Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Carolina vs. Iowa Cost of Living Summary
North Carolina is 15.7% more expensive than Iowa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.6% less in North Carolina
- Groceries
-
pay 24.1% more in North Carolina
- Transportation
-
pay 18.5% more in North Carolina
- Housing
-
pay 24.0% more in North Carolina
- Childcare
-
pay 13.1% more in North Carolina
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.5% less in North Carolina
- Clothing
-
pay 1.2% more in North Carolina
North Carolina vs. Iowa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Carolina instead of Iowa, you would:
pay 1.6% less for restaurants
|
Iowa
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.44
|
$17.13
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.71
|
$10.72
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.66
|
$2.50
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.93
|
$1.89
|
|
Iowa vs. North Carolina - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.1% more for groceries
|
Iowa
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.86
|
$3.91
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.29
|
$7.07
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.19
|
$3.68
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.35
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.87
|
$5.37
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.11
|
$2.40
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$0.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.01
|
$2.22
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$2.33
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.07
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.29
|
$1.79
|
|
Iowa vs. North Carolina - Cost of groceries
pay 18.5% more for transportation
|
Iowa
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.52
|
$3.48
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$34.83
|
$58.44
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,592.26
|
$34,285.88
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.02
|
$19.96
|
|
Iowa vs. North Carolina - Cost of transportation
pay 24.0% more for housing
|
Iowa
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.97
|
$65.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,095.70
|
$1,476.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$867.32
|
$1,144.24
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$143.75
|
$131.34
|
|
Iowa vs. North Carolina - Cost of housing
pay 13.1% more for childcare
|
Iowa
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,080.37
|
$1,224.94
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,409.87
|
$21,882.53
|
|
Iowa vs. North Carolina - Cost of childcare
pay 4.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.61
|
$5.39
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.52
|
$5.21
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.16
|
$8.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$61.55
|
$51.42
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.85
|
$13.30
|
|
Iowa vs. North Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.2% more for clothing
|
Iowa
|
North Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.95
|
$52.53
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.14
|
$37.74
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.30
|
$88.04
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$107.49
|
$112.84
|
|
Iowa vs. North Carolina - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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