Cost of living comparison
compared to
Norway vs. Iowa Cost of Living Summary
Norway is 23.4% more expensive than Iowa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 38.2% more in Norway
- Groceries
-
pay 22.3% more in Norway
- Transportation
-
pay 85.5% more in Norway
- Housing
-
pay 6.4% more in Norway
- Childcare
-
pay 63.6% less in Norway
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 38.1% more in Norway
- Clothing
-
pay 36.6% more in Norway
The cost of transportation, restaurants, entertainment and sports, clothing, groceries, and housing in Norway are more expensive than in Iowa. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Norway.
Norway vs. Iowa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Norway instead of Iowa, you would:
pay 38.2% more for restaurants
|
Iowa
|
Norway
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.83
|
$22.47
NOK227.13
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.57
|
$14.28
NOK144.30
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
|
$3.22
NOK32.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.82
|
$2.63
NOK26.61
|
|
Iowa vs. Norway - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.3% more for groceries
|
Iowa
|
Norway
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.77
|
$3.23
NOK32.64
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.89
|
$5.77
NOK58.34
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.33
|
$8.36
NOK84.51
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.30
|
$4.26
NOK43.03
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.57
|
$6.39
NOK64.59
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.96
|
$1.50
NOK15.15
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$1.10
NOK11.10
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$1.42
NOK14.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$1.97
NOK19.88
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$1.02
NOK10.30
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$1.13
NOK11.44
|
|
Iowa vs. Norway - Cost of groceries
pay 85.5% more for transportation
|
Iowa
|
Norway
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.02
|
$8.05
NOK81.33
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$38.07
|
$73.58
NOK743.63
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,093.10
|
$33,882.51
NOK342,443.77
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.46
|
$24.92
NOK251.89
|
|
Iowa vs. Norway - Cost of transportation
pay 6.4% more for housing
|
Iowa
|
Norway
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.62
|
$51.89
NOK524.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,069.66
|
$1,147.37
NOK11,596.23
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$852.78
|
$929.65
NOK9,395.81
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$133.13
|
$173.28
NOK1,751.30
|
|
Iowa vs. Norway - Cost of housing
pay 63.6% less for childcare
|
Iowa
|
Norway
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,152.45
|
$279.02
NOK2,820.03
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,898.50
|
$9,157.91
NOK92,557.16
|
|
Iowa vs. Norway - Cost of childcare
pay 38.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa
|
Norway
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.44
|
$9.73
NOK98.36
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.43
|
$5.10
NOK51.59
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.55
|
$15.59
NOK157.52
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.76
|
$50.34
NOK508.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.58
|
$15.82
NOK159.91
|
|
Iowa vs. Norway - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 36.6% more for clothing
|
Iowa
|
Norway
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.34
|
$95.05
NOK960.70
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.65
|
$45.59
NOK460.73
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$81.56
|
$105.49
NOK1,066.17
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.86
|
$145.24
NOK1,467.95
|
|
Iowa vs. Norway - 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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