Cost of living comparison

Iowa, USA

compared to

New Caledonia

New Caledonia vs. Iowa Cost of Living Summary

New Caledonia is 13.2% more expensive than Iowa.

Restaurants: pay 10.3% more in New Caledonia
Groceries: pay 86.3% more in New Caledonia
Transportation: pay 29.5% more in New Caledonia
Housing: pay 18.4% less in New Caledonia
Childcare: pay 42.0% less in New Caledonia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.7% more in New Caledonia
Clothing: pay 75.2% more in New Caledonia

The cost of groceries, clothing, transportation, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in New Caledonia are more expensive than in Iowa. Expenses including childcare and housing are lower in New Caledonia. Notably, groceries and clothing are significantly more expensive in New Caledonia.

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New Caledonia vs. Iowa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Caledonia instead of Iowa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 10.3% more for restaurants

	Iowa	New Caledonia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.44	$20.64 CFPF2,210	+18.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.71	$14.08 CFPF1,507	+31.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.66	$1.97 CFPF211	-25.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.93	$1.25 CFPF134	-35.2%
Average			+10.3%

Iowa vs. New Caledonia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 86.3% more for groceries

	Iowa	New Caledonia
Bread 1 loaf	$2.86	$3.47 CFPF372	+21.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.29	$14.86 CFPF1,591	+180.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.19	$4.55 CFPF487	+42.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.35	$6.20 CFPF664	+85.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.87	$12.77 CFPF1,367	+162.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.11	$2.13 CFPF228	+1.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65	$3.25 CFPF347	+397.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.01	$2.77 CFPF296	+37.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.93	$3.62 CFPF387	+87.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.07	$2.50 CFPF267	+132.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.29	$1.70 CFPF182	+32.0%
Average			+86.3%

Iowa vs. New Caledonia - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.5% more for transportation

	Iowa	New Caledonia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.52	$6.03 CFPF646	+71.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.83	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,592.26	$32,607.24 CFPF3M
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.02	$15.82 CFPF1,694	+5.3%
Average			+29.5%

Iowa vs. New Caledonia - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.4% less for housing

	Iowa	New Caledonia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$67.97	$48.79 CFPF5,224	-28.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,095.70	$750.67 CFPF80,366	-31.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$867.32	$774.13 CFPF82,877	-10.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$143.75	$153.08 CFPF16,388	+6.5%
Average			-18.4%

Iowa vs. New Caledonia - Cost of housing

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pay 42.0% less for childcare

	Iowa	New Caledonia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,080.37	$750.67 CFPF80,366	-30.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$19,409.87	$9,383.38 CFPF1M	-51.7%
Average			-42.0%

Iowa vs. New Caledonia - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Iowa	New Caledonia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.61	$9.38 CFPF1,005	+103.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.52	$4.57 CFPF490	-17.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.16	$19.52 CFPF2,090	+113.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$61.55	$49.26 CFPF5,274	-20.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.85	$14.08 CFPF1,507	+1.6%
Average			+13.7%

Iowa vs. New Caledonia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 75.2% more for clothing

	Iowa	New Caledonia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.95	$109.47 CFPF11,720	+110.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.14	$65.68 CFPF7,032	+72.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.30	$98.53 CFPF10,548	+11.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$107.49	$250.22 CFPF26,789	+132.8%
Average			+75.2%

Iowa vs. New Caledonia - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Iowa vs. New Caledonia

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Quality of Life Comparison · 2 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

Iowa is about 8 times bigger than New Caledonia.

Moving from Iowa to New Caledonia · Cost, visas & climate

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