Cost of living comparison
compared to
Amsterdam vs. Iowa Cost of Living Summary
Amsterdam is 66.3% more expensive than Iowa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 58.5% more in Amsterdam
- Groceries
-
pay 17.6% more in Amsterdam
- Transportation
-
pay 2.4 times more in Amsterdam
- Housing
-
pay 83.2% more in Amsterdam
- Childcare
-
pay 79.8% more in Amsterdam
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 31.2% more in Amsterdam
- Clothing
-
pay 52.1% more in Amsterdam
The cost of transportation, housing, childcare, restaurants, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Amsterdam are more expensive than in Iowa. Notably, transportation, housing, and childcare are significantly more expensive in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam vs. Iowa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Amsterdam instead of Iowa, you would:
pay 58.5% more for restaurants
|
Iowa
|
Amsterdam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.83
|
$23.36
€20.06
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.57
|
$16.35
€14.04
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
|
$3.72
€3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.82
|
$3.28
€2.82
|
|
Iowa vs. Amsterdam - Cost of restaurants
pay 17.6% more for groceries
|
Iowa
|
Amsterdam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.77
|
$2.71
€2.33
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.89
|
$7.72
€6.63
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.33
|
$6.24
€5.36
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.30
|
$5.27
€4.53
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.57
|
$6.35
€5.46
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.96
|
$1.42
€1.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$1.18
€1.01
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$1.04
€0.89
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$2.09
€1.80
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$0.94
€0.81
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$0.88
€0.76
|
|
Iowa vs. Amsterdam - Cost of groceries
pay 2.4 times more for transportation
|
Iowa
|
Amsterdam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.02
|
$8.77
€7.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$38.07
|
$116.79
€100.30
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,093.10
|
$44,381.38
€38,115.21
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.46
|
$32.69
€28.07
|
|
Iowa vs. Amsterdam - Cost of transportation
pay 83.2% more for housing
|
Iowa
|
Amsterdam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.62
|
$52.20
€44.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,069.66
|
$2,488.65
€2,137.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$852.78
|
$2,040.62
€1,752.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$133.13
|
$241.43
€207.34
|
|
Iowa vs. Amsterdam - Cost of housing
pay 79.8% more for childcare
|
Iowa
|
Amsterdam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,152.45
|
$2,924.24
€2,511.37
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,898.50
|
$20,029.43
€17,201.50
|
|
Iowa vs. Amsterdam - Cost of childcare
pay 31.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa
|
Amsterdam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.44
|
$7.59
€6.52
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.43
|
$5.05
€4.34
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.55
|
$14.60
€12.54
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.76
|
$58.91
€50.59
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.58
|
$17.52
€15.05
|
|
Iowa vs. Amsterdam - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 52.1% more for clothing
|
Iowa
|
Amsterdam
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.34
|
$98.80
€84.85
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.65
|
$53.66
€46.08
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$81.56
|
$127.18
€109.22
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.86
|
$154.92
€133.05
|
|
Iowa vs. Amsterdam - 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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