Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Iowa City Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 55.3% more expensive than Iowa City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 43.9% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 53.6% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 99.9% more in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 45.8% more in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 86.2% more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 50.4% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 7.2% more in Washington
The cost of transportation, childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, and restaurants in Washington are more expensive than in Iowa City. Notably, transportation and childcare are significantly more expensive in Washington.
Washington vs. Iowa City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Iowa City, you would:
pay 43.9% more for restaurants
|
Iowa City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.62
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.81
|
$2.79
|
|
Iowa City vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 53.6% more for groceries
|
Iowa City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.68
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.65
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.27
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.13
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.77
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.52
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.54
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.23
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.29
|
$1.64
|
|
Iowa City vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 99.9% more for transportation
|
Iowa City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.01
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$16.00
|
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,454.22
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.90
|
$16.73
|
|
Iowa City vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 45.8% more for housing
|
Iowa City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$72.85
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,231.25
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,100.00
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$163.91
|
$146.54
|
|
Iowa City vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 86.2% more for childcare
|
Iowa City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,266.67
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,601.00
|
$40,166.67
|
|
Iowa City vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 50.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.38
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.33
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.50
|
$16.75
|
|
Iowa City vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.2% more for clothing
|
Iowa City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.33
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.00
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.00
|
$133.22
|
|
Iowa City vs. Washington - 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
Change currency:
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 Washington 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.