Cost of living comparison
compared to
Maldives vs. Iowa Cost of Living Summary
Maldives is 20.3% cheaper than Iowa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 49.1% less in Maldives
- Groceries
-
pay 0.6% more in Maldives
- Transportation
-
pay 5.9% more in Maldives
- Housing
-
pay 10.9% less in Maldives
- Childcare
-
pay 83.3% less in Maldives
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.4% more in Maldives
- Clothing
-
pay 6.7% less in Maldives
The cost of transportation, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Maldives are more expensive than in Iowa. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, and clothing are lower in Maldives.
Maldives vs. Iowa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Maldives instead of Iowa, you would:
pay 49.1% less for restaurants
|
Iowa
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.83
|
$5.56
MVR85.56
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.57
|
$9.80
MVR150.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
|
$1.45
MVR22.29
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.82
|
$0.31
MVR4.70
|
|
Iowa vs. Maldives - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.6% more for groceries
|
Iowa
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.77
|
$1.59
MVR24.49
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.89
|
$4.58
MVR70.46
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.33
|
$6.95
MVR107.00
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.30
|
$1.67
MVR25.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.57
|
$2.82
MVR43.37
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.96
|
$1.84
MVR28.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$1.73
MVR26.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$1.96
MVR30.25
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$1.48
MVR22.83
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$0.70
MVR10.77
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$0.55
MVR8.45
|
|
Iowa vs. Maldives - Cost of groceries
pay 5.9% more for transportation
|
Iowa
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.02
|
$3.54
MVR54.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$38.07
|
$28.91
MVR445.28
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,093.10
|
$32,679.74
MVR503,267.97
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.46
|
$17.65
MVR271.76
|
|
Iowa vs. Maldives - Cost of transportation
pay 10.9% less for housing
|
Iowa
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.62
|
$61.82
MVR952.02
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,069.66
|
$1,136.53
MVR17,502.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$852.78
|
$731.21
MVR11,260.62
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$133.13
|
$93.30
MVR1,436.78
|
|
Iowa vs. Maldives - Cost of housing
pay 83.3% less for childcare
|
Iowa
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,152.45
|
$164.38
MVR2,531.44
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,898.50
|
$3,587.42
MVR55,246.24
|
|
Iowa vs. Maldives - Cost of childcare
pay 1.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.44
|
$4.74
MVR72.97
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.43
|
$3.31
MVR50.96
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.55
|
$13.07
MVR201.31
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.76
|
$72.98
MVR1,123.97
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.58
|
$9.80
MVR150.98
|
|
Iowa vs. Maldives - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.7% less for clothing
|
Iowa
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.34
|
$43.03
MVR662.64
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.65
|
$56.86
MVR875.69
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$81.56
|
$90.20
MVR1,389.02
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.86
|
$51.74
MVR796.84
|
|
Iowa vs. Maldives - 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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