Cost of living comparison
compared to
Berlin vs. Iowa City Cost of Living Summary
Berlin is 19.2% more expensive than Iowa City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 41.2% more in Berlin
- Groceries
-
pay 10.3% more in Berlin
- Transportation
-
pay 2.3 times more in Berlin
- Housing
-
pay 12.8% more in Berlin
- Childcare
-
pay 73.2% less in Berlin
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.1% less in Berlin
- Clothing
-
pay 10.9% more in Berlin
The cost of transportation, restaurants, housing, clothing, and groceries in Berlin are more expensive than in Iowa City. Expenses including childcare and entertainment and sports are lower in Berlin. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Berlin.
Berlin vs. Iowa City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Berlin instead of Iowa City, you would:
pay 41.2% more for restaurants
|
Iowa City
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$17.52
€15.11
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.00
|
$13.55
€11.68
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.62
|
$3.49
€3.01
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.81
|
$2.98
€2.57
|
|
Iowa City vs. Berlin - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.3% more for groceries
|
Iowa City
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.68
|
$2.25
€1.94
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.65
|
$7.10
€6.12
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.27
|
$5.13
€4.42
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.13
|
$3.88
€3.35
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
|
$5.52
€4.76
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.52
|
$1.54
€1.33
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.54
|
$0.94
€0.81
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$1.20
€1.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.23
|
$1.76
€1.52
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.91
€0.78
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.29
|
$0.78
€0.67
|
|
Iowa City vs. Berlin - Cost of groceries
pay 2.3 times more for transportation
|
Iowa City
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.01
|
$7.52
€6.49
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$16.00
|
$68.91
€59.42
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,454.22
|
$32,702.07
€28,199.88
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.90
|
$32.00
€27.60
|
|
Iowa City vs. Berlin - Cost of transportation
pay 12.8% more for housing
|
Iowa City
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$72.85
|
$50.32
€43.39
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,231.25
|
$1,427.12
€1,230.65
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,100.00
|
$1,068.35
€921.27
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$163.91
|
$277.09
€238.94
|
|
Iowa City vs. Berlin - Cost of housing
pay 73.2% less for childcare
|
Iowa City
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,266.67
|
$184.92
€159.46
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,601.00
|
$9,579.95
€8,261.05
|
|
Iowa City vs. Berlin - Cost of childcare
pay 2.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa City
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$5.26
€4.53
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.38
|
$4.45
€3.84
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.00
|
$10.16
€8.76
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.33
|
$38.79
€33.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.50
|
$14.89
€12.84
|
|
Iowa City vs. Berlin - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.9% more for clothing
|
Iowa City
|
Berlin
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$93.79
€80.88
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.33
|
$43.63
€37.63
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.00
|
$106.67
€91.99
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.00
|
$129.59
€111.75
|
|
Iowa City vs. Berlin - 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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