Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Iowa City Cost of Living Summary
United States is 18.6% more expensive than Iowa City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 15.3% more in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 29.9% more in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 78.9% more in United States
- Housing
-
pay 12.6% more in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 1.9% more in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 5.6% more in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 13.9% less in United States
The cost of transportation, groceries, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, and childcare in United States are more expensive than in Iowa City. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in United States.
United States vs. Iowa City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Iowa City, you would:
pay 15.3% more for restaurants
|
Iowa City
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.00
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.62
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.81
|
$2.00
|
|
Iowa City vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 29.9% more for groceries
|
Iowa City
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.68
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.65
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.27
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.13
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.52
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.54
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.23
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.29
|
$1.38
|
|
Iowa City vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 78.9% more for transportation
|
Iowa City
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.01
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$16.00
|
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,454.22
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.90
|
$17.61
|
|
Iowa City vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 12.6% more for housing
|
Iowa City
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$72.85
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,231.25
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,100.00
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$163.91
|
$150.19
|
|
Iowa City vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 1.9% more for childcare
|
Iowa City
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,266.67
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,601.00
|
$23,196.46
|
|
Iowa City vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 5.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa City
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.38
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.00
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.33
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.50
|
$13.64
|
|
Iowa City vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.9% less for clothing
|
Iowa City
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.33
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.00
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.00
|
$112.04
|
|
Iowa City vs. United States - 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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