Cost of living comparison
compared to
East Lansing vs. Iowa City Cost of Living Summary
East Lansing is 3.7% more expensive than Iowa City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.5% more in East Lansing
- Groceries
-
pay 40.4% more in East Lansing
- Transportation
-
pay 37.6% more in East Lansing
- Housing
-
pay 8.3% less in East Lansing
- Childcare
-
pay 50.7% less in East Lansing
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 12.0% less in East Lansing
- Clothing
-
pay 24.3% less in East Lansing
East Lansing vs. Iowa City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in East Lansing instead of Iowa City, you would:
pay 17.5% more for restaurants
|
Iowa City
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.00
|
$16.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$2.51
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
|
$2.17
|
|
Iowa City vs. East Lansing - Cost of restaurants
pay 40.4% more for groceries
|
Iowa City
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.71
|
$2.95
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.65
|
$5.51
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.02
|
$3.06
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.51
|
$2.79
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
|
$7.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.52
|
$2.45
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.54
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$3.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.62
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$2.60
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.08
|
$2.54
|
|
Iowa City vs. East Lansing - Cost of groceries
pay 37.6% more for transportation
|
Iowa City
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.83
|
$3.74
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$16.00
|
$50.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,473.37
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.00
|
$34.85
|
|
Iowa City vs. East Lansing - Cost of transportation
pay 8.3% less for housing
|
Iowa City
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$82.25
|
$63.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,199.75
|
$1,207.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,075.75
|
$1,045.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$206.36
|
$134.29
|
|
Iowa City vs. East Lansing - Cost of housing
pay 50.7% less for childcare
|
Iowa City
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,266.67
|
$648.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,429.75
|
$11,136.00
|
|
Iowa City vs. East Lansing - Cost of childcare
pay 12.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa City
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.67
|
$5.40
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.89
|
$9.52
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.33
|
$36.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.50
|
$11.00
|
|
Iowa City vs. East Lansing - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 24.3% less for clothing
|
Iowa City
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.22
|
$55.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$50.56
|
$37.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.00
|
$70.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.00
|
$85.00
|
|
Iowa City vs. East Lansing - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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