Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. Iowa Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 75.8% more expensive than Iowa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 50.8% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 68.6% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 65.2% more in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 2.2 times more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 2.5 times more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 50.2% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 23.5% more in San Francisco
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, transportation, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in San Francisco are more expensive than in Iowa. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in San Francisco.
San Francisco vs. Iowa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of Iowa, you would:
pay 50.8% more for restaurants
|
Iowa
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.83
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.57
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.82
|
$2.59
|
|
Iowa vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 68.6% more for groceries
|
Iowa
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.77
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.89
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.33
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.30
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.57
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.96
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$1.81
|
|
Iowa vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 65.2% more for transportation
|
Iowa
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.02
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$38.07
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,093.10
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.46
|
$20.31
|
|
Iowa vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 2.2 times more for housing
|
Iowa
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.62
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,069.66
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$852.78
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$133.13
|
$179.63
|
|
Iowa vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 2.5 times more for childcare
|
Iowa
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,152.45
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,898.50
|
$42,000.00
|
|
Iowa vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 50.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.44
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.43
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.55
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.76
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.58
|
$17.00
|
|
Iowa vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 23.5% more for clothing
|
Iowa
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.34
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.65
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$81.56
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.86
|
$133.67
|
|
Iowa vs. San Francisco - 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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