Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Iowa Cost of Living Summary
California is 35.3% more expensive than Iowa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 21.9% more in California
- Groceries
-
pay 30.7% more in California
- Transportation
-
pay 42.3% more in California
- Housing
-
pay 73.8% more in California
- Childcare
-
pay 51.1% more in California
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 22.4% more in California
- Clothing
-
pay 4.7% more in California
The cost of housing, childcare, transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in California are more expensive than in Iowa.
California vs. Iowa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Iowa, you would:
pay 21.9% more for restaurants
|
Iowa
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.83
|
$21.84
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.57
|
$12.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
|
$2.79
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.82
|
$2.17
|
|
Iowa vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 30.7% more for groceries
|
Iowa
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.77
|
$4.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.89
|
$6.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.33
|
$4.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.30
|
$5.14
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.57
|
$6.05
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.96
|
$2.30
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$1.41
|
|
Iowa vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 42.3% more for transportation
|
Iowa
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.02
|
$4.72
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$38.07
|
$63.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,093.10
|
$30,529.84
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.46
|
$21.43
|
|
Iowa vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 73.8% more for housing
|
Iowa
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.62
|
$67.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,069.66
|
$2,385.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$852.78
|
$2,043.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$133.13
|
$171.94
|
|
Iowa vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 51.1% more for childcare
|
Iowa
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,152.45
|
$1,633.13
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,898.50
|
$30,339.97
|
|
Iowa vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 22.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.44
|
$7.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.43
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.55
|
$10.92
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.76
|
$68.02
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.58
|
$14.99
|
|
Iowa vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.7% more for clothing
|
Iowa
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.34
|
$56.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.65
|
$40.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$81.56
|
$87.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.86
|
$119.94
|
|
Iowa vs. California - 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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