Cost of living comparison
compared to
Beijing vs. Iowa City Cost of Living Summary
Beijing is 32.2% cheaper than Iowa City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 70.6% less in Beijing
- Groceries
-
pay 20.8% less in Beijing
- Transportation
-
pay 5.1% more in Beijing
- Housing
-
pay 59.1% less in Beijing
- Childcare
-
pay 24.7% less in Beijing
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 39.5% less in Beijing
- Clothing
-
pay 15.6% less in Beijing
Expenses including restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, groceries, and clothing are lower in Beijing.
Beijing vs. Iowa City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Beijing instead of Iowa City, you would:
pay 70.6% less for restaurants
|
Iowa City
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$4.21
CN¥29.76
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.00
|
$4.91
CN¥34.72
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.62
|
$0.48
CN¥3.39
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.81
|
$0.31
CN¥2.17
|
|
Iowa City vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.8% less for groceries
|
Iowa City
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.68
|
$1.71
CN¥12.07
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.65
|
$7.47
CN¥52.84
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.27
|
$6.64
CN¥46.99
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.13
|
$1.78
CN¥12.57
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
|
$1.53
CN¥10.83
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.52
|
$0.98
CN¥6.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.54
|
$0.77
CN¥5.44
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$0.80
CN¥5.66
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.23
|
$0.60
CN¥4.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.35
CN¥2.47
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.29
|
$0.41
CN¥2.92
|
|
Iowa City vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries
pay 5.1% more for transportation
|
Iowa City
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.01
|
$4.21
CN¥29.80
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$16.00
|
$31.54
CN¥223.19
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,454.22
|
$18,225.66
CN¥128,952.02
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.90
|
$4.63
CN¥32.73
|
|
Iowa City vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation
pay 59.1% less for housing
|
Iowa City
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$72.85
|
$12.93
CN¥91.49
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,231.25
|
$935.23
CN¥6,617.06
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,100.00
|
$504.41
CN¥3,568.82
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$163.91
|
$39.27
CN¥277.81
|
|
Iowa City vs. Beijing - Cost of housing
pay 24.7% less for childcare
|
Iowa City
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,266.67
|
$710.76
CN¥5,028.87
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,601.00
|
$23,242.73
CN¥164,449.26
|
|
Iowa City vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare
pay 39.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa City
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$1.12
CN¥7.94
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.38
|
$2.90
CN¥20.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.00
|
$4.21
CN¥29.76
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.33
|
$57.84
CN¥409.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.50
|
$8.41
CN¥59.52
|
|
Iowa City vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.6% less for clothing
|
Iowa City
|
Beijing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$62.30
CN¥440.79
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.33
|
$36.37
CN¥257.35
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.00
|
$81.74
CN¥578.34
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.00
|
$105.53
CN¥746.66
|
|
Iowa City vs. Beijing - 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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