Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Rafael vs. Iowa City Cost of Living Summary
San Rafael is 75.6% more expensive than Iowa City.
San Rafael vs. Iowa City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Rafael instead of Iowa City, you would:
pay 48.5% more for restaurants
|
Iowa City
|
San Rafael
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.00
|
$11.89
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
|
$3.00
|
|
Iowa City vs. San Rafael - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.0 times more for groceries
|
Iowa City
|
San Rafael
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.71
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.65
|
$11.51
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.02
|
$5.52
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.51
|
$5.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
|
$6.95
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.52
|
$3.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.54
|
$1.30
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$2.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$3.83
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$2.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.08
|
$2.50
|
|
Iowa City vs. San Rafael - Cost of groceries
pay 66.2% more for transportation
|
Iowa City
|
San Rafael
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.83
|
$5.36
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$16.00
|
$65.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,473.37
|
$32,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.00
|
$38.80
|
|
Iowa City vs. San Rafael - Cost of transportation
pay 2.2 times more for housing
|
Iowa City
|
San Rafael
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$82.25
|
$61.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,199.75
|
$3,100.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,075.75
|
$3,166.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$206.36
|
$194.83
|
|
Iowa City vs. San Rafael - Cost of housing
pay 32.5% more for childcare
|
Iowa City
|
San Rafael
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,266.67
|
$2,117.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,429.75
|
$24,600.00
|
|
Iowa City vs. San Rafael - Cost of childcare
pay 24.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa City
|
San Rafael
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$5.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.67
|
$4.75
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.89
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.33
|
$121.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.50
|
$13.00
|
|
Iowa City vs. San Rafael - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.4% less for clothing
|
Iowa City
|
San Rafael
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.22
|
$60.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$50.56
|
$42.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.00
|
$95.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.00
|
$128.75
|
|
Iowa City vs. San Rafael - 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
Change currency:
Compare further: Iowa City vs. San Rafael
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about San Rafael or Iowa City. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.