Cost of living comparison
compared to
Tokyo vs. Iowa Cost of Living Summary
Tokyo is 9.3% cheaper than Iowa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 52.1% less in Tokyo
- Groceries
-
pay 20.2% more in Tokyo
- Transportation
-
pay 54.1% more in Tokyo
- Housing
-
pay 20.4% less in Tokyo
- Childcare
-
pay 37.4% less in Tokyo
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 19.9% less in Tokyo
- Clothing
-
pay 9.7% less in Tokyo
The cost of transportation and groceries in Tokyo are more expensive than in Iowa. Expenses including restaurants, childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Tokyo.
Tokyo vs. Iowa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Tokyo instead of Iowa, you would:
pay 52.1% less for restaurants
|
Iowa
|
Tokyo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.83
|
$8.02
¥1,249
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.57
|
$5.01
¥781
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
|
$1.16
¥181
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.82
|
$0.84
¥131
|
|
Iowa vs. Tokyo - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.2% more for groceries
|
Iowa
|
Tokyo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.77
|
$1.55
¥242
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.89
|
$7.21
¥1,123
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.33
|
$5.71
¥890
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.30
|
$2.33
¥363
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.57
|
$3.52
¥548
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.96
|
$2.38
¥370
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$1.18
¥184
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$2.48
¥386
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$2.64
¥411
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$1.43
¥222
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$1.48
¥231
|
|
Iowa vs. Tokyo - Cost of groceries
pay 54.1% more for transportation
|
Iowa
|
Tokyo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.02
|
$4.50
¥701
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$38.07
|
$73.51
¥11,449
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,093.10
|
$22,332.63
¥3,478,419
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.46
|
$30.07
¥4,684
|
|
Iowa vs. Tokyo - Cost of transportation
pay 20.4% less for housing
|
Iowa
|
Tokyo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.62
|
$33.44
¥5,209
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,069.66
|
$1,071.65
¥166,915
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$852.78
|
$642.24
¥100,032
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$133.13
|
$122.16
¥19,027
|
|
Iowa vs. Tokyo - Cost of housing
pay 37.4% less for childcare
|
Iowa
|
Tokyo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,152.45
|
$519.69
¥80,944
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,898.50
|
$15,131.74
¥2,356,844
|
|
Iowa vs. Tokyo - Cost of childcare
pay 19.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Iowa
|
Tokyo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.44
|
$4.01
¥624
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.43
|
$3.43
¥534
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.55
|
$4.01
¥624
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.76
|
$68.19
¥10,621
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.58
|
$12.70
¥1,978
|
|
Iowa vs. Tokyo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.7% less for clothing
|
Iowa
|
Tokyo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.34
|
$56.84
¥8,853
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.65
|
$40.48
¥6,306
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$81.56
|
$62.67
¥9,762
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.86
|
$90.37
¥14,076
|
|
Iowa vs. Tokyo - 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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