4% more in Iowa
Transportation
pay 52.9% more in Iowa
Housing
pay 79.4% more in Iowa
Childcare
pay 4.1 times more in Iowa
Entertainment and Sports
pay 67.1% more in Iowa
Clothing
pay 8.2% less in Iowa

The cost of childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and groceries in Iowa are more expensive than in Guatemala. Notably, childcare, restaurants, and housing are significantly more expensive in Iowa.

Iowa vs. Guatemala Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iowa instead of Guatemala, you would:

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

 
Guatemala
Iowa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.22
GTQ39.91
$15.83
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.33
GTQ48.39
$10.57
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.20
GTQ9.15
$2.46
 

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pay 24.4% more for groceries

 
Guatemala
Iowa
Bread
1 loaf
$3.11
GTQ23.79
$2.77
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.85
GTQ29.47
$5.89
 
Milk (1 gallon) $7.68
GTQ58.76
$3.33
 

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pay 52.9% more for transportation

 
Guatemala
Iowa
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.07
GTQ31.12
$3.02
 
Monthly public transit pass $13.61
GTQ104.08
$38.07
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $19,570.53
GTQ149,659.41
$28,093.10
 

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pay 79.4% more for housing

 
Guatemala
Iowa
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$46.52
GTQ355.75
$65.62
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $811.38
GTQ6,204.76
$1,069.66
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $485.36
GTQ3,711.67
$852.78
 

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pay 4.1 times more for childcare

 
Guatemala
Iowa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $230.93
GTQ1,765.98
$1,152.45
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $5,889.42
GTQ45,037.51
$18,898.50
 

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pay 67.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Guatemala
Iowa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.56
GTQ27.19
$4.44
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.31
GTQ25.34
$5.43
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.98
GTQ30.43
$8.55
 

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pay 8.2% less for clothing

 
Guatemala
Iowa
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$49.09
GTQ375.38
$55.34
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$53.27
GTQ407.36
$41.65
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$111.74
GTQ854.49
$81.56
 

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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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