Peoria vs. Iowa City Cost of Living Summary

Peoria is 9.4% cheaper than Iowa City.

Restaurants
pay 10.0% less in Peoria
Groceries
pay 12.6% more in Peoria
Transportation
pay 35.6% more in Peoria
Housing
pay 21.1% less in Peoria
Childcare
pay 38.8% less in Peoria
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.8% less in Peoria
Clothing
pay 45.3% less in Peoria

The cost of transportation and groceries in Peoria are more expensive than in Iowa City. Expenses including clothing, childcare, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Peoria.

Peoria vs. Iowa City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Peoria instead of Iowa City, you would:

pay 10.0% less for restaurants

 
Iowa City
Peoria
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.00
 
$15.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.00
 
$8.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.83
 
$2.17
 

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pay 12.6% more for groceries

 
Iowa City
Peoria
Bread
1 loaf
$2.71
 
$2.34
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.65
 
$6.06
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.02
 
$2.70
 

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pay 35.6% more for transportation

 
Iowa City
Peoria
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.83
 
$4.27
 
Monthly public transit pass $16.00
 
$40.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,473.37
 
$36,531.00
 

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pay 21.1% less for housing

 
Iowa City
Peoria
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$82.25
 
$65.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,199.75
 
$1,029.83
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,075.75
 
$791.67
 

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pay 38.8% less for childcare

 
Iowa City
Peoria
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,266.67
 
$879.75
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,429.75
 
$12,631.67
 

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pay 9.8% less for entertainment and sports

 
Iowa City
Peoria
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.00
 
$4.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.67
 
$5.50
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$8.89
 
$11.99
 

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pay 45.3% less for clothing

 
Iowa City
Peoria
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$64.22
 
$46.67
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$50.56
 
$25.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$100.00
 
$57.50
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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